Thursday, September 09, 2010

"Minty Fresh" Solution To New York City Rat Problem?

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Could mint-scented trash bags be a secret weapon in the fight against New York City's creepy rodent problem? This solution seems entirely too easy, but hey, where rats are concerned, the city needs all the help it can get.

I saw this Mint-X truck making a delivery to an office building in Downtown Office and checked their web site to find out more. Mint-X claims that their trash bags "smell great to humans and terrible to rats." They also claim that they are "100% safe effective after 7 days of continued use." Plus they are apparently EPA approved.


As everyone knows, New York City is crawling with rats. The creepy rodents are simply everywhere. And the problem seems to have gotten worse. Here in Carroll Gardens, we have not been spared. Take a walk down Smith Street or Court Street at dawn, and you will see rats dart from one side of the street to the other, from one heap of trash bags left outside by restaurants to the other. Since the Mint-X bags are meant to be used by themselves, without a trash bin, they sound ideal for New York City's eateries.

So, dear reader, what do you think? Is this an elegant solution to our dirty little rat problem or is the claim too good to be true?


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7 comments:

Anonymous said...

Mint is a known repellent for mice (I've used it to prevent them from getting into the house from outside), so I would guess it will work for rats, albeit in mega-doses!

Anonymous said...

While you can purchase powdered mint from garden supplies to deter small rodents, mints grow very easily in Carrol Gardens; it winter over very well. Just watch out for the root runners as it will easily spread through our sandy soil here.
So will we see a mint garden soon in some section of Carrol Park?

Katia said...

Not a bad idea. We did have a terrible rat infestation in Carroll Park a few years ago.

Mint does grow rather easily. I had to actually rip out huge clumps in my own garden this year. It had taken over one entire flower bed. Luckily, the roots come right out. By next year, it will have re-grown.
I dried the leaves to make tea. Delicious.

Anonymous said...

Maybe Boston's rat problem is not as bad as New York's but I don't like the bag at all. the smell is so overpowering & not like mint. My eyes & nose run from the smell & my hands welt from touching it.

Anonymous said...

Well I live in Brooklyn and used the bags. Not only is there a stench which they call mint, the bags all had holes in it. I can't say if it was rats for sure, maybe it was a raccoon or even a possum. Whatever it was, the bag didn't stop it.

Enzo said...

live in Ft Greene area, tried the bag & it's like using a regular trash bag. No difference

Anonymous said...

These bags smell SO horrible. The chemical odor is extremely strong. Since this has been used by the super in our apt. building, the entire building has this fowl odor - with these bags in the elevator and hallways when they are cleaning and piled up in the basement.

While the smell is inescapable - I still see the mice running around in the basement.

It is an extreme respiratory irritant to anyone who is sensitive and definitely an eye irritant. There is more than mint in this chemical concoction! Wish this very hyped product had never been invented.