New York opens classes to wage war on critters

~ The instructor also debunks rodent myths, such as the one that New York rats are as big as cats.

NEW YORK -- By second period, the teacher is already maniacally waving his arms in the air.

But Bobby Corrigan isn't trying to get anyone's attention -- his students are already captivated by the creepy curriculum. He is demonstrating how rats have whisker-like hairs all over their bodies that enable them to sense and avoid some traps.

This is class at the New York City Rodent Control Academy.

The city created the school as part of its war on rats, enlisting Corrigan to teach city workers how to properly bait, trap and poison the rodents in ways that don't just drive an infestation down the block.

The critters scamper through subway tunnels, root through trash, dash across parks and burrow into the walls of apartment buildings. They can transmit disease, start fires by gnawing on electrical cords and sometimes bite.

"There's no question that we have a rat problem ... the city has put out traps and poison at record rates," Mayor Michael Bloomberg said in September while outlining the city's yearly report card, which showed a dramatic increase in rat complaints.

To lead the academy, the city tapped Corrigan, a Brooklyn native who once spent months living in a rat-infested barn to better study the rodents' behavior. He occasionally yelps in excitement, especially while debunking rat myths.

For starters: the city's rodents are not "as big as cats."

The biggest rat weighs about a pound and three ounces, he says. Other widely believed, but false, rat trivia include: They don't urinate uncontrollably, they're not blind and there aren't legions of them below the city. Most are at ground level or living in walls and ceilings. In extreme cases, rats have been found nesting in beds, chairs and couches.

Rats are not made up of a soft skeleton that lets them squeeze through small holes. They only need a half-inch opening, but that's because they're flexible.

Safety in shadows

As for those who are terrified of a rat running up a pant leg, that's not exactly unfounded. A rat confronted by a human will look for somewhere to hide, and a shadow cast by a cuff looks mighty safe.

"They'll head for the shadow thinking it's a hole, and up the leg they'll go," Corrigan said.

And the saying that there's a rat for every one of New York's eight million residents? Not true. Corrigan says there's no way to know how many rats live in the city, only that there's "no shortage of them."

The infestation is exacerbated by bureaucracy, because one report of a rat usually requires the attention of several city agencies. For example, a complaint about rats overtaking the corner of the park would involve the parks department. But if it's near a subway line, the transportation department is involved. Nearby restaurants mean the health department might weigh in. The list goes on.

Any agency that deals with rats is sending its employees to the rat academy, which is funded by a $600,000 grant from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. One of the most important lessons they learn: to control rats you have to control their food supply.

"When people say 'How do I get rid of rats?' the first thing I always say is, 'Tell me what they're eating,"' Corrigan said. "I don't say, 'Oh here's the poison."'

Poison and traps play an important role in the rat war, and the academy dedicates several sessions on their use.

Corrigan recommends setting previously used traps because the pheromones make rats more likely to approach them. Students also learn to mimic Mother Nature by scattering bait pellets in a burrow -- like seeds, berries or nuts blown by the wind.

"I've learned a lot -- he's giving us different avenues and better knowledge to apply to what we already know," said Jairo Matos, a student who does pest control for the New York City Housing Authority.

Says Corrigan: "When you're done with this academy, you're going to walk down a New York City street and see everything differently."