Rats in Medford - Councilors look to create prevention plan
Are you seeing rats in your Medford neighborhood? Email us at gottaknowmedford@gmail.com.
City Councilor George Scarpelli is working to bring stakeholders together to discuss the city’s rat issues and to create a plan for controlling them.
During the July 15 City Council meeting, he introduced a resolution to “get an update from the Health Department for rodent issues in the Wellington-Glenwood neighborhoods,” in the Middlesex Avenue area. Scarpelli said he has requested that meeting and is waiting for a response.
Once the agenda for the meeting was posted, Scarpelli said, a number of Medford residents called and emailed him about rat issues. He said he wants to get city officials and rat-control experts together to create a plan to control the rodents.
A clerk in the Health Department said there may be an uptick in rodent activity right now for a variety of reasons, including that with the nice weather, people are more active outside and there are more food sources available for rodents. Rats will eat a variety of things, she said, including food waste, bird seed, fruits that fall from trees and vines, and animal feces.
It's also possible, she said, that the Republic Services strike is exacerbating the problem. Republic collects the trash for businesses in the city.
To find out what you can do to reduce the risk of attracting rodents to your home or business, visit the Medford Health Department rodent-prevention page.
This is a developing story. If you would like to share information about rat activity in your area, email Wendall Waters at GottaKnowMedford@gmail.com.
