The city’s rodent control strategy is “unlikely to achieve long-term control of the rat population,” according to a new audit from the city’s inspector general.
A 32-page report — released Tuesday by the Chicago Office of Inspector General — analyzed the Department of Streets and Sanitation’s Bureau of Rodent Control from July 2023 to 2024. It found that the city’s programs focused on responding to individual 311 complaints, rather than preventing infestations before they start.
The audit also concluded that the city’s programs did not align with the principles of Integrated Pest Management, a pest control framework endorsed by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the Environmental Protection Agency and the Illinois Department of Public Health.
According to the report, the rodent control strategy was “complaint-based,” identifying rats on a “case-by-case basis” instead of proactively monitoring rat populations. Residents’ 311 calls were addressed in the order they were received, rather than by severity of conditions.
Rodent control programs were “not integrated with other City services,” the audit said, and the city lacked a “unified strategy for rodent control.”
Chicago is infamous for its rodent problem. For a decade, the city was crowned “America’s rattiest” by pest control company Orkin, based on the number of rodent treatments performed in the area.
The sanitation department has made changes to its rodent control plan since the inspector general’s investigation was completed two years ago, the report notes. According to a sanitation department spokesperson, the agency has increased outreach and created additional resources, including a team dedicated to clearing alleys of debris and overgrowth.
Kevin Smith, chief performance analyst with the inspector general, said the primary response to rat sightings was to apply poison to rat burrows. Because of the rodents’ high reproduction rate, pesticides do not control infestations in the long term.
“You will eliminate that generation of rats, but if you’re not eliminating those root causes, another generation of rats is going to come in and fill the void,” Smith said.
It’s like “you’re throwing money down the rat hole,” he added.
Poison can also harm birds of prey and urban mammals that feed on the rodents, according to the EPA. In Integrated Pest Management, pesticides are considered a last resort.
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The inspector general spoke to rodentology experts, officials from other cities and community groups to establish a set of policy recommendations, Smith said. The report suggested that the sanitation department adapt a new approach that includes surveying rat populations, establishing thresholds for intervention, prioritizing nontoxic interventions and providing rodent control training to other relevant city departments.
The oversight agency also recommended that the sanitation department establish a policy for using poison safely and turn to chemical control as a last resort.
Residents are advised to keep trash and dog waste in closed bins, remove debris from alleyways and keep pet food indoors, the report said.
“To be most efficient and effective with the resources that we have, you want to target it at the root causes,” Smith said.