Large rats have forced a Crown Heights tenant out of her home, and she is turning to News 12 to help her out.

Alicia McIntosh called management to complain Monday after counting as many as eight rats in her first-floor apartment on St. Mark's Avenue. The next day, an exterminator came by, but she says the poison laid down did not work.

According to the city's Health Department rat portal, the building passed inspection in October 2018, and the landlord says an exterminator comes by monthly.

McIntosh believes the infestation is coming from the garbage chute, which she says has been out of service for more than a year, causing piles of trash to collect. Management denies McIntosh's allegations, and say the chute is working fine.

McIntosh has bought her own traps and poison. She says she is afraid to eat or sleep in her own home, which she as lived in for more than 30 years.

News 12 reached out to building owner Meridian Properties. A manager says they will patch up the holes in McIntosh's apartment sometime next week. The owner says he is aggressively treating the problem with more visits by an exterminator.