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Residents say 'aggressive' rats becoming a major nuisance
By John J. Hopkins Times
When Mary Jane Incardona saw her dog carrying a rat in its mouth last week, she immediately ordered her pet to drop the rodent. The dog complied, but she said that the rat then lunged at the dog's throat, biting down on its collar.
Incardona's neighbor observed the situation, and jumped the fence to help the dog. He pulled the rat off the dog, and killed the rodent.
Although the dog was not injured, Incardona paid $70 for a rabies shot. The incident left her rattled and angry.
"They are attacking. I'm no longer safe in my yard," Incardona, a Virginia Road resident, told the town board on Monday. "How soon before a child is attacked?"
John Marriott, a member of the Cheektowaga Planning Board, said that rats generally won't attack unless provoked.
After recent incidents in their neighborhood, Incardona and her neighbor don't agree with Marriott.
"They are no longer fearless," said Incardona. "I have spoken to people who have innocently walked by and rats are jumping up to them."
Incardona's complaint prompted a response from the board that it has used when addressing similar complaints: the board asked for help from residents.
Residents are reminded to comply with town sanitation codes, and they are also encouraged to report code offenders to the town.
"We can only address situations when we know it's happening," Councilmember Alice Magierski pointed out.
Supervisor James J. Jankowiak and Supervising Building and Plumbing Inspector Tom Adamczak noted that it only takes one resident within a several-block radius who is not complying with town sanitation codes to create a rodent problem.
Board members reminded residents that garbage must be stored in garbage cans with a lid until they are hauled to the curb for collection. At the curb, garbage must remain in the cans, but the lids may be removed to prevent them from blowing away.
Garbage should not be placed at the curb before 6 p.m. on the evening before sanitation collection.
Using only plastic bags to store garbage is against the law in New York State. The town recently passed an ordinance to strengthen its own sanitation codes.
Cheektowaga has two part-time employees who drive along daily sanitation routes looking for offenders of this portion of the code.
One of those employees is Debbie Kubiak, who said that more than 1,000 citations and warnings have been issued this year.
However, the manager of a Harlem Road apartment complex said that the citations won't do any good for a neighboring business that isn't following the town code.
"They'll just rip it up and throw it out," the man said.
Jankowiak noted that after two warnings, property owners who refuse to comply with the code will be fined.
Despite the state law and town code, Jankowiak said that he has received telephone calls from residents who have received the warning notices informing him that they don't plan to purchase garbage cans.
"They say, 'we're not changing from plastic bags because they're too convenient,'" Jankowiak said.
Adamczak said that the town has baited 200 homes for rats this year, and his department is awaiting permission slips to bait another 200. The town baited 626 homes in 2006.
"We're ahead of schedule," Adamczak added. "we'll probably hit 600 again this year."
Councilmember Thomas M. Johnson said that an exterminator is assisting with rodent control along "every inch of Harlem Road" while road reconstruction is ongoing.
However, a Cedargrove Heights resident said that baiting is inadequate along a stretch of Harlem between Maryvale Drive and the Buffalo Drive-In.
Johnson said he would contact the New York Department of Transportation to have the situation rectified.
Incardona and her neighbor said that the town's sanitation efforts to control the rodent population isn't enough. They want to see Cheektowaga use a garbage tote system similar to one used in the City of Buffalo and neighboring towns.
Jankowiak said that the $3 million start-up cost is prohibitive. He added that the additional costs of equipping sanitation trucks for the totes, plus repairing and replacing the totes provides an added expense that the town is not prepared to undertake.
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