Township seeks cooperation to exterminate rats
Aug. 26, 2021 PLYMOUTH VOICE.
Plymouth Michigan News
Plymouth Township Building Department is asking for help in exterminating rats from neighborhood property. Homeowners and residents are being encouraged to take action to control infestations by reporting problems, cleaning up their yards and practicing known control measures.
Rats are adaptable critters and are challenging to eliminate.
Rats are known invaders that are fantastically prolific breeders with quick gestation periods and big litters of babies. They eat almost anything; domestic rubbish, rotting meat, grain, and live everywhere people live. They can chew through metal, swim long distances, survive 50 ft. falls, emerge from our toilet.
Rats carry more than 40 harmful human diseases, such as Murine Typhus, The Plague, Rat-bite fever, Weil’s Disease, Chaga’s Disease, Rickettsial Pox, Tularemia, Lassa Fever, Leptospirosis, Salmonellosis, Lymphocytic Choriomeningitis, and Rabies.
Township officials say they have rodent control ordinances in place but would like homeowners to cooperate by strictly following recommendations regarding outside storage, waste, sanitation, ground-feeding of animals and prompt animal waste removal, all important steps to eliminate the difficult to control vermin.
Here are the control steps recently announced by township officials in their monthly newsletter:
Animal feces should be removed immediately or as soon as possible. If the food source is eliminated you are less likely to have rats/rodents
No items should be stored on the ground – like wood piles, yard waste, debris, lumber, etc. Vehicles and approved campers/trailers must be stored on cement. Rats and rodents look for places to burrow under.
Do not ground feed. When you put food or water out for stray cats or toss bread pieces for birds, or there are droppings from bird feeders, you are creating a food source for rats and rodents.
Store garbage in cans with tight-fitted lids and when possible stored inside your garage. Do not leave full garbage bags outside or in uncovered cans.
All exterior property and premises need to be maintained in a clean, safe, and sanitary condition. Make sure that your home, garage or shed have no entry points, gaps or holes for rat and rodent harborage.
The building department, located at Plymouth Township Hall, 9955 N. Haggerty Road
First Floor and is open 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. They are closed daily between 1:00 p.m. and 2:00 p.m. Contact: (734) 354-3210.
Plymouth Voice.
