“the rats eat right through them like it’s wet paper”

“Dear PoPville,

What are rat abatement/prevention techniques people have used in the past? I live in a condo building and our trash bins are outside. They are the standard green and blue trash bins, and the rats eat right through them like it’s wet paper. The rats skip the black poison boxes, because, as one pest control guy told me, “Why eat the poison when you can just eat real human food?” I looked into getting large metal trash containers from a company (the type you might see at a state or national park) but they are very expensive and if the lid is left even a little open… the rats get in. We had the company with the rat-killing terriers come by and assess the property… and a few nights of having the dogs come would cost $10,000 or so. Crazy expensive for our condo association.

What is left? We can’t fill the trash bins with powdered poison (obviously). We have increased trash pick-ups to almost daily… What’s left for us to do? I’ve thought about building something for the trash bins so that they are inside of a larger chicken-wire-exterior container, to prevent the rats from getting in. I am at a loss as to where we go from here. And the problem is awful. It’s a nightmare to take out the trash at night. The bins are visibly shaking with rats inside of them.

Any thoughts? Thank you all”