RATS!
Mice and rats are a huge problem on our block. I have found the Health Department to be very responsive considering that they are spread very thin with concerns related to the pandemic in addition to the rat problem. I have found sending an email to Candice or Peter works better than leaving a voice message since both tend to be out in the field much of the day.
I've been trying to hire a feral cat for about 2 months now without success.
rats love the seed that falls from bird feeders and this can lead to large infestations.
I have a friend who brought in the Maplewood Health Department, but they did not outright tell the neighbor with multiple bird feeders to take them down. Mucho money spent on exterminators, to no avail. Starting to get property damage to house and garage foundations. Very frustrating. (Clinton School area)
I've quit feeding the birds and composting because we saw a rat in our yard. Totally phobic. Trying not to give them any reason to come around!
My mother and father have long debated her bird feeders. He remains convinced that without them, their yard and basement would be free From mice.
I have always had a bird feeder and had one up last year and saw a rat coming back and forth to take the seeds on the ground. I removed the feeder, threw it and the seed away. I know they are still around. I've seen them and last week I found a red-tailed hawk eating one under my kitchen window. Beautiful bird; disgusting varmint.
A female rat typically births six litters a year, consisting of around 12 pups.
If left unchecked, a pair of rats can produce 482,508,800 pups in just three years...
From the same article, and only slightly less alarming:
“A female rat typically births six litters a year consisting of 12 rat pups, although 5—10 pups is more common. Rats reach sexual maturity after 4—5 weeks, meaning that a population can swell from two rats to around 1,250 in one year, with the potential to grow exponentially.”
joan_crystal said:
Mice and rats are a huge problem on our block. I have found the Health Department to be very responsive considering that they are spread very thin with concerns related to the pandemic in addition to the rat problem. I have found sending an email to Candice or Peter works better than leaving a voice message since both tend to be out in the field much of the day.
Someone from the Town came and put rat poison in our storm drains a couple of months ago but I haven't seen anyone from the Town since.
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It sounds as if the rat problem is moving into residential areas in a big way. Specifically, I am in the Maplecrest section of town and lots of chatter on our block's Facebook page about rats and, of equal concern, the town's failure to return calls and answer questions about this problem.