"Rat Sightings Surge"... Seoul to Launch 'Smart Pest Control' in Response to Spike in Reports

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With a surge in complaints about rat sightings in downtown areas, the Seoul Metropolitan Government is launching a smart pest control initiative based on artificial intelligence (AI) sensors.

According to the city government, from January to July of this year, there were 1,555 reports of rat sightings in locations such as subway ventilation shafts, flower beds, and markets. This figure is nearly 71% of the total number of reports for the entire previous year (2,181 cases). In response, the city, in cooperation with district offices, has focused on strengthening field-based pest control systems and completed 2,551 on-site pest control operations by July.

A rat appearing in a subway station in Seoul.

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Going forward, the city will install equipment equipped with Internet of Things (IoT) sensors in key rat management areas within each district, establishing a 24-hour monitoring system. When a rat, lured by bait, enters the equipment, the shutter closes automatically and an alert is sent out, allowing for the collection of the captured animal.

In particular, Seoul plans to visualize the results of the smart pest control system's operation using a Geographic Information System (GIS) platform, enabling real-time analysis and management of rat capture rates and the reduction in reported cases. Depending on the performance of the system, the installation areas will be flexibly adjusted to further improve efficiency.

To help each district establish smart pest control systems tailored to local conditions-such as installing smart rat traps and purchasing pest control agents-a special adjustment grant totaling 580 million won has been allocated to the districts.

The city will also strengthen its infectious disease surveillance system for diseases transmitted by rats. If a rodent-borne infectious disease case occurs, a 500-meter radius around the site will be designated as an intensive pest control zone, and focused pest control will be conducted for two weeks based on epidemiological investigations. In addition, the city will continue to implement integrated pest control efforts in cooperation with district offices. During the fourth week of every month, rat control activities will be carried out in areas with frequent rat sightings, in conjunction with each district's "Clean Day" initiative.

Song Euncheol, head of the Seoul Infectious Disease Control Division, said, "We will create a more pleasant and safer urban environment by promoting integrated public-private pest control along with the smart pest control system, so that rats do not appear in areas where citizens live."

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