Rat infestation remains at East Atlanta apartment complex

ATLANTA — Residents at a DeKalb County apartment complex said their property is still infested with rats.

Channel 2 Action News first showed you the rat problem in June, and people who live at Highlands at East Atlanta off Flat Shoals Road said the problem has not gotten any better.

They said there is only one trash bin for a dozen-unit complex housing hundreds of people.

"At 5:30 p.m., it's party time for the rats. They come out of the ground looking for food," resident Susan Gibson told Channel 2's Dave Huddleston.

Gibson said she woke up Saturday morning to the sound of rats eating her wall and wires to her dishwasher.

"I put cardboard over the hole to keep them out, but they just ate right through it," Gibson said.

She wasn't the only one with stories of rats eating their walls and wires.

Ivane Rucker told Huddleston the rats ate the wires to her car, too. Huddleston talked to managers at the Highlands and they said they are working on the ongoing problem.

"It is an ongoing situation, but we need the help of the residents. Just like we treated, we are still treating, we are getting more Dumpsters on the property, but if the tenants don't participate, it's never going to happen," said Jackie Yelder, Highlands property manager.

Huddleston said he saw trash overflowing in a common hallway while working on the story. There were also several brochures in the office about what to do to keep rodents out of your home.

The DeKalb County Health Department has been out to the apartment several times this year already and is also working with code enforcement about the problem.

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WSBTV