Rat Education and Prevention at Mitchel Houses 

Mitchel Houses residents have officially joined the NYC Rat Pack and are now equipped with more knowledge about rats and how to prevent rats at their development.  

To officially join the NYC Rat Pack, participants must attend a NYC Health Department Rat Academy, join a rat walk, and participate in a rat mitigation event. NYCHA’s Pest Management Department (PMD) held a two-day event at Mitchel Houses on April 14 and 15. 

On day one, the NYC Health Department hosted its Rat Academy training, where residents learned about rat behavior, biology, and the impact human behavior has on the environment and rats. After the training, residents and staff joined NYC Citywide Director of Rodent Mitigation Kathy Corradi for a walk around the development to view active rat burrows and the work NYCHA staff has been doing to combat rats. 

On day two, PMD hosted a community day of action for residents and staff to help clean up trash around the development in support of a clean and rat-free environment. Veronica Corchado, Supervisor of the grounds snap trap team at Pest Management at NYCHA and a Mitchel Houses resident who attended the event, said, “When the Bronx stands together, rats don’t stand a chance!”  

“Reducing rats is a group effort,” said Josey Bartlett, NYCHA’s Vice President of Pest Management. “A good pesticide plan coupled with everyone putting their garbage in designated places where rats can’t feed on it, helps us reduce rat burrows, which is what we have seen at Mitchel Houses and NYCHA wide. There’s always more to do, but we appreciate everyone doing their part.”