Municipal Rodents
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As creatures that “live in man’s parallel universe, surviving on the effluvia of human society (Sullivan, 2004),” rats are a common, yet despised part of urban life. Their notoriety has made them popular media topics, from “rats gone wild” to “Pizza Rat.” In most cases, urban rats are viewed as the problem, and action is taken to manage pest numbers with minimal attention given to their ultimate cause. Meanwhile, these pests are more accurately considered symptoms of sanitation problems, and are the result of human behaviors and practices that provide food, water, and shelter to the rats.
For large municipalities, rats are a persistent problem that can cause loss of business, structural damage, food contamination and spread pathogens—posing potential public health risks. To combat rat problems and respond to resident complaints, municipalities undertake large-scale management. Interestingly, despite the shared challenges of developing and executing these programs, to date there has been no formal coalition dedicated to advancing the science and implementation of municipal rodent management. With funding from the Northeastern IPM Center Partnership Grants Program, the Municipal Rodent IPM Working Group will address this need at a time when new challenges in rodent management continue to emerge.
The Municipal Rodent IPM Working Group includes representatives from academia, industry (manufacturers, consultants, applicators), and several municipalities. The Working Group’s goal is to advance the adoption of rodent IPM at the municipal level.
Project Leaders
- Matt Frye
- Ray Delaney
- Bobby Corrigan
- Jody Gangloff-Kaufmann
For more information about the Working Group or to join the Listserv, please contact Matt Frye (mjf267@cornell.edu)
Meeting Notes
November 19, 2021 (PDF, 3.6 MB)
December 15, 2021 Municipal Response to Rodent-Borne Disease (PDF)
Videos
Members
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Jesse Allen Kelley Altland John Bitner Leo Boucher Caroline Bragdon Gerard Brown Patrick Burgess Kaylee Byers Alejandro Calixto Dave Colbert Matt Combs Robert Corrigan Ray Delaney Ed Dolshun Mark Ebner Jim Fredericks Matt Frye Jody Gangloff-Kaufmann Chris Geiger Paul Geiger Mike Goldstein Leah Helms Chelsea Himsworth Janet Hurley Stephen Kells Sylvia Kenmuir Leah Lamonte Maureen Murray
Lincoln Park Zoo; Chicago Rat Project
Jacqueline Buckley
Lincoln Park Zoo; Chicago Rat Project
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Rebecca Lasko Michael Lee Dion Lerman Timmy Madere Imelda Moise Scott Mullaney Jason Munshi-South John Murphy Jason Myers Marty Overline Kris Pape Michael Parsons John Phil Richard Pollack David Power Niahm Quinn Susannah Reese Carmen Reichard Jonathan Richardson Claudia Riegel Elton Rogozi Marieke Rosenbaum Trisha Shellenberger Georgianna Silveira Shannon Sked Doug Smith Terry Wolak Laura Krueger
Orange County Mosquito and Vector Control District
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