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Council urges proactive rodent-control strategy as DC Health pilots area treatments
Summary
Members pressed DC Health for more proactive rat abatement and enforcement powers; agency said current work is complaint‑based, response times for rodent complaints are generally under three days, and it will pilot repeated area treatments this spring and pursue regulatory changes to strengthen enforcement.
Council members raised persistent concerns about rodent infestations, secondary poisoning and emergency response timelines. Director Ayanna Bennett said the city’s rodent-control system is primarily complaint driven and typically responds within three days to rodent complaints for public spaces. The agency described plans for a spring pilot that will use repeated treatments (anticoagulants and sterilizers) and targeted depopulation in areas with concentrated complaints to evaluate whether proactive multi‑treatment campaigns reduce rodent generations.
Committee members pressed for better cross‑agency coordination—DPW, property owners and prosecutors—and for clearer enforcement levers to compel cleanup of private properties that create public‑space infestations. Bennett said DC Health lacks authority over many indoor housing hazards (mold, structural issues) but is drafting legislation and regulations to expand enforcement ability in the future. Environmental health staff described public education efforts on secondary poisoning risks and confirmation that field teams use integrated pest‑management practices to reduce non‑target harms.
Next steps: DC Health will pilot proactive area treatments in high‑complaint neighborhoods this spring, share pilot locations with council offices, and continue drafting statutory/regulatory changes to expand authority over indoor hazards that affect public health.
