Mapping Rodent Complaints

Neil M. Casey, MS; Jack Smith; C. William Keck, MD, MPH

RODENT CONTROL is a responsibility of many local health departments. In 1998, 295 rodent complaints were phoned in to the Akron Health Department; of these, 166 were "justified." (A complaint of rat activity on private property was verified by a sanitarian inspection that revealed rat burrows, the property owner signed a bait release form giving the Department permission to bait the property, and the property was baited.) Repeat calls about the same address are not logged as new complaints.

Geographic mapping of private addresses with justified rodent complaints has helped the Department concentrate its efforts in areas where rodent problems are evident. Block-by-block surveys looking for conditions favorable to rodents and continuous baiting of sewers are carried out preferentially in neighborhoods generating verified complaints.

Mr. Casey, Mr. Smith, and Dr. Keck are with the Akron (OH) Health Department. Mr. Casey is Director, Health Data Management Division. Mr. Smith is Supervisor, Environmental Health Division. Dr. Keck is the Director of the Department.

Mr. Neil M. Casey

Mr. Jack Smith

Dr. C. William Keck

Public Health Reports 1999;114:361
This article reproduced with the permission of Oxford University Press.