New York exterminators’ new weapon has eliminated nearly 100% of the rats from over 100 caves – and they’ve already identified their next targets

• New York officials have found a new effective way Kill rats.

• The strategy is to pump carbon monoxide directly into the rats’ burrows.

• Some Rat researcher have said the city should focus more on human behavior, including improving waste management.

New York officials have found a new way forward Kill rats It’s so effective that an entire population on one Upper East Side street was all but wiped out.

Council member Julie Menin recounted Gothamist This method has successfully eliminated over 100 rat burrows on a stretch of East 86th Street since the effort began last year. The strategy is to pump carbon monoxide directly into rat burrows located in tree beds on sidewalks.

“The method demonstrated an impressive eradication rate of nearly 100% in the tree pits where it was applied,” Menin’s office said in a press release, according to Gothamist.

Menin said the strategy was first used in the East 86th Street corridor because the area had received many complaints about rats, in part due to the high number of retail stores and abandoned trash.

“It was bad here, man,” said Ibrahim Asmal, a 53-year-old merchant who sells newspapers and candy on the street New York Daily News Earlier this year, he frequently added rats to his products. “When they come in, they bite things. And then you have to throw things out.”

The outlet reported that the city’s initial response of putting up black poison bait boxes didn’t work — some of the rats even wandered into the boxes. Eventually, Menin put up $10,000 to hire exterminator Matt Deodato, the president of Urban Pest Management who is dubbed “Matt the Rat Killer,” the outlet reported.

Deodato uses the carbon monoxide method to suffocate the rats using a machine called BurrowRX, which costs about $3,000.

Gothamist reported that Menin has since committed $30,000 to fund the carbon monoxide technique. “This is not the panacea that will solve all rat problems in New York City, but it is a very effective remedy for the tree pit problem,” she said. The program will be expanded to other areas where there are high levels of complaints, including the East 75th Street area between Second and Third Avenues.

After Mayor Eric Adams promised to address New York City’s rat problem, he appointed one Rat Czar earlier this year. In addition to the carbon monoxide method, the city has also tried spring traps, poisons and rat preventatives.

Some Rat researcher have said the city should focus more on human behavior, including improving waste disposal methods.

Menin’s office did not immediately respond to Insider’s request for comment.

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