A year after "rat summit," what is Boston doing to tackle the rodent problem?
A year ago, the city of Boston met with other rat plagued cities to try to learn from each other on how best to tackle the problem. Now a year later, it's still commonplace to see bags of trash piled up on the sidewalks of East Boston on pick-up day.
The waves of white and black plastic bags can be a breeding ground for rats. So, what has the city been doing since then?
"This past year I caught at least 50," said Michael Marano, an East Boston homeowner with a trap set up in his back patio. "We got strict codes, but a lot of the people don't abide by them."
Per city code enforcement, a $25 dollar fine can be issued if a bag isn't in a trash can or a 2-ply bag.
"They get citations, but they don't get them every week," said Marano, adding that the 2-ply bags don't help. "Naturally, I see the rats run to the bags."
Marano uses a trash can but has been fined for leaving it in the locked alley on his property. If he didn't use a trash can at all, he may not get a fine.
"Put no barrel, you got trash, and that's it," says Marano.
Improving trash storage
When officials from Boston's Inspectional Services team went to the "rat summit," they told WBZ they were very interested in learning about New York's containerizing strategy for trash. Last November New York enforced trash bin use on residents.
"Waste management is the most important factor in driving the rodent populations," Boston Inspectional Services Director Tania Del Rio told WBZ last year.
A year later, a Boston city spokesperson says they are still gathering information from other cities and looking at investments to improve trash storage. On October 6, they will be holding a community meeting on Zoom to hear neighbors' ideas on how to fix the problems.
"I know they supply barrels for recycling. They should give you barrels for trash, and if you don't have trash in the barrel, they don't pick it up and you get a ticket. You got to force them to do the right thing. If you don't force them to do the right thing, they won't," said Marano.
In August, Boston rolled out new tools and sensors fight rat infestations. There are now 275 sensors placed in bait boxes across the city to track rodent activity around the clock.