Niagara Falls, N.Y. (WBEN) - Rats are increasingly becoming a problem for residents in the LaSalle neighborhood in the City of Niagara Falls.
LaSalle resident Stephanie Signorelli has been at the forefront fighting the rat infestation ever since her 11-and-half-year-old poodle, Fiona, died from leptospirosis. The disease, which can affect both humans and animals, is most commonly transmitted through direct contact with rodent urine.
Although there are vaccines for leptospirosis, Signorelli says her dog never received the vaccine because her vet advised her that she lives in a low-risk area, and that the vaccine can be harmful to smaller dogs.
"It must have been in the soil and we didn't realize. One week later, she's dead. It was traumatic to find out that my poodle, my house poodle, who doesn't need a leptospirosis vaccine, has contracted a rodent leptospirosis," stated Signorelli with WBEN. "I was mortified when I went to the emergency vet on New Year's Day, and was told, 'Well, you should have vaccinated her from this.' Well, I wasn't in a risk a high risk area."
Signorelli is concerned the Niagara County Health Department has not reached out to her about this issue and said that if a child were to come into contact with soil that is contaminated with leptospirosis, they could possibly die.
One LaSalle resident says that he's been dealing with the rats for years now and is tired of not being able to enjoy his backyard anymore. He explained that some of the rats are so large, they can easily be mistaken for opossums, and will frequently run away with the traps that he sets.
Although it's not uncommon for rats to be living in Niagara Falls, many residents are blaming the uptick on ReWorld (formally known as Covanta), a waste management company in Niagara Falls, and the garbage they're taking in from New York City.
Tracy Gilmore, the creator of the Facebook page "LaSalle residents against Rats," says she doesn't believe Reworld's claims that there isn't rat problem in their plant.
"They said they don't have a rat problem. I talked to somebody who worked there, and he said they hit the rats over the head with shovels and they pile them up. So they definitely have rats, whether they're telling anybody they do or not," said Gilmore in an interview with WBEN. "I don't know if they're the source of the problem, but I really wish someone would at least look into it and find out, because they are trucking in trains of garbage to burn."
Signorelli also doesn't believe Reworld, and thinks they should be providing the public with their findings each time an inspection is done.
"When this first became a big deal in 2013, Covanta paid Orkin and paid for two years, I believe, to get rid of the rats. Why would a company pay for something if they aren't liable? If they can prove that they're not liable, there should be no reason they should spend $150,000 or whatever a company of that magnitude would have to pay for Orkin services," Signorelli said. "That doesn't make sense to me. I've not seen concrete proof. If Covanta is not the source, then what's the source?"
Niagara Falls Mayor Robert Restaino and Niagara County Legislators Chris McKimmie and Chris Voccio will be holding a public forum at the LaSalle Public Library on Sept. 18 at 6 p.m. ET to discuss the ongoing rat infestation.
McKimmie explained that Reworld regularly has inspections for rats and has never once reported an issue to the County. Although he understands why people make the assumption about the plant, there isn't any evidence that suggests Reworld is the root cause.
"Rodents don't travel more than 300 feet from their food source. Because there have been complaints in other neighborhoods in the LaSalle area that are much further from the Covanta plant, it's obvious to us that that is not the sole problem, or a problem for the rodent issue in LaSalle. We firmly believe that it's the behavior of certain residents, " McKimmie told WBEN. "We need to try to educate them and provide guidance on how to make their properties less enticing for rats to nest and basically feed and breed."
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