Rat complaints multiply; extent of problem unclear

Rats roamed freely for months at three foreclosed properties on Piedmont Avenue in Atlanta, a nuisance to neighbors and potential carriers of disease.

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Brown rat (Rattus norvegicus)

SPOTLIGHT: BY ALISON YOUNG

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Fulton County inspectors began issuing citations for rat infestation in September, records show. But the problem persisted. Now a representative of BB&T, the bank that is responsible for the properties, has been summoned to appear in magistrate court Monday.

BB&T spokeswoman

A.-C. McGraw said bank officials have been working with contractors to exterminate the rats and make structural repairs to keep them out.

The properties are among hundreds in Fulton and DeKalb counties that were the subject of rat complaints to regulators in 2008, according to records obtained under the Georgia Open Records Act and interviews.

How much of an issue are rats in metro Atlanta, particularly in urban neighborhoods? Nobody knows.

Due to tight budgets, local health departments — like those in many other cities — haven’t done federally recommended comprehensive rat surveys in many years. Such surveys identify areas with rat infestations, determine their causes and develop plans for eliminating them before they become a significant problem.

In 1980, Atlanta and DeKalb County were among 68 U.S. communities in federally funded urban rat control programs that targeted infested blocks. From July to September 1980, Atlanta targeted 721 blocks; DeKalb targeted 334 blocks, according to a report at the time.

County health officials, pointing to recent drops in the number of rat complaints they receive, said they don’t think Atlanta has a significant problem. Yet some private extermination companies say they’ve seen a dramatic increase in calls, especially with tree rats that invade attics.

Not only is nobody counting rats, experts said, rat-borne diseases regularly go undetected and unreported.

“Nobody’s looking for them,” said Greg Glass, a professor at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health in Baltimore, who has spent years studying rats and the diseases they carry. “It’s not very sexy, I’m afraid.”

Examining Norway rats caught in Baltimore neighborhoods, Glass and colleagues found many of them carried diseases that present a significant public health concern. Among the issues they reported in a 2007 journal article:

• Nearly 58 percent of the rats they studied had antibodies to Seoul virus, which can cause fever, nausea and kidney problems in people.

• 65 percent of rats showed evidence of Leptospira interrogans, bacteria that can infect humans mostly through cut or scraped skin making contact with rat urine or urine-contaminated water or damp soil. The bacteria cause leptospirosis, which can cause severe headache, fever of 102 or higher, nausea, muscle pain and fatigue. In rare cases, the disease can cause organ failure and death.

• 7 percent of the rats had evidence of Rickettsia typhi, which can be transmitted to humans by rat fleas and can cause a fever disease called murine typhus.

Because so many rat-borne diseases cause flulike symptoms — and tests aren’t performed — the diseases often are not diagnosed.

Leptospirosis is a prime example, Glass said.

While leptospirosis is thought to be most commonly found in tropical climates, tests on 1,150 patients who went to a Baltimore clinic for other reasons found 16 percent had been exposed to the bacteria. Another study found children in Detroit’s inner city were significantly more likely to have been exposed to the bacteria than suburban children.

In Georgia, there have been seven confirmed cases of leptospirosis since 1988, according to the Georgia Division of Public Health, which notes the disease is underdiagnosed. Compared with Baltimore, far less is known about Atlanta’s rats, which include roof rats in addition to Norway rats.

Corey Arnold, chief executive officer of Norcross-based Peachtree Pest Control, is among the local exterminators who told the AJC that the number of calls they receive about rat infestations is on the rise.

Reports of rat problems to county health departments are down 66 percent in Fulton and 41 percent in DeKalb, which cover Atlanta’s urban core.

“Our analysis of the 2008 rodent complaint data … does not support the assumption that we are experiencing a massive infestation,” nor a need to do a rat survey, said DeKalb Board of Health spokeswoman Vickie Elisa.

In Fulton County, officials said they did rat surveys into the 1980s — until budget cuts and attrition reduced available field staff from 17 people to a low of three about 10 years ago. The current staff of five keeps busy just responding to complaints.

“They’re [rats] everyplace. They can be in the finest areas of the county or the worst areas. They make no class distinction,” said John Gormley, Fulton County’s environmental health director.

Common complaints, he said, involve neighbors who attract rats by leaving out garbage or pet food. Construction that opens sewers can result in a flurry of complaints, he said, as can the demolition of buildings that aren’t exterminated first.

Debbie McCord, owner of the Shellmont Inn Bed and Breakfast on Piedmont Avenue, said she is grateful for the health department’s help dealing with rat problems at three nearby BB&T-owned properties that were formerly the Midtown Manor rooming house.

McCord said she and a health inspector found a dead roof rat near her fence last summer.

On Sept. 25, records show, a county inspector cited BB&T for rat control issues at the three properties: 785, 811 and 815 Piedmont. When an Oct. 7 deadline for exterminating and rat-proofing the buildings wasn’t met, the county in November ordered a bank representative to appear in court.

If Atlanta officials surveyed for rats, Glass said they’d likely find plenty of them. The rat population of Baltimore hadn’t been estimated in 50 years when a Johns Hopkins team did a 2004 survey. Despite improvements in city conditions, the study estimated Baltimore had roughly 48,000 rats — about what it had in 1952.

Yet over those years, rat control has fallen out of favor for government funding and attention — compared with bioterror agents such as anthrax. “I think rats are more important,” Glass said. “A whole lot more people suffer from those than suffer from anthrax exposure.”

* Includes reports of code violations and requests for rat bait or other assistance dealing with rats.

**About 95 percent of vermin complaints involve rats or mice, but they may also involve insects other than mosquitoes.

Sources: County health departments

RATS IN ATLANTA

Norway rat (Rattus norvegicus)

Aka: Sewer rat, brown rat.

Appearance: Stocky, weighing 7 to 18 ounces; blunt muzzle.

Range: Found throughout the United States.

Habitat: Usually lives in underground burrow and seldom travels more than 300 feet from its burrow to get food and water.

Roof rat (Rattus rattus)

Aka: Black rat or ship rat

Appearance: Sleek, weighing 5 to 10 ounces, with proportionally longer tails than Norway rats; pointed muzzle

Range: Found in the southeast United States, along the Pacific Coast and on the Hawaiian Islands. Prefers warmer climates.

Habitat: Often lives in trees and frequently enters buildings from the roof or along overhead utility lines.

Source: Internet Center for Wildlife Damage Management and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

WHAT YOU CAN DO

To keep rats away, experts recommend:

Eliminate food sources: Bird feeders and pet food attract rats by providing free meals. Make sure garbage is kept in closed containers.

Seal your house: Holes in foundations, vents without screens and gaps along the roof line can allow rats to find shelter in your home. All gaps must be closed or screened.

Beware demolition: Contractors are supposed to ensure rats are exterminated before a building is demolished. If they don’t, rats will invade nearby buildings.

GETTING HELP

Private extermination companies, for a fee, will trap rats and do repair work to seal entry points in a house. County environmental health officials will provide free assessment of rat problems, advice on rat-proofing, assistance with rat traps and poison bait. They also will investigate complaints about properties that harbor rats.

Fulton County Department of Health and Wellness: 404-730-1301

DeKalb County Board of Health: 404-508-7900

Cobb Public Health Center for Environmental Health: 770-435-7815

East Metro Health District, which covers Gwinnett, Newton and Rockdale counties: 770-339-4260

Got a tip?

The AJC wants to hear more about rats in metro Atlanta — both the furry kind that spread disease and the two-legged humans who rip off consumers and taxpayers. Do you know about rat problems? Tell us at 404-526-5041 or e-mail spotlight@ajc.com.