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Zone 5 Police Station Dealing With Rat Infestation

PITTSBURGH (KDKA) – Some Pittsburgh Police officers are having to go after four-legged intruders.

Officials say the Zone 5 station in Highland Park is dealing with a bad rat infestation.

They say it started with a dumpster that had a hole in it – and now the rats have targeted the station.

At one point there were as many as 50 rats inside the dumpster, but it's since been replaced. They're not sure how many are in the building.

"They like warmth and they like food," said Police Spokesperson Sonya Toler. "The officers did their best to fend them off."

"Officers in Zone 5 heard the rats running through the ceiling, in the ceiling tiles," added Toler.

Police say they're concerned for the safety of the employees who work in the office and the possibility of the rats spreading diseases.

Officials say they've hired an outside exterminator to deal with the rats. The exterminator has been coming three days a week.

Officers believe they are close to having the infestation taken care of.

No more rats have been spotted and police say eventually the droppings will be gone too.

"Once it's been cleared that there is no more rats in the building, then the cleaning service will step up their cleaning," said Toler.

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