In 2008, the Marion County Health Department’s Rodent Control program received 2,478 calls or complaints about rats and mice. In addition, the health department’s housing inspectors referred an additional 47 complaints. Rodent Control technicians completed 9,117 baitings in 2008. They also conducted 6,592 rechecks.
Rat and mice complaints come from every area of the county. In 2008, the highest number of complaints came from the northeast section of the county.Rats are attracted to food sources that can include garbage, bird feed, dog food, dog and cat manure. Rats also need water, so water in dog bowls, leaky pipes, creeks, pools or any other source of water attracts rodents. Rats also need shelter and find it in junk cars, unsecured garages and sheds. Lumber on the ground, piles of tree limbs, old furniture left outside also can provide adequate shelter.
Reducing or eliminating sources of food, water and shelter for rats goes a long way in discouraging them from residing in populated areas.
Another challenge with rats is their adaptability and ability to quickly reproduce.Rats can live in all kinds of climate and environmental changes. Rats can eat almost anything to live. Dog food, cat food, manure of any kind, grain, garbage, vegetables, bird feed and seeds Rats reproduce at a high rate [8-12 per litter]. They can breed and have [babies] litter in an average of 28 days.
To report rodent concerns, contact the Marion County Health Department at 221-7588.
High School Students Gain Insight With Future Promises Program
Being a teenager is hard enough on its own. Being pregnant and a teenage parent can be overwhelming.
Health and Hospital Corporation’s Future Promises program is one school-based resource that can offer support, stability and success for pregnant and parenting Marion County high school students.
Warren Central, Pike and North Central high schools participate in the Future Promises program.
Students enrolled in Future Promises this semester are in the process of gaining insight from someone who has walked in their shoes. Nicole Lewis, author of “Glori,” uses her life experiences as a teenage mom, being homeless, experiencing poverty, oppressive relationships, drugs, violence and isolation, to show how working hard can lead to success.
Now an author, speaker, wife and mother, Lewis will be in Indianapolis next month to work with local Future Promises program participants. “Our students are reading the book, loving the book and are excited to have the author here,” said Wanda Spann Roddy, director, Future Promises. “The opportunity for our girls to hear from someone who knows what it is like to be scared, alone, frustrated and all of the other feelings they have is exciting for all of us because she has been so successful,” said Spann Roddy.
The author is scheduled to return to Indianapolis and serve as the keynote speaker for the Future Promises graduation ceremony.
