There are few happy stories in the world of rat control, but the Daily News found one on East 86th, between Lexington and Second Avenues. Business owners there credited a single man with decimating a population that had grown so out of control that rats were running over feet: Matt Deodato, rat killer. Deodato was 18 when he started doing pest control for a living. He’s now 57, works between eight and ten infestations a day, and thanks rats and bedbugs for putting his three kids through college. His business, Urban Pest Management, handles everything from water bugs to pigeons but has recently come to specialize in rats. His weapon of choice: a $2,320 gizmo that shoots carbon monoxide into nests. “We put that hose nozzle into the burrow ... Usually within three minutes, the rats are dead.” @adrianeadriane talked to Deodato about New York’s trash-container problems, Curtis Sliwa’s “insane” feral-cat stunt, and why we may never really be rid of the creature that almost got rid of us during the bubonic plague. Head to the link in our bio for more 🐀