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Vice Mayor Greg Stanton's
Arcadia News Column
March 2004
The headline in the Arizona Republic (Jan. 17) said it all – “ Arcadia model for shooing roof rats.” This headline demonstrates what we all know in our community -- Arcadia did an exemplary job in the fight to control roof rats. And, since the rats arrived, citrus trees are picked, yards are trimmed and neighbors have been brought together like never before .
Now that the rats have appeared outside Phoenix , Arcadia 's proactive model is being closely copied by other Valley cities. As your councilman, I am proud that our hard work and collaboration has been successful, not only to get rid of rats, but to provide a model for other cities to help them control the problem.
Through a partnership with Maricopa County , the city of Scottsdale and our own aggressive Neighbor to Neighbor campaign formed by Barry and Joan Paceley, we have learned that regular removal of food sources and overgrown vegetation are the most effective way to curtail individual property infestations. Providing education to our community has been highly effective as well, through public meetings, block watch meetings, Web sites, mailings and news stories.
When the rats arrived in 2001, some suggested that the city shouldn't have gotten involved – that it was a county issue. I have said from the beginning that when it comes to our community we all have to come together. This is the perfect example of how our partnership with the county and state resulted in a positive outcome which exceeded my expectations.
As part of the plan, the city provided extra roll-off bins throughout the affected neighborhoods to collect citrus tree trimmings and fruit. The Public Works Department dedicated an extra trash collection crew to the area full-time, running daily for a period of time, to collect alley containers used to collect fruit. The city also provided bins for organized neighborhood cleanups.
The highly organized efforts of Barry and Joan Paceley have been invaluable. Their mission is to serve our neighbors, donate quality fruit and eradicate roof rats. They have successfully met their campaign goals and continue their work for the benefit of the community.
Paceley says that it's almost impossible to get rid of roof rats on a community scale, but if you follow these easy steps to rat-proof your house, you can successfully keep the rats away from your own property:
- • Keep garbage containers tightly covered.
- • Store bulk foods in sealed, rat-proof container.
- • Do not leave pet food out, especially overnight.
- • Promptly pick up any fallen fruit from citrus trees, etc.
- • Harvest your citrus crops promptly and completely
If you have any questions about roof rats or any other issue, as always, please feel free to call my office at 602-262-7491, send an e-mail to greg.stanton@phoenix.gov or visit my Web site at
www.phoenix.gov/DISTRICT6. For more information about roof rats and the Arcadia campaign, visit
www.paceley.net/n2n.
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