Rodents used to rattle Insomnia Cookies’ location on Sherman Avenue. The pests prowled the alley neighboring the store, preying on spilled garbage and gnawing through dumpster lids.
The problem persisted until Evanston implemented a cascade of measures spanning from 2022 to 2024, which included bringing rodent control in-house, conducting ward “rat walks” to educate residents, creating a “Rodent Control Academy” and injecting carbon dioxide as a method to eradicate burrows.
Since the introduction of these measures, Insomnia’s store operations manager Laura Dundas said she has noticed significantly fewer rats in the alley.
“You don’t see overflowing receptacles anymore downtown,” she said.
The status of rodents continued to improve over the summer, when Dundas said the city and its partners increased garbage collection near her store.
The other businesses located on the block, once deemed the “rattiest” in the city, have been more vigilant about securing their trash since the city cleaned up the alley, Dundas said.
“I’m impressed with Evanston and what they’ve done,” she said. “Paving that alley and cleaning it was a great step.”
In addition to the city’s efforts, Downtown Evanston — which aims to grow the business district’s economy — has installed mesh around planters to prevent stubborn rodents from burrowing in the soil.
The organization subcontracts its rodent abatement to BrightView Landscaping and collects trash from downtown garbage bins and picks up litter, which could otherwise attract ravenous rats.
“For the health and safety of people visiting and residents, (rats) are not the look you’re going for,” Director of Marketing Laura Brown said. “Personally, I think the city does a great job cleaning up.”
After the city took control of its rodent abatement, rat sightings and response times decreased, Evanston Director of Health and Human Services Ike Ogbo said in an email to The Daily. The city hired a full-time environmental health technician, Donald Key, to monitor bait traps and other measures around the city.
Though rat activity decreases in the winter, according to Ogbo, the city’s rodent operations persist.
“We are consistently working in the [downtown] area, including other areas of Evanston, to employ our strategies in controlling the rat populations,” Ogbo told The Daily.
In November 2024, City Council approved the $163,000 purchase of 51 downtown rodent-resistant trash and recycling stations.
Ogbo said the city’s bait boxes have been effective at controlling the rat population. The city prioritizes areas for intervention based on residents’ 311 service requests.
“We track the number of closed complaints, response times, effective treatment strategies and less rat activity as measures of success,” Ogbo wrote in an email.
Ogbo said there was no significant increase in the city’s rat population between 2019 and 2022, followed by a slight increase in 2023 and 2024.
Still, Dundas said she has experienced the positive outcomes of the city’s enhanced rodent control efforts. She added that the city consistently communicated its efforts to business owners.
Despite the recent triumphs downtown, the broader trends in the city’s rat population suggest the furry critters will prove unyielding for years to come.
“I think it’s just a few minor steps that lead to improvement,” Dundas said. “If the city gets better feedback from people about what’s going on, I hope they continue with that. I think that’s a good sign.”
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