A commercial dumpster has become a nuisance for neighbors in one San Antonio neighborhood.
Homeowners say the lid on the dumpster is often left open, creating a source of food for rodents.
After getting nowhere with business owners, they reached out to FOX SA’s Problem Solver Darian Trotter.
Investigative Reporter Darian Trotter asked, “Why are you worried?” Teresa Gonzales replied, “Do you like living with rats?” Because they’re nasty, they cause disease and I don’t need that problem.”
But a problem Teresa Gonzales has, and a problem, on the ground… that can be traced back to a commercial dumpster in the parking lot behind her home.
“It is always open,” Gonzales said.
The dumpster itself is not the problem. But Teresa says the lid, left unlocked and wide open is.
“It is always open and it’s attracting rodents,” Gonzales said. “And there’s always trash scattered everywhere.”
Teresa was first alerted to the problem by her dogs Maggie and Ivy.
“My dog saw it,” Gonzales said. “My dog was watching something on my patio all night long.”
That something, she’s describing were rodents. Big ones.
Trotter asked, “How big are they?” Gonzales replied, “They’re about this big. They’re pretty big.”
Teresa says the commercial dumpster is a magnet of sorts, and not just for rodents.
It also attracts vagrants searching for food scraps, and bad actors who dump illegally.
“And there’s always trash scattered everywhere,” Gonzales said.
In the back yard of her northeast side home.
“The rodents are now living underneath my shed, which is making a problem for me because I don’t want them in my yard, much less my house,” Gonzales said.
Here’s why she’s especially concerned about rodents getting inside her home.
She has an electronic doggy door for the girls; which could make for easy access for unwanted guests.
“I trapped one of them on my patio,” Gonzales said.
Trotter asked, “What did you do with it? I took it in the yard and hit it with a shovel, and i disposed of it.”
Make no mistake, Teresa lives in the real world and says she knows, rodents are out there. But…
“I’ve never had a problem with them being in my yard until now,” Gonzales said.
And so — what did she do? Well, she marched herself right over and confronted the business owner about the dumpster.
And showed pictures as proof of the problem.
“I told them that trash can is causing me a rat infestation,” Gonzales said.
Trotter asked, “What did they say? They gave me a phone number for a lady that is in charge and I called her,” Gonzales said. “And I’ve called her several times. She doesn’t seem very interested in doing anything.”
We reached out to Code Enforcement.
When officers went out they saw the problem, telling us the recycling dumpster was full with the lid wide open.
The owner was given a notice of violation and 14-days to fix the issue of face stiff fines.