Recently, a Highland Park resident posted a plea to fellow residents to be diligent about keeping trash stowed carefully, not feeding squirrels, etc. because of their concern over animals recently in their trash. I would like to build on this. There seems to be a recent surge in the rodent population, particularly rats, in Highland Park. Rats have been seen in broad daylight feeding in trees (they climb; who knew?) at bird feeders and on fallen fruit from neighborhood fruit trees. To have rats feeding in daylight is an indicator of the size of the infestation because rats are usually nocturnal eaters. Some of us have resorted to professional exterminators to place bait boxes in an effort to reduce the populations we are seeing in and around our yards. (If anyone would like the name of the exterminator we used, I'd be happy to respond to e-mail requests). That being said, to control rodent populations in an urban setting requires all of us to be more diligent. It means not leaving bird feeders in trees where the seed easily falls to the ground or is easily accessible through large holes to rodents (I was guilty -- I've now taken these down). It means keeping garbage carefully stowed until trash day. It means cleaning up after your dog because when desperate, rats feed on dog feces. It means keeping any feed for live poultry cleaned up off the ground and stored in covered containers. There are more hints on what to do in this article from the State of Indiana that I stumbled across on line. http://www.in.gov/isdh/23256.htm Thanks for your consideration.