Readers Respond to St. Clair Shores Not Pursuing Rat Bounty Program

St. Clair Shores will continue to address the rodent program in the city, but without the rat bounty program.

Mayor Kip Walby made the announcement during Monday's meeting that the city will not proceed the proposed $5 per rat program.

"We are not going to do it," said Walby, who did acknowledge the city received negative press since it was first proposed. "We did try to put it out there ... we know there is a rodent issue."

In the days following the announcement, the story was covered by a number of media outlets including Patch, The Drudge Report, WJBK-TV, Detroit Free Press, WJR-Radio and the San Francisco Chronicle.

"We are concerned about our employees handling the rodents, but we are also concerned about getting rid of (the rodents) and having St. Clair Shores not a place where rodents live," Walby added. 

Instead, the city will continue investigating using a cart-system with a 96- or 64-gallon trash cans along with continuing resident education efforts along with investigating and targeting neighborhoods.

City officials will also meet Thursday with the Department of Agriculture personnel, along with Eastpointe and Roseville officials, about pesticides and rodents control efforts.

"The goal here all along on that portion of the program was to help us identify areas of concern," said acting city manager Mike Smith. "What this has done has gotten people involved and contacting us."

Smith added that the among the efforts to educate the public include letting residents know that they can't leave dog waste in the backyard, not to leave plastic garbage bags in the yard and not to leave wood piled on the ground.

"People aren't doing this on purpose," Smith said.

Regional rodent problem

While residents in St. Clair Shores are concerned about rodents, the city is not alone in dealing with rats.

Ken Osborne, district manager for Rose Pest Solutions, has responded to calls in Grosse Pointe Farms and Shores, Roseville, Warren and Clinton Township.

"I think the rat population in general has been growing over the past five to 10 years," said Osborne, who attributes residents leaving food and water sources out to additional sewer for the increase in population. "It is a community effort to do what every the can do to eliminate being attractive to rodents."

Reader comments on the St. Clair Shores Facebook page:

• Linda Meike-Archibald: The radio stations were talking all about SCS rat bounty program. It made our city seem awful.
• Rachel Harrida Koos: Let's just try to get these garbage cans quickly!! The rat bounty would have done nothing to stop them.
• Gerald Donnelly: In Florida they can hunt pythons. Why can't we hunt rats.
• Deanna Denby Silverthorn: My friend who lives in Florida heard about the St. Clair Shores rat infestation in her local paper and on the news...it's national news!! Something's got to be done! I'm all for the new garbage cans and having my yard inspected and baited!
• Renee Satrun Ansell: I don't care what people think, as long as long as the rats leave!!!!
• Liz Forlini: Rat in bag didn't go over to well!
• Kim Rhoton I swear I thought this was a joke headline from "the Onion"
• Erin Beshke: I don't need $5 to kill a rat by my house. If I knew I had them I'd put out my own rat poison!
• John Brucia: Rat poison kills other animals, like dogs and squirrels
• Brian Carrick: Can't plink 'em with Airsoft, BBs or .177 pellets.
• Brooke Bauer: Have they considered a pied piper? I had not really heard of the SCS "rat attack" but sounds icky!
• Stacy Andiaris: I'm all for the pellet, bb gun idea!! I need to work on my aim anyways.
• Jill Spurlin Mostek: Glad the bounty idea was canned.
• Candice B. Rusie: I think we'll be investigating other proposals as well. I discussed a few ideas with the mayor today before the meeting I'm going to collect some details on. We definitely need a multi-pronged approach, and I think we'll be developing a few more prongs along the way.
• Amanda Livingston-Stephenson: It would be nice to get the big green waste management garbage cans!
• Anthony Caleca: If people would just take care of their yards, remove brush piles, pick up after their dogs, eliminate sources of water, place the garbage is a good can, and stop leaving food out for the birds maybe along with baiting we can get rid of the rats
• Jayne Urbas Jones: Good call Anthony, common sense solutions, plus get a city wide inspection, the proper garbage cans, and the bait in secure containers. This would all help tremendously.
• Jayne Urbas Jones: I did the contained bait in the summer, but if you don't get surrounding neighbors on board it's not gonna work!
• Jennifer Schmidt Mancuso: True story, this past summer I literally watched a possum walk across patio (about 2 ft from me), he goes under our BBQ with his creepy head peeking out then goes to the bush. I see the bush moving and the thing struts out with a rat in mouth. I'm frozen cause I didn't realize he was hunting this rat then he takes it under BBQ and I hear it actually eating the rat! So gross!

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