Chicago is known for many things, but being the “Rattiest City” in the United States for nine consecutive years isn’t exactly a badge of honor. To understand the city’s rat problem better, I visited the oldest pest management company in the U.S., Rose Pest Solutions, where I met Janelle Iaccino, affectionately known as “The Rat Lady” of Chicago.
Janelle, the Marketing Director at Rose Pest Solutions, has been with the company for nearly two decades. Her passion for rats extends beyond her job; she collaborates with the Peggy Notebaert Nature Museum on rat studies. Her enthusiasm for these creatures is evident, as she even sports rat-themed accessories.
Rose Pest Solutions has been around since 1860, and its history is fascinating. In the past, pest control involved selling arsenic for 15 cents to kill pests, excluding humans. Old advertisements showed housewives using large canisters to spray for bed bugs, a stark contrast to today’s more sophisticated methods.
Chicago’s rat problem is a community issue. It’s not just the responsibility of exterminators or city officials. Everyone plays a role in managing the rat population. Simple actions like cleaning up after pets and properly disposing of garbage can make a significant difference. Reporting rat sightings through the 3-1-1 app helps the city dispatch abatement teams efficiently.
Interestingly, feral cats are used in Chicago to control rat populations. These cats don’t necessarily eat the rats; their presence and scent deter rodents. Rodents have an exceptional sense of smell, and the scent of a predator’s urine can keep them at bay. This natural method of pest control is both fascinating and effective.
Rats thrive on human error, but they also support a complex ecosystem. They carry ticks, fleas, and over 32 viruses and bacteria, making them a public health threat. However, they also attract natural predators like hawks and owls, which helps maintain ecological balance.
During my visit, I had the opportunity to examine rat remains collected by Janelle. These remains provide valuable insights into the rat population and their habitats. The presence of rodenticide in their stomachs indicates how they were controlled, and examining them helps improve pest management strategies.
Modern pest control has come a long way. Today, everything is packaged and approved by the EPA, ensuring safety for both humans and pets. The use of landscape bait station rocks, which are weighted to prevent rats from carrying them away, is a common practice in Chicago.
Chicago’s rat problem is a complex issue that requires a collective effort to manage. By understanding the history of pest control, the role of nature, and the importance of community involvement, we can work towards a more balanced coexistence with these resilient creatures.
Join a virtual seminar with Janelle Iaccino, “The Rat Lady” of Chicago. Prepare questions about her work at Rose Pest Solutions and her collaboration with the Peggy Notebaert Nature Museum. This is your chance to gain firsthand insights into pest management and the unique challenges of controlling Chicago’s rat population.
Conduct a research project on the evolution of pest control methods from the 19th century to today. Focus on the transition from arsenic-based solutions to modern EPA-approved methods. Present your findings in a multimedia presentation, highlighting key innovations and their impact on public health and safety.
Participate in a workshop designed to educate the community about their role in managing the rat population. Develop strategies for effective waste management and pet care. Create informative materials that can be distributed to local residents, emphasizing the importance of reporting rat sightings through the 3-1-1 app.
Organize a field study to observe the role of feral cats in controlling rat populations in urban areas. Analyze how their presence affects rodent behavior and population dynamics. Document your observations and propose additional natural methods that could complement existing pest control strategies.
Conduct an analysis of the ecological impact of rats in urban environments. Examine their role in the ecosystem, including their interactions with predators like hawks and owls. Discuss the balance between controlling rat populations and maintaining ecological diversity, and present your conclusions in a detailed report.
Here’s a sanitized version of the provided YouTube transcript:
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There might still be some remains on this one. Does it still have remains on it? – Oh my gosh! – [laughing] Yes, oh my God! Ooh! – Whoa! – Wow. [bright upbeat music] How big are Chicago rats? I am about to go into the oldest pest management company in the United States. I’m excited to get some answers.
Hey! Hi! Yay, it’s good to see you! (both) Hi! – (Rob) Hey. – [Janelle laughing] How are you? – I’m good, how are you? We’re already filming. – Oh, good. – [all laughing] – [door creaking] – This is awesome. – Rob Scallon? – Yes. [laughing] (Janelle) Ooh, wow. I have been watching you for years, man. – Wow. – Holy crap, how you doing? – Oh my God. – But, I wasn’t expecting you. Emily asked, “Hey, do you wanna go pick up some rat remains?” I’m like, “Yeah, of course.” People are so excited about this.
I know. [laughing] I’m Janelle Iaccino, affectionately referred to as The Rat Lady in Chicago. [Emily laughing] My title for Rose Pest Solutions is Marketing Director, but it’s not just a job; it’s a lifestyle. We’re going on 19 years in April. – Wow, you are The Rat Lady. – I am The Rat Lady. Outside of Rose too, I’m very connected with the Peggy Notebaert Nature Museum, and I do a lot of rat studies there, and it’s never-ending fun. [laughing] Living and breathing rats. – Yup.
Are those rat jaws? So these are mink jaws, another voracious creature that I love. These are my rat earrings. (Janelle) I always match the flair with the outfit. You have to; it’s a whole thing. We are currently in one of our most historic offices. This has been here since I think the ’40s? I don’t know if you guys happened to catch the ghost mural on the side of the building. – [bell chiming] – Old-school Bug Man. He’s our little icon, and so is the taxidermied rat that gets dressed up in our storefront window. (Emily) I was noticing that when I walked by. – “We’re in the right place.” – That thing is ancient. That’s been here since the ’40s also. And every one of our branches has a taxidermied rat, the unofficial mascot. – [Emily laughing] There’s endless stories. The owner of my company, Robert Dold, a senior, okay, he’s about 85 years old now. – Wow. – At one point, he was saving rat pelts to make a coat for his wife who never agreed to wear such a thing, but– Like, on Christmas morning? – I know, right? – It’s like, “Hey honey.” The whole family’s gathered around— She’s like… And he’s like, “Put it on!” [everyone laughing] It never ended up happening because someone cleaned out the basement and threw away his collection, and he cried for days. – Oh no! – It was devastating for him. So it’s been a thing to like [laughing] repopulate his pelt collections— Oh my gosh. – So that we can make things out of them. I’m really excited that we can take a couple of these rats and turn them into what I’m hoping to be an epic diorama representing the rat environment in Chicago in 2023. I love it.
(Rob) How long has this company been around? Since 1860. I have old ads that sold boxes of arsenic for 15 cents. (Emily) Whew! (Janelle) And it listed all the things that it would kill, except for humans. – It’s fascinating– – That’s wild. Like how pest control has evolved over the years. I mean, I’ve got old ads back in the ’40s/’50s of housewives with these giant canisters spraying over their child’s crib. The baby’s like this in the crib, and they’re just, like, gassing for bed bugs like, – “No big deal, guys.” – [Emily and Rob laughing] Yeah, we have come a long way since then.
I am curious to know, what are you guys doing today? Because we know Chicago’s got a rat problem, – New York’s got a rat problem. – Right. They have all these connotations of being dirty, – disease carrying. – Yeah. (Emily) Like, the only solution is to eradicate them entirely. Is that feasible? It hasn’t happened yet, has it? How are we gonna live with ’em? Well, I think by raising awareness constantly. When I talk about rats, it’s a community effort. It’s not just the job of an exterminator; it’s not just the job of the city officials, although we love their generous budget that they put out. They’ve greatly increased their spend on that this year but it’s necessary. Nine years in a row for “Rattiest City”? Come on, we have better things to be proud of. Ooh. – Right? – I didn’t know that. – For us to beat New York– – Sick. Is just kind of like, “What?” But we have alleys; they don’t have alleys. We have a lot more places for rats to hide. And when they’re not feeding, they’re breeding. (Emily) Rats are living it up in Chicago. But that’s the thing, rats are one of those creatures that will thrive on human error. Every time you don’t pick up after your dog, you’re putting out a buffet for the rats. – Ew. – Every time you leave your garbage on your second-floor balcony instead of bringing it down to the dumpster, you’re inviting them on up. – Oh no. – So, it’s gotta be a collective effort. One of the most important things that I tell people is if you notice signs, use the 3-1-1 app, report it. Because that’s how the City dispatches their abatement team. Ooh, I didn’t think– The more concentration of reports in a certain area, that’s how they dispatch ’em. I thought 3-1-1 was just like call before you dig kinda thing. That’s JULIE, 8-1-1. – Oh man, I don’t know anything! – [Janelle and Rob laughing] I’m gonna be calling every number, 9-1-1, 4-1-1, being like, “We got rats, what do I do? – I need help.” – 3-1-1. [laughing]
I have a lotta cat lady friends. One of them used to work for the Tree House Humane Society. They rent feral cats to homeowners, residents in Chicago, to control rat populations too. And it’s not the cats that are eating them, they’re just urinating and marking a territory to ward their prey off– Ooh. Because rodents have an exceptional sense of smell. They actually have a nose inside their nose, – which is really fascinating. – Really? [laughing] But it’s like extra-sensory nose capabilities. And if they smell predatorial urine, they’re not gonna want to be in that area. You’re using captured feral cats– Yeah. Nature against nature, and I love that stuff. – Yeah. – But they’re rented out, like, you can’t get any more feral cats. Is there like a Blockbuster or library service, and you’re like, “I was really waiting for Mr. Whiskers, but he’s booked for the next three weeks?” And of course my like weird mind always goes to like, “Well if it’s cat urine, can we just get a bunch of it, – and then homeowners…” – Actually… – We got a lot at our house. – Yeah? If you’ve ever been inside of a Farm and Fleet, they sell coyote urine by the jug, which people have used for rabbit control in rural settings and things like that. – Yeah. – That would work too. Coyotes are making a comeback in Chicago. They are appearing more frequently along the lakefront paths. Between the rabbits, and the squirrels, and the rats, like it’s a smorgasbord. What I’m hearing is Chicago is like actually a really great place for wildlife. Yeah. Some of the things that I take personal interest in is like, okay, what are birds of prey patterns looking like? Because they are also natural predators of rodents. If there’s more rats, you’re gonna start seeing more Cooper’s hawks and more owls. – Ooh yeah. (Janelle) And that’s been happening. You have to find the source and curb the problem at the beginning of it, and that’s human behavior issues, it’s staff issues. If you have a restaurant, and you got people smoking cigarettes out the back with the door propped open– It’s like a whole behavioral thing. That’s why you hire a professional, too, is ’cause we go through all that stuff and teach them these things so that they’re aware of it.
I really wanna see some of these rats. Should we glove up and go check ’em out? – I think so. – (Rob) That’s why I’m here. Here’s my stack of rats that I’ve been collecting for you guys over the course of the last week. I thought these were just like a doorstop. These are nicely bagged with data, and they have all come from various locations. – Oh, okay. – (Rob) Oh boy. There’s weather information on there too. They’re all very intact. Because of sub-zero temperatures, we will often find intact rats just dead inside of our stations ’cause they’re trying to seek shelter out of the elements. It’s kind of a question, did it eat the rodenticide or did it just freeze? That’s up to you to find out when you dive in. When you open the stomach contents, if it’s turquoise, that means it got into the rodenticide. If it’s normal colored, it could have been snapped in a trap, which is how some of these other ones got captured too. Like usually it’s the back of the neck, so if there is skull damage, I apologize. I mean, the name of the channel is “The Brain Scoop.” Yeah, you’re right. So that is okay. There might still be remains on this one. Does it still have remains on it? – Oh my God! – [laughing] Yes, oh my God! Ooh! – Whoa! – Wow. (Janelle) So that’s the little gnarly one, but this is a juvenile– (Rob) Is that barbecue sauce? – Nope, definitely not. – [Emily laughing] How many parasites live on these things? You’re talking ticks, fleas, over 32 viruses and bacteria that they carry. Salmonella, E. coli are the ones we all know, all the other unpronounceable Latin names. I mean, you can look up the list on CDC if you want. This is why they’re a public health threat. It sucks because I love animals as much as the next guy, but this kind of animal is not the pet rat that you’re gonna buy in a pet store. I have no idea what this bag is gonna be like; I’m opening it. This is like unboxing, only– [Emily and Rob laughing] This is my version of unboxing. [laughing] “This is the Christmas present I got?” – “Thanks, Mom.” – Sometimes, it’s… Okay, so this is a bunch of trash, but guess who’s in here along with the trash? [Emily laughing] Oh man, hang on. – There he is. – (Emily) Oh man, there we go. (all) Whoa. Okay, so this turquoise color, that’s the rodenticide. This is the most humane rodenticide that is accessible to professional pest controllers, and it’s just meant to kill them very quickly so that they’re not contaminating other wildlife. Secondary poisoning is very much a concern, especially because we have a million customers with pets. So this guy is your average, I’d say. I mean, the ones that I’ve been catching lately have been between 10 and 15 inches tip to tail. – (Emily) Okay. – Which is intimidating. You’ve taxidermied rats before, right? No, I’ve never taxidermied a rat. Oh my gosh, the most satisfying thing about taxidermying a rat is the tail. Because once you get down there, it just slips right off. [Rob laughing] It’s like a straw, right, coming out of the rat? Yes. This thing totally has ticks on it. – There’s one right there. – Oh, yeah. – (Rob) Oh, gross. – (Emily) Oh, those are tiny. They’re teeny-tiny, like pinhole, but that’s what lives in rat burrows. – (Rob) Wow. – It’s such an ecosystem. It’s fascinating, like rats live off of our human error, but then look at all the things living on the rat. – Yeah. – It’s endless. And there always has to be a balance. And the balance is upset right now because these things are thriving. We’re not trying to wipe out a species in general with anything, but it’s important to keep everybody safe.
Yeah. I hadn’t thought of the ticks, that that would be part of it. Ticks has gotta be like my least favorite organism. – Ticks, yup. – Yeah. (Janelle) It’s creepy in an urban setting too. ‘Cause normally when you think of ticks, you’re like, “Oh, you’ve been out in a forest preserve,” or, “You’ve been hiking,” or whatever. No, they’re all over the city, in alleys too, because of these things. People are gonna be so itchy watching this. Is there one on your back? I’m not really sure, maybe go check. Are you gonna want this whole trash habitat? Yeah, yeah, why not? Because this is research for me. – I know, right? [laughing] – No, really. Becky Stern, my friend coming from New York with her own background on rat stuff, and we’re making this diorama. I want it to be as accurate as possible to their habitats. – Oh my goodness. I love the Taco Bell wrappers in here. Me and the rat have a similar diet. – Fourth meal. – Not a sponsor! Not a sponsor. But aw, if they wanted to sponsor any of my videos, Taco Bell, let me know. (Rob) There ya go, bud. – There you go, buddy. And I wanna come back out and show you guys this piece of equipment – because I think– – Oh yeah. – Ugh. – Let’s see. Sorry. [laughing] – Are you okay? – [Rob cringing] – (Janelle) Actually– – [coughing] I’m good. [Emily laughing] You need a minute? [Emily and Rob laughing] – (Rob) It’s the bar… – (Janelle) I can untarp it. I don’t know exactly how this used to work. Are you alright, Rob? – Sorry, yeah, I’m good. – Sorry, are you alright? – Did you just… – No, I’m good, – it’s just the barbecue sauce. – Oh yeah. Okay, let me go get a bag. (Emily) The thing about this is nobody put me up to this. Nobody was like, “Emily, I really wanna get your perspective on this.” I was looking for the person where I could source some rats, I picked this. – This is… – I chose this. [Rob laughing] Somehow uploading YouTube videos got us here, you know? I know. – There we go. – There you go. (Emily) That looks so much better now. (Cameraperson) Hey, bud. (Rob) Do you name them? Nope, I’m not that sentimental with these guys. Are there even that many names? The Taco Bell one, – I mean, you could really go– – Yeah. You could go like “Chalupa.” You gonna taxidermy Chalupa? “That one likes to party and eats Taco Bell”? Yeah. (Janelle) I wanted to show you some of the old equipment that we used to use. We have some old rodenticide mixers in our corporate office. Back in the ’60s and ’70s, they used to take a loaf of white bread, a jar of peanut butter, and a can of arsenic – [Emily and Janelle laughing] – And then that’s how they would kill the rats. (Emily) What is happening here? I am pretty sure this was a typewriter. (Rob) What did the typewriter have to do with killing rats? (Janelle) I have to look this up. (Emily) This is where you write the ransom note. This machine is what they used to use to mix up chemicals. It kinda looks like a bakery stand mixer. (Rob) And was arsenic used with this? (Janelle) I believe so. (Emily) So if we sampled the inside of that– (Janelle) Don’t lick it. That’s obviously obsolete. We don’t do any hand mixing in this facility, everything is packaged from our manufacturers which we work very closely with, and the EPA of course approves everything. (Emily) And this is a little– (Janelle) Yeah, there’s the mixer blade. (Rob) Ooh, right on. (Janelle) Anyone wanna make a rat cake? (Rob) Yeah. [Rob laughing] I mean, we got the ingredients. In the museum world, arsenic is used when they used to prepare the specimens too because it would keep all the pests out of the taxidermy. – Right. – Hmm. And then you would have these like museum people who wouldn’t retire until they’re like 110, and we always joke that the arsenic helped preserve them too. – Yeah. – Oh my gosh. All the formaldehyde in those things. What doesn’t kill you makes you stronger. Except for these guys. (Rob) Yeah, that just killed them. Go back in, and I wanna show you guys upstairs. (Janelle) These are the landscape bait station rocks, so– (Emily) Oh, I thought those were brains. – I don’t know why. – There’s no brains on these. (Rob) Oh, they’re heavy. – Yeah, there’s weights in ’em. – There’s a lot of rats in ’em? They come pre-ratted. All of our stations are weighted so that they don’t carry the station off if they get stuck in them, which has happened. I now bet I will start seeing these all over the place, now that I know to look for ’em. (Emily) Oh yeah, I see them everywhere, especially along like grocery stores, – like the perimeter of grocery stores. – Yes. (Janelle) These are the ones that we most commonly use, and our staff kind of pre-baits them
Rat – A rodent species often used in scientific research due to its biological and behavioral similarities to humans. – In the laboratory, the rat is frequently used as a model organism to study human diseases.
Pest – An organism that is considered harmful or a nuisance, particularly to crops, livestock, or the environment. – The introduction of natural predators can help reduce the pest population in agricultural fields.
Control – The regulation or management of a species or environmental factor to maintain ecological balance. – Effective pest control strategies are essential for sustainable agriculture.
Ecosystem – A biological community of interacting organisms and their physical environment. – The coral reef ecosystem supports a diverse range of marine life.
Community – A group of different species living together in a particular area, interacting with each other. – The forest community includes trees, shrubs, birds, insects, and mammals.
Management – The process of dealing with or controlling resources, species, or ecosystems to achieve specific conservation or sustainability goals. – Wildlife management practices are crucial for maintaining biodiversity in national parks.
Nature – The natural world, including plants, animals, landscapes, and other features and products of the earth, as opposed to humans or human creations. – Studying nature helps us understand the complex interactions within ecosystems.
Health – The state of being free from illness or injury, often used in the context of ecosystems to describe their stability and resilience. – The health of an ecosystem can be assessed by its biodiversity and the presence of indicator species.
Predators – Organisms that hunt and consume other organisms for food, playing a crucial role in maintaining ecological balance. – The reintroduction of wolves as predators in the park helped control the deer population.
Population – A group of individuals of the same species living in a particular geographic area, capable of interbreeding. – The population of the endangered species has been steadily increasing due to conservation efforts.
