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Matt Deodato uses the carbon monoxide method to suffocate mice with the help of a BurrowRX machine. (Photo: Insider)
JAKARTA – Rat attacks are giving New York City officials a headache. Finally they found a new way to kill effectively.
“This method shows impressive eradication rates. “Almost 100 percent of tree holes use this method,” said New York City Council member Julie Menin, quoted from Gothamist, Friday (3/11/2023).
Menin said the strategy was first implemented in the East 86th Street corridor because of the high number of complaints from residents about rats in the area. The reasons include the large number of retail shops and abandoned rubbish.
Some reported that the city’s initial response, by setting up black poison bait boxes, was not successful. Some mice even moved into the box. Menin also allocated 10,000 US dollars or around Rp. 160 million to hire a pest exterminator.
Matt Deodato, owner of Urban Pest Management, known as “Matt the Rat Killer,” uses the carbon monoxide method to suffocate rats with the help of a machine called BurrowRX, which costs around 3,000 US dollars or Rp. 48 million. The carbon monoxide method is claimed to have killed thousands of rats in the whole city.
Some are thought to have emerged from their burrows and died on the road. “Only God knows how many are still underground, dead. So the number is quite high,” said Deodato.
Some rat researchers say city governments should focus more on human behavior, including improving waste methods. Deodato agreed that the community should make changes after his visit, including investing in better trash buckets and installing netting in places where rats hide.
MG/Athaya Ramadhan
(msf)