Dear PoPville – Any Tips on Rat Abatement?

Dear PoPville,

I live in the U Street area, and have had problems with rats getting into my basement. The rats have created a fly problem (yuck), and nothing that I do seems to have any effect. Has anyone had good experiences with rat/pest abatement professionals in the area?

Living in DC, I don’t think that the standard kill-them-all approach is going to solve the problem — once these are gone, there are _always_ more.

Thanks for any advice!

You can learn about the Department of Health’s rat abatement program here. Has anyone gone the private route?