| hobbitfan111@yahoo.com 2006-04-27, 3:21 am |
| The Washington Times
http://www.washingtontimes.com
Rat eradicator roots out vile varmints
By Gary Emerling
THE WASHINGTON TIMES
Published April 27, 2006
Rat enthusiast Robert Corrigan yesterday paced an auditorium stage at
the National Zoo, talking excitedly about an animal that most find
revolting but he finds fascinating.
"I'm going to take you into the world of this animal in a big way,"
Mr. Corrigan said to his rapt audience. "You're going to know more
about rats and mice than the average pest controller on the street."
The 55-year-old vermin virtuoso -- who holds a doctorate in rodent
control from Purdue university -- was the keynote speaker and main draw
at the District's first Rodent Control Academy, an attempt by city
officials to coordinate agency efforts aimed at creating a rat-free
D.C.
Rat reports are "the No. 1 source of complaints in the office,"
said D.C. Department of Health Director Gregg A. Pane. "If you're not
united, these guys are smart and they know how to outwit us."
Whether the District has a rodent epidemic is debatable. The number
of rat complaints last year decreased by more than 20 percent since
2000, the year after Mayor Anthony A. XXXXXXXX held a rat-control
summit that led him to declare a citywide war on the rodents, according
to Department of Health statistics.
Still, evidence of the squealing and squeaking vermin still can be
found citywide, as burrows and droppings materialize seemingly
overnight in trash piles and along litter-lined alleyways.
The rats that have plagued the District are primarily Norway rats,
whose trail of tails stretches back to the Russia-Iran border. They
weigh about 12 to 16 ounces, average about 16 inches in length and can
carry potentially deadly diseases, Mr. Corrigan said.
Certain areas, such as the neighborhood surrounding Connecticut and
Calvert avenues in Northwest, often experience rat problems because of
a proliferation of restaurants and improperly stored food.
Sometimes, nearby construction can cause the rodents to emerge into
the open, health officials said.
"It could be perceived as when the construction started it created
this problem," said Gerard Brown, program manager for the Department of
Health's Rodent Control Division. "But nine times out of 10, the rats
are already there."
The first day of the three-day academy was attended by more than
100 D.C. and federal employees from such agencies as the Environmental
Protection Agency and the National Parks Service.
It is sponsored by the D.C. Department of Health and is modeled
after a similar one that featured Mr. Corrigan last year in New York
City.
The seminar's agenda reads like the syllabus for a college biology
course, with Mr. Corrigan acting more as the tenured professor than the
Pied Piper of Hamelin.
"Pest management is a science," said Mr. Corrigan, who once spent
months living with and studying the creatures in musty Indiana barns
and warehouses.
Sessions like "Rodent Ecology of a Residential Alleyway" and
"Norway Rat Burrows and Bait Applications" are punctuated by rat facts
that are fun (the rat uses its tail to control body temperature) and
fearsome (an estimated 15,000 to 20,000 people are bitten by rats each
year).
"There are cases of babies being admitted to hospitals with,
literally, holes in their faces," Mr. Corrigan said.
Mr. Corrigan relishes confirming and debunking common rat myths.
For example, rats will climb up toilets, he said, but they do not
blatantly attack humans. They are not blind, but can swim for three
days straight. When food is scarce, they readily feed on each other.
And there are absolutely no rats as big as cats.
"Although when they get frightened, they fluff up their fur," Mr.
Corrigan said.
The ultimate goal of the conference is for the District to adopt
the principles of the Integrated Pest Management philosophy, which
advocates coordination between pest controllers on both the District
and federal levels and between city agencies.
"This is an interagency approach, just getting everybody to realize
this is [everyone's] problem," Mr. Corrigan said.
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