Rats!

[bobobb.livejournal.com]

Well, my place between Ball Square and Davis Square got rats this winter for the first time in the ten years I've owned the property. The contractor I often work with on issues around the house told me that many of his clients in the neighborhood have had rat problems this winter due to the construction near the train tracks on Lowell Street disturbing the little rat communities. Any truth to this? Have others experienced a similar problem? Do I bug the city about this, or do rats just "happen" from time to time?

The good news is that the pest people seem to have gotten the rats out pretty quickly.

Comments

[emcicle.livejournal.com]

somewhat similar, but on a smaller scale, when construction began at the old Rounder Record building several years back, we started finding mice in our basement (a few buildings down the street). We assumed it was from the mice moving out from the construction site, and a few mice traps later the problem was under control. I could imagine the rat situation is similar, especially if nothing else significant had changed at your location (like suddenly keeping lots of rotting food in your basement or not putting lids on your trash can, etc).

[clevernonsense.livejournal.com]

It's worth reporting to the city so they are more aware of the general problem (and can take action in the public spaces of the neighborhood).

[courtney o'keefe (from livejournal.com)]

Very true...

Please call 311 because they keep a record of all sightings.

[fefie.livejournal.com]

The rat population has exploded in Somerville in part because they are not dying off in the winter anymore, due to the milder winters we are having -- such as last winter and the current one. Rats are "happening" now in lots of areas of Somerville where they had not nested previously. (Rat sightings in my neighborhood are relatively recent too -- started in the past 6 months or so.) Of course another reason could be as you say, that construction disturbed a rat community by the tracks.

Seems to me the city is aware of the increasing problem -- and has been exploring rodent prevention measures for several years, including adopting the ordinance that requires covered trash barrels a few years ago.

There is an FAQ on the City website about reporting and dealing with rats:

http://www.somervillema.gov/departments/health/rodent-faq

[mamajoan.livejournal.com]

Like fefie said above, rats have been a big issue in Somerville for a while now. There have been multiple articles in the Journal about steps that the city is taking. On my street, I know for a fact at least four homeowners received official letters from the city last summer/fall notifying them that rats had been seen on their properties and they were required to take certain steps. These included reducing excess overgrown in yards, woodpiles etc. (anywhere rats might nest) as well as contracting with pest-control companies.

My impression is that the city inspectors are taking this seriously, although the nature and degree of actions that they take kind of depend on the area and their impression of the homeowner's responsiveness. I've had reasonably good experiences interacting with them as a homeowner.

I do think it would probably be good to notify the city of your situation, just so that they can stay informed -- they do seem to be trying to keep track of what, when, and where. In particular, if you treat for rats and your neighbors don't, it's likely that the rats will just move one house over (or similar) so the city might want to start keeping an eye on the houses near yours.