A Chicago Public Schools teacher who lives in the city's Clearing-Garfield Ridge area says her neighborhood is "under attack" by rats.
Gloria Sieloff told NBC 5 that some of the rats are as large as a small to medium-sized cat. The teacher said a rat bit her dog, and she worries that a person could be next.
The problem has become so bad, she won't even eat or grill in her backyard.
"I am a CPS teacher, and am spending money that I frankly do not have to stop a problem that is not my fault," Sieloff said.
Sieloff estimated, so far, she has spent more than $2,500 on an exterminator, and another $500 to have a trench dug around the perimeter of her garage.
Crews will install a steel mesh netting there in hope of stopping rats from burrowing.
City officials announced in June they planned to ramp up efforts to control the rat population.
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Sieloff said she has called the city multiple times since last summer, but the infestation still persists.
A Department of Streets and Sanitation spokeswoman said crews have cleaned the area three times, and they're planning to return again this week.
"It doesn't matter," Sieloff said. "The rats will be gone for a few days, but they will come back, and keep burrowing under my garage, and the garages of my neighbors."
