Residents in Harlem say they're seeing fewer rats as efforts by the city are having an impact.

In addition to the citywide mandate that requires businesses to use a lidded bin when placing their trash at the curb, the Hamilton Heights section of the neighborhood is getting extra help from the Department of Sanitation. The area is part of a pilot program and given large, lidded trash containers to keep the streets clean.

“Before it used to be very bad, we used to run from the rats. Now, I don’t see the same problem there used to be with the rat population,” resident Angel Llanes said.

Llanes lives in front of the city’s trash cans and said he sees people use them regularly.

“It used to be a lot worse around here, but the rats have gotten a little better,” Hamid Patterson, a resident of the neighborhood for about 35 years, said.

The rat-proof trash containers provided by the pilot program stretch from 142nd Street to 153rd Street, between Broadway and Amsterdam Avenue.

Trash is picked up six days a week, Monday through Saturday. The effort to limit the number of rats is working, according to the Department of Sanitation. Rat sightings reported to 311 are down across the city in 12 of the last 13 months.

The city has also singled out several neighborhoods deemed rat mitigation zones, where they want to stamp out this issue: Grand Concourse in the Bronx, Chinatown in Manhattan and Bushwick and Bedford-Stuyvesant in Brooklyn.

In rat mitigation zones, rat sightings are down 14%. In Hamilton Heights, they’re down 55% since the containerization pilot started, according to the Department of Sanitation.

“Less trash on the ground means less rats eating the trash,” resident Rafael Landeiro said. “We’re stepping over less rats now so that’s definitely an improvement of quality of life.”

In Harlem, while there may be fewer rats running the streets, some residents worry about the city’s overall long-term approach.

“There’s concerns about parking spots. There’s concerns about the visual of a dumpster outside of people’s homes 24/7, those need to be addressed as well,” Landeiro said.

“The more populated areas, like St. Nicholas or Broadway, I’ve seen less [rats]. I think that’s because they’re investing more resources [there]. But the smaller streets, like Convent or what have you, I’m seeing the same amount [of rats],” resident Antonio Vincent said.

Later this fall, container requirements go into effect for low-density residential buildings — those with one to nine units. Then, approximately 70% of all trash in the city will be containerized.

The sanitation department has dubbed this the “Trash Revolution.”