President Trump Called Baltimore 'Rat & Rodent-Infested', DPW Says Rat Burrows Have Decreased By 80%
BALTIMORE (WJZ) — After President Trump characterized Baltimore as "rat and rodent-infested", the Baltimore's Department of Public Works is clapping back.
The department said they typically conduct more than 100,000 "proactive inspections" each year. They added 60,000 proactive inspections as part of the HEAL campaign.
The Healthy Elimination of All Pests Long-Term campaign, or HEAL, works with multiple groups including BmoreHealthy to create safer living conditions, DPW officials tweeted Tuesday afternoon.
They explained that through the proactive inspections, they reduced the number of identified rat burrows in the areas targeted from 1,836 to 282 over the last two years.
That's an 80 percent decrease.
"Proper disposal of bagged household trash into the green cans, and reporting illegal trash dumping to 311, is still the best way to control rats," DPW tweeted."
DPW also said these inspections drove down 311 calls for rat abatement by 38 percent over the past two years and claimed that other East Coast cities have seen increases.