The Skokie Health and Human Services Department (HHS) manages a comprehensive Rat Control Program that includes surveying properties, treating properties with rodenticide and public education. This summer, Skokie has seen an increase in rat activity and the Village is taking a number of added steps to address this problem head-on. These include sending additional Village staff members to the field to survey properties and mark rat burrows, increasing services from the Village’s contracted rat control contractor and training additional administrative staff to process incoming rat service requests and help answer resident’s questions.
Residents can help in addressing this issue by reporting observations of rats to the Village and making sure your properties are not attractive to rats. When rat service requests are received, the HHS Department sends a staff member to the property and/or areas where rats are observed to survey the properties and to treat properties where rat activity is found. When rat activity is found, rat burrows will be treated with rodenticide weekly, until the rats are eliminated.
To submit a service request for rats observed on your own property, click here.
To submit a service request for rats observed outside of your own property, click here.
Below is a list of things Skokie residents can take to make life more difficult for rats:
- Clean up. Garbage and clutter give rats a place to hide.
- Rats eat your garbage, so store all garbage in hard plastic rat-resistant containers with tight fitting lids. Any exposed garbage will attract rats.
- Keep landscaped areas around your property free of tall weeds and trim shrubs that are close to the ground.
- Check for cracks or holes in the foundation of your building, sidewalk and under doors and repair them by filling and/or sealing them.
- Do not feed birds or other wildlife.
Click here or contact the Village at 847/933-8254 call If you have any questions regarding the Village’s rat control program.