Cubes of green, EPA-certified bait are skewered onto long wires and carefully hung from the front grill of storm drains.

"I see rats daily…they're just everywhere," said Claudette, a resident of New Orleans' upper ninth ward.

In one day alone, teams walked more than 277 city blocks and baited 1,441 drains.

Within an hour, the 22-year-old from Omaha, Nebraska, along with more than 30 other Rat Buster volunteers were doing just that – planting cubed-sized portions of rat bait in storm drains throughout the city to help suppress a fast-growing rodent population.

In the months since Katrina hit, abandoned homes and mounds of garbage have created a "super-sized buffet" for rats and growing health and safety concerns for residents.

"I see rats daily…they're just everywhere," said Claudette, a resident of New Orleans' upper ninth ward. "If you come here at night, they are sittin' on the porch – like they pay rent and own the house or whatever."

In a city where there is already a fractured health care system, controlling the rodent population and the potential spread of disease is critical, explains Jody Herrington, U.S. director of disaster relief for Operation Blessing.

This week OBI launched their Rat Busters program in partnership with the City of New Orleans Mosquito and Termite Control Board to provide a safe and efficient way to treat hot spots of high rodent populations throughout the city.

Using EPA-certified bait, volunteer teams skewer several cubes of it onto a long wire and carefully hook the wire around the front grill, hanging it just inside the curbside storm drains.

The bait, which has a bittering agent to keep other non-target animals away, is coated with a paraffin-like wax so that it is not easily dissolvable in water.

HOW YOU CAN HELP
You can help by making an online donation toward OBI's disaster relief efforts. With your support, we can continue to provide emergency relief and recovery. Please make an on-line donation today.

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