http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/c/a/2007/07/11/MNGFVQUHBU1.DTL&tsp=1
The rank, bacteria-laden garbage piling up in East Bay neighborhoods draws the houseflies first. They'll be followed by ants and cockroaches and other things that crawl and eventually everyone's favorite urban pest: rats.
In a few weeks, should the garbage workers' lockout by Waste Management in Oakland and nearby cities continue, a serious public health risk could emerge, say entomologists and other experts in pest-borne diseases.
But with full trash bins on the street in some neighborhoods for well over a week now, the flies are already circling -- and laying eggs, hundreds at a time.
"The fly problem can quickly get out of control," said Steve Heydon, senior scientist at Bohart Museum of Entomology at UC Davis. "It's not that they're gross and nasty, it's that they'll transfer diseases from somewhere else. Even a short garbage strike can be kind of a problem."
Flies are the biggest concern because they are the first pests to arrive at the yummy buffet of rotting refuse. They're also the fastest breeders, unleashing a whole new generation in just a week to 10 days, depending on the weather. The hotter it gets, the faster they reproduce.
Flies spread diseases such as salmonella by transporting bacteria from garbage to kitchen countertops or the dinner table. The bacteria from one fly probably wouldn't be enough to sicken somebody, but a lot of flies could.
"Especially with flies, once things start to putrefy in the garbage, you get this mold and bacteria, and they get this crud on their feet, and then maybe they'll land on your hamburger when you're having a barbecue," said Daniel Wilson, community relations coordinator for the Alameda County Vector Control Services District.
On Prentiss Place off Fruitvale Avenue in Oakland, Quintin Finley pointed Tuesday to an overflowing Dumpster at his apartment complex, filled with watermelon rinds and rotten animal bones left over from a Fourth of July barbecue. No garbage truck came by on the Thursday pickup date last week.
"I'm completely shocked by this," Finley said. "Last week with all the parties was one of the biggest trash days of the year, and they just let it all sit here. After four or five days, it really starts to stink. This can't be healthy -- look at all these flies!"
Cockroaches also can spread bacteria, in much the same way that flies do, but they're limited by how far they can crawl. Ants don't really cause much of a health risk, but they're pretty disgusting anyway.
Pests could become a problem after garbage has piled up for more than a week or two. Oakland residents have already reported raccoons and stray pets digging through their garbage and spreading it around the neighborhood, but the animals don't cause much of a health hazard and don't usually breed more when there's more food available, said James Schmerker, owner of Animal Damage Control, an Alameda County company that helps remove wild animals.
The rat population would begin to build up only after several weeks of garbage pileup, and that could present a health problem. The most common rat species in the East Bay are the roof rat and the Norway rat, both of which could be drawn to too much garbage in a lingering lockout.
It's not the rats themselves that usually cause the problem but the fleas they carry, which can transmit diseases to humans. No one expects the next bubonic plague epidemic. But rats and their fleas can transmit typhus, a bacterial fever, and hantavirus, a pulmonary syndrome, though both diseases are rare.
"There's a long list of rat-borne diseases, but since we have good sanitation, we haven't seen that in our area. But there's always the potential for a resurgence," Wilson said. "Rats can spread these pathogens, and if there's a big population they're more likely to come into your home.
"What happens with rats is they kind of go along with the food supply. If there's a lot of food available, you're going to have a bumper crop of rats reproducing."
Public health and entomology experts said that while residents wait for regular garbage pickup to resume, they can try to keep their neighborhood as clean and pest-free as possible by making sure their trash is kept secure and out of direct sunlight.
They also can try to reduce the amount of garbage they create and take the usual precautions in the kitchen by keeping meat in the refrigerator and cooking it thoroughly.
But mostly, people should just follow their noses, said Charles Carlson, director of life sciences at the Exploratorium.
"Unless you ingest your garbage, you're probably fine," Carlson said. "And your sense of smell should be telling you it's repulsive and to stay away. I wouldn't play in it."
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Protect garbage from pests
-- Make sure trash bins are in good shape, with sturdy lids and no holes.
-- Buy new trash bins to hold extra garbage instead of leaving bags on the street for animals to dig through.
-- Attach loose lids with bungee cords to keep raccoons from spreading trash around the neighborhood.
-- Keep trash bins in the garage or, if not possible, in a cool, shady place outside.
-- Consider starting a compost pile for plant waste.
The rank, bacteria-laden garbage piling up in East Bay neighborhoods draws the houseflies first. They'll be followed by ants and cockroaches and other things that crawl and eventually everyone's favorite urban pest: rats.
In a few weeks, should the garbage workers' lockout by Waste Management in Oakland and nearby cities continue, a serious public health risk could emerge, say entomologists and other experts in pest-borne diseases.
But with full trash bins on the street in some neighborhoods for well over a week now, the flies are already circling -- and laying eggs, hundreds at a time.
"The fly problem can quickly get out of control," said Steve Heydon, senior scientist at Bohart Museum of Entomology at UC Davis. "It's not that they're gross and nasty, it's that they'll transfer diseases from somewhere else. Even a short garbage strike can be kind of a problem."
Flies are the biggest concern because they are the first pests to arrive at the yummy buffet of rotting refuse. They're also the fastest breeders, unleashing a whole new generation in just a week to 10 days, depending on the weather. The hotter it gets, the faster they reproduce.
Flies spread diseases such as salmonella by transporting bacteria from garbage to kitchen countertops or the dinner table. The bacteria from one fly probably wouldn't be enough to sicken somebody, but a lot of flies could.
"Especially with flies, once things start to putrefy in the garbage, you get this mold and bacteria, and they get this crud on their feet, and then maybe they'll land on your hamburger when you're having a barbecue," said Daniel Wilson, community relations coordinator for the Alameda County Vector Control Services District.
On Prentiss Place off Fruitvale Avenue in Oakland, Quintin Finley pointed Tuesday to an overflowing Dumpster at his apartment complex, filled with watermelon rinds and rotten animal bones left over from a Fourth of July barbecue. No garbage truck came by on the Thursday pickup date last week.
"I'm completely shocked by this," Finley said. "Last week with all the parties was one of the biggest trash days of the year, and they just let it all sit here. After four or five days, it really starts to stink. This can't be healthy -- look at all these flies!"
Cockroaches also can spread bacteria, in much the same way that flies do, but they're limited by how far they can crawl. Ants don't really cause much of a health risk, but they're pretty disgusting anyway.
Pests could become a problem after garbage has piled up for more than a week or two. Oakland residents have already reported raccoons and stray pets digging through their garbage and spreading it around the neighborhood, but the animals don't cause much of a health hazard and don't usually breed more when there's more food available, said James Schmerker, owner of Animal Damage Control, an Alameda County company that helps remove wild animals.
The rat population would begin to build up only after several weeks of garbage pileup, and that could present a health problem. The most common rat species in the East Bay are the roof rat and the Norway rat, both of which could be drawn to too much garbage in a lingering lockout.
It's not the rats themselves that usually cause the problem but the fleas they carry, which can transmit diseases to humans. No one expects the next bubonic plague epidemic. But rats and their fleas can transmit typhus, a bacterial fever, and hantavirus, a pulmonary syndrome, though both diseases are rare.
"There's a long list of rat-borne diseases, but since we have good sanitation, we haven't seen that in our area. But there's always the potential for a resurgence," Wilson said. "Rats can spread these pathogens, and if there's a big population they're more likely to come into your home.
"What happens with rats is they kind of go along with the food supply. If there's a lot of food available, you're going to have a bumper crop of rats reproducing."
Public health and entomology experts said that while residents wait for regular garbage pickup to resume, they can try to keep their neighborhood as clean and pest-free as possible by making sure their trash is kept secure and out of direct sunlight.
They also can try to reduce the amount of garbage they create and take the usual precautions in the kitchen by keeping meat in the refrigerator and cooking it thoroughly.
But mostly, people should just follow their noses, said Charles Carlson, director of life sciences at the Exploratorium.
"Unless you ingest your garbage, you're probably fine," Carlson said. "And your sense of smell should be telling you it's repulsive and to stay away. I wouldn't play in it."
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Protect garbage from pests
-- Make sure trash bins are in good shape, with sturdy lids and no holes.
-- Buy new trash bins to hold extra garbage instead of leaving bags on the street for animals to dig through.
-- Attach loose lids with bungee cords to keep raccoons from spreading trash around the neighborhood.
-- Keep trash bins in the garage or, if not possible, in a cool, shady place outside.
-- Consider starting a compost pile for plant waste.
