As rat sightings continue to spread across the Treasure Valley, one Boise woman is hoping a community-driven map can help neighbors track the growing problem while promoting a more humane approach to pest control.Boise neighbor Robin Hadder created a website featuring an interactive map where people can anonymously report rat sightings and signs of infestations throughout the Treasure Valley. WATCH | Boise resident pushes humane rat control effort with new Treasure Valley map Boise resident pushes humane rat control effort with new Treasure Valley mapAnd I just thought I know how to do that, Hadder said.The map allows neighbors to report sightings of live or dead rats, along with evidence such as droppings, burrows and chewed materials.Hadder said the response from the community has been immediate.Well, we've had dozens of, um, sightings already put on the map, she said.Concerns over rats have increasingly become part of the public conversation in Idaho. Earlier this year, lawmakers discussed whether rats should be declared a public nuisance during the legislative session after growing concerns from residents across the Treasure Valley. No formal action was ultimately taken.READ MORE | It was like an explosion of rats: Neighbors report rise in pestsNow, Hadder hopes the map can help identify infestation hotspots and provide useful data for communities, researchers and pest control companies.Friday, Hadder met with Idaho News 6 near one of the latest reported sightings near the Hyatt Hidden Lakes Reserve parking lot off McMillan Road.And so when we find hotspots in towns, we'll be able to do things like do a trial of rat birth control in an area and document the results. And I am going to be giving the results for free, like open source to the city and to like local universities if somebody wanted to do a study on rats in the area, Hadder said.Hadder is advocating for pest control companies to use rodent birth control instead of rat poison, saying it offers a more proactive and humane way to reduce rat populations while limiting unintended consequences for pets, wildlife and the environment.Earlier this week, Idaho News 6 reported on a Treasure Valley family whose cat died after coming into contact with rat poison.Stories like the one that you had about that cat dying I don't want to hear stories like that anymore, Hadder said.Hadder is now inviting exterminators to partner with the project and become preferred pest control businesses listed on the website.Anybody that partners with us will, uh, not use the rodenticides, but use rat birth control instead. It will knock out their ability to reproduce, and rats usually only live a year or two, and so just the natural die-off in the area will drastically cut the populations, she said.Neighbors can report rat sightings through the website's map feature. ...read more read less