Keeping Rats Away From Your Alley and Trash Cans
Rats need food, water and somewhere to hide. In a lot of Pittsburgh neighborhoods, the alley out back has all three. Cans, recycling, compost, bird feeders, and the gaps under garages and stoops give Norway rats everything they want.
You can't control the whole block. You can make your spot a lot less worth the trip.
Set-out times are rat rules too
The City of Pittsburgh has trash rules, and they happen to be good rat rules. Trash goes in a sturdy, watertight can of 35 gallons or less with a tight lid, or a leak-proof bag. Set it out no earlier than 6 p.m. the night before pickup. Bring the can back in by 10 p.m. on collection day.
Bags tossed on the ground, bags left out the morning after pickup, bags sitting out all week. That's a buffet. A rat goes through a plastic bag in seconds.
- Cans with tight lids. Replace the cracked ones.
- Out no earlier than 6 p.m. the night before
- Back in by 10 p.m. on collection day
- Rinse food containers before they go in recycling
Why one messy can draws the whole alley
A lot of city blocks were laid out with narrow alleys behind the houses, and that's where the trash, the garages and the back fences all meet. On the dense blocks of Lawrenceville and the South Side Flats, dozens of cans sit within a short run of each other. Add restaurant dumpsters and grease bins and rats eat well every night.
Old stone walls, busted pavement and the gaps under alley garages give them a place to hide right next to the food. So one bad can on the block can bring rats to the whole stretch. Restaurants share those alleys too. Lids left open, overflowing grease bins and boxes stacked by the back door all feed them. Business owners can ask about regular commercial service.
Redd up the yard and the garage
Look at your yard the way a rat would. Woodpiles, stacked lumber, piles of brick and overgrown corners by the alley fence are all good places to hide. Then check the alley garage and the back stoop. Garage door seals and corners with gaps, burrows under the stoop or porch, bird seed and grass seed in paper bags on the garage floor. Seed and pet food go in metal cans with lids. Gaps you can't close yourself are sealing work.
- Woodpiles up off the ground and away from the house
- A closed compost bin, not an open pile
- Fallen fruit and garden waste picked up
- Bird feeders down for a while if you've seen rats
- Pet bowls inside at night
311, the county, or a pest company
City of Pittsburgh residents can report outdoor rats, in an alley, on a vacant lot or on public property, through Pittsburgh 311, by phone or online. Outside the city, in boroughs like Millvale, complaints go to the Allegheny County Health Department. Those reports help when the problem is on property you don't control. If it's a neighbor's trash, try talking to them first.
Burrows in your own yard, rats by your foundation or any sign inside the house means it's time for a pro. Give us a call. Locked, tamper-resistant stations, burrow treatment and sealing the house are how it gets handled, and the page on yard rats walks through it. Don't put loose poison out in the alley or yard. It hurts pets, kids and wildlife. If they're already inside, ask about rats in the house at the same visit.
Questions We Get
If I clean up the trash, will the rats leave?
It helps a lot. Rats already living nearby may stick around if they've got shelter, so the burrows and gaps still need dealing with.