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Rats! The rodents seem fond of Town
By John J. Hopkins Times
Rats. They're primarily associated with neighborhoods such as parts of Walden
Avenue, Pine Hill and Cedargrove Heights. However, a review of complaints logged
from throughout the town during the first six months of 2007 indicate that
virtually every neighborhood is prone to the rodents.
Cheektowaga listed 877 complaints between January 1 and June 30, 2007,
including 320 during the first three months and 557 in the year's second
quarter. These complaints are submitted to Erie County health officials.
The complaints were broken down into 17 neighborhoods by the town's
Neighborhood and Preservation Office. The 17 neighborhoods were established by
the town board in the mid-1990s as a supplement to its master plan. A map of
neighborhoods and breakdown of complaints
However, officials say that neighborhood figures indicate the problem is
spreading after appearing to be confined to the northwest quarter of Cheektowaga
for many years.
Managing Housing Inspector Larry Kensy said that the number of year-to-year
rodent complaints from neighborhoods north of Broadway and west of Union Road
are similar.
"It's been constant in the neighborhoods," Kensy said. But, "we're seeing a
considerable amount of complaints now in the William Street corridor. It's
gravitating southward."
Complaints from each neighborhood during the first six months of 2007 ranged
from fewer than ten in the Como Park Boulevard, Clinton, Vern and Losson
neighborhoods to more than 100 in the Cedargrove and Cleveland-Beach
neighborhoods. Complaints in Cleveland Hill topped the list at 222.
However, some of the numbers may be misleading. In some instances, dozens of
homes on single streets were on the department's rodent infestation complaint
log. Examples include Briarcliffe Road with 54 addresses listed, Merrymont Drive
(50), Ellen Drive (34), Century Road and South Roycroft Boulevard with 33 each.
Kensy said that if there were several complaints from one street, the
department issued letters to every residence on the street.
"I and the county feel that if a handful of people have that problem on their
street, chances are that everyone else has a problem on the street," Kensy said.
This happens when rats are forced to leave their familiar
surroundings to search for food and water during dry spells. Once the balance
has been restored, the vermin find their way home.
"The rodents sort of retreat back into neighborhoods when they feel a sense
of comfort," Kensy said. 'They're very ingenious creatures."
However, there's more to the hike in rodent complaints than climate. People
contribute to the problem with their actions including how they store their
garbage.
To counter this, the town has twice strengthened its sanitation ordinance in
an effort to eliminate food sources for rodents to help control the problem.
After its most recent adjustment to the ordinance, the town appointed two
sanitation code enforcement officers who travel along Cheektowaga streets and
notify residents who aren't obeying the code. After a warning, a resident who
continues to disobey the code faces a series of fines.
Much of the code reflects New York State's property maintenance code, which
requires tight-fitting lids on garbage cans.
Town officials discourage residents from leaving their garbage outside and
from feeding wildlife. Leaflets distributed by the town door-to-door and a
series of advertisements were used in previous years to educate the public on
the importance of tidy yards and proper garbage storage.
Still, there are some residents who menting with garbage totes.
Municipalities purchase the totes in bulk and distribute them to residences.
The Cheektowaga Town Board has resisted going to a tote system, citing the
costs involved. Besides the totes themselves, additional ones must be purchased
to replace those that break, and sanitation trucks must be equipped to lift the
totes, which are considerably bigger than a typical 40-gallon garbage can.
The City of Buffalo introduced totes several years ago to mediate its rodent
problem, and nearby communities have followed suit, including Amherst this year.
Kensy said he doesn't know if the new tote system in Amherst has contributed to
a hike in complaints in north Cheektowaga. "We'll have to see how Amherst is
doing," Kensy said.
Some residents believe that construction along Harlem Road may have
contributed to a hike in the number of rats in north Cheektowaga.
Kensy said that construction may be a slight factor, but he points to other
construction projects in recent years that did not appear to affect the rodent
population.
For example, residents blamed construction along Genesee Street between
Harlem Road and the New York State Thruway several years ago for a perceived
hike in rodent activity. Demolition of the former Westinghouse plant near the
Buffalo-Niagara International Airport was also blamed for a rodent infestation.
"If you look at maps from years past, you can see where the problems are,"
Kensy said about Genesee Street. As for Westinghouse "the building was baited
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