A resurgence of rats has gotten out of control in Chicago's Portage Park neighborhood, multiple residents explained Friday as they called for city leaders to take further action.
Diana Gazda, a resident of the Far Northwest Side community for seven decades, said she has never seen an infestation like it.
"We never had a rat problem like this," she stated. "I’ve been here 71 years in my house."
Gazda said she previously called the city for assistance, and as a result, crews performed rat baiting in late February.
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But still, rats remain an ongoing issue, and they still often visit alleys at night, residents said.
Neighbors told NBC Chicago that while they travel through sometimes overflowing dumpsters, the rats also go elsewhere.
"She told me ‘I have rats in the garage’ and there’s a rat hole in the yard next door," Gazda stated.
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The longtime Portage Park resident said she has asked the city and local alderman's office for crews to return and fix the problem. But outside of very visible dog waste signs, she said nothing has been done.
Some residents have captured photos of the nocturnal visitors scurrying around.
"I was surprised at the number of them, even down the alley, you can see them running back and forth," another resident, Joe stated."
"Big Boy," the neighborhood mouser has managed to catch a few small rodents.
But the big rats remain, according to neighbors.
"I’ve never seen rats this bad," Gazda stated. "Never."
NBC Chicago examined the city of Chicago's website and found rat complaints in the area that were made as recently as Friday.
The Department of Streets and Sanitation released the following statement to NBC Chicago regarding the infestation:
The Department of Streets and Sanitation (DSS) is dedicated to keeping Chicago clean and healthy, and we continue to proactively address rodent abatement as a free service to residents. The DSS Bureau of Rodent Control followed up on two 311 requests to bait the alley last month on March 5th and 11th. Rodent Control will also conduct a door-to-door abatement next week, which includes contacting everyone on the block, inspecting yards, providing technical assistance, baiting, and surveying the alley for any damaged garbage carts.
To prevent rodents on or near their premises, residents are encouraged to:
- keep garbage in tightly covered bins.
- seal up access into their homes and garages.
- immediately clean up pet excrement.
- remove pet and bird food from their yards.
- remove debris and heavy vegetation, including harvesting vegetable from gardens in a timely manner.
