The City May Have Found A Humane, Poison-Free Way To Kill Rodents
By Stephen Gossett in News on Sep 20, 2016 7:26PM
Chicago and its citizens have tried just about everything to combat the ubiquitous rodents that have made us America’s “rattiest city,” ranging from coyotes to feral cats. The latest method is less furry but potentially more effective and as humane: dry ice.
A new pilot program was announced Tuesday that will use solid CO2 in the battle against the hordes hated vermin. Here’s how it works: DSS crews drop a spoonful of the chemical into a rat’s nest and covers the top; and the released carbon dioxide does the rest. According to a press release from the city, the dry-ice method showed improvements of greater than 60 percent in initial studies.
Although not without opposition, the method is considered one of the more humane options for killing rodents, the idea being that since the release of carbon dioxide quickly makes the rat lose unconsciousness, his impending death is made more painless, if not exactly pleasant.
“This pilot program is one more way we are working to improve our neighborhoods and the quality of life for all Chicagoans,” Mayor Rahm Emanuel said in a press release that I immediately forwarded to my landlord because this shit with rats in the garage is getting out of control already. “Investments in our city services are the cornerstones that help make our communities stronger and move the City of Chicago forward.”
As long as weather cooperates, the program will run through the fall, then the Bureau of Rodent Control will determine the pilot's effectiveness next spring. It will target several parks and include "planter boxes" along portions of five major city streets—Wabash, State, Chicago, Fairbanks and Superior.
Lets hope this works because we're tired of living like this: