Released July 13, 2007
WILMOT, Ark. - The City of Wilmot needs a benevolent Pied Piper.
The population of that sleepy Arkansas Delta town has declined over the last several years, as is typical in many of the state’s tiny rural areas. And as young people have moved away for job opportunities and older residents have passed away, more and more houses have been abandoned, their unkempt frames and overgrown yards welcoming rats at every turn.
Rats are a big enough problem, but where they have settled in, snakes have followed, more than happy to have a whole town full of nourishing meals at their disposal.
"I see snakes run over in the road," says Rosie Dunn, coordinator of the Wilmot Concerned Citizens group. "You see them everywhere - you see the rats, too - and I’m afraid that someone is going to get bitten. They’ll really have to watch out this summer. We’re worried about the safety of the young people, we’re worried about the safety of the elderly people …we’re worried about everybody’s safety."
Pied pipers are rare in this day and age, and Wilmot’s city leaders have sought help, instead, from the University of Arkansas Cooperative Extension Service.
"The snakes are after food - rats and other rodents - so we’ve told them if they can get rid of the rats the snakes will likely go away, too," says Fran Tomerlin, extension agent for Ashley and Chicot counties.
Tomerlin was invited to tour the city along with concerned residents, pointing out situations that might attract pests and outlining solutions to lessen Wilmot’s distress.
Leaving pet food outside all night encourages rats to stick around, so it’s best to put that away as soon as possible, says Tomerlin. Poison, she says, is an option, but one that must be use with care to protect pets and children.
"It can be placed under low houses, places where children and most pets can’t go," she says.
Most importantly, Tomerlin advised residents to clean up their property, clearing out underbrush, pruning shrubs and keeping their grass cut to no more than 2 inches high.
"That way, they can see the rats and snakes," she says. "They’ll have nowhere to hide."
The city’s 8-foot tall clusters of switch cane and out-of-control shrubs, many of which grow close to homes, are havens for rats, Tomerlin cautions.
Wilmot Mayor Archie Walker says he and other leaders are grateful for Tomerlin’s help.
"We’re encouraging people to clean up their own property, and we’ll send out notices to property owners whose property needs to be cleaned up," Walker says. "We have to mobilize citizens and get them involved."
Getting residents involved in the effort has proven challenging, he says. Turnout at ongoing public meetings on the issue has traditionally been low.
Walker says, "I guess we will do it - and charge them for it - if they won’t do it themselves."
Dunn says a few key players have become active in the cause and she hopes they will spur others to do the same.
The area is depressed, however, and Walker and Dunn acknowledge that many residents don’t have the resources they might need to do the job themselves or the money they would need to pay someone else to do it for them. Some residents are elderly or in poor health, unable to do the kind of yard work required to rid the city of rats and snakes, and the young people in their families who might have performed those tasks for them have long since moved away.
The city doesn’t have any extra money to solve the problem, either, says Walker, whose wish list for city maintenance is comprehensive.
"We’re hoping for a mini-grant to help us clean up our town," says Dunn. "We’re trying to make our community a better place. We’re just looking for a helping hand."
For more information about ridding your property of pests, visit the extension's Web site, www.uaex.edu, or contact your county extension agent. The Cooperative Extension Service is part of the U of A Division of Agriculture.
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http://www.uaex.edu/news/july2007/0713rattlesnakes.htm
Contact: Lamar James, (501) 671-2187 or (501) 753-0207, ljames@uaex.edu
