Shanghai's weather is cooling down, which means it's now peak rodent season. And this year, authorities are taking extra measures to help combat it.

According to a notice from the city's Sanitation Department reposted on several popular local WeChat accounts today, rat poison will be placed all around the streets of Shanghai for the next 10 days, mainly near supermarkets and street vendors. 

Until November 10, the department will place anticoagulant rodenticide at major large-scale commercial enterprises around the city, including supermarkets, bazaars/street markets, demolition sites and surrounding residential areas. In more rural areas, rodent pesticide will be placed in farmhouses, farm storage facilities and farmland.

Shanghai residents with children and pets are urged to take caution during this time. Child daycare centers and agricultural facilities are also advised to be on alert. While the traps placed around the city will mostly be harmless to humans and their pets as they contain small doses of the substance, residents are being told to keep an eye out for yellow signs indicating nearby rat poison. The signs will look like this:

If for some reason the rat poison is accidentally consumed, the Sanitation Department urges you to immediately visit a nearby hospital to receive a vitamin K1 antidote treatment.

Local markets selling poultry and other livestock have been also advised to be cautious during this period in order to avoid contaminating food.

They also advise residents to throw out trash in a timely manner to cut off food sources for rodents and block pathways that mice may use to enter homes. Homeowners may also want to set up mouse traps or call a professional exterminator to make sure their apartments are fully rat-proof.

In addition to the rat poison, city government officials are making changes to trash collection on the streets in an effort to improve the environment.

According to SHINE, garbage from local restaurants, wet markets and other small businesses located on 2,000 streets around town will be collected directly by cleaners and sanitation trucks.

The streets targeted by the new campaign mainly include places with no fixed trash spot, which has led to bins in the area spilling over with rubbish.

These businesses will now be required to pack the garbage bags themselves and place them outside for cleaners to collect each day.

For further inquiries on rodent control, you can call the 12320 hotline, which is available in both Chinese and English.

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