This map shows the current hotspots for rodent sightings in Somerville. (click to download a PDF copy)

By Harry Kane

The rat problem cannot be solved in one sweeping motion but the City of Somerville maintains their vigilant efforts to rid the city of the cunning rodents. To recap recent events, the city held a seminar in the Alderman’s chamber several weeks ago with rat specialist, Robert Corrigan from New York City, to review Somerville’s current strategies and educate the city on up-to-date methods for determining their whereabouts.

So why are there rats in Somerville? “One of the largest problems we have are these absentee landlords,” says Alderman Maryann Heuston. “Especially in Ward two, there are lots of property owners that cannot be found.”  Many of the houses are not properly maintained and some residents do not clean or leave food out. According to Corrigan, “one pigeon feeder will sustain a rat colony.” Fresh dog manure is also fresh food for a rat. “Dog stool is very nutritious for rats,” says Corrigan.

“These areas pop up from time to time.” says Superintendent Eddie Nuzzo. The solution begins with a call to 311.  The map here shows the hotspots for rodent sightings. The dots represent calls to 311. While the map does not represent the actual number of rats nor the actual rat sightings, it’s fairly clear that concerned citizens who’ve seen rats have dialed 311 and this is an accurate picture of the alleged sightings.

Frank Keohane, Chief Code Enforcement Officer for housing inspections in Somerville, explained the process for exterminating rodents.  “Complaints come in through 311 and the secretary takes the information, dating the call and the circumstances.” On Thursdays, Frank or another enforcement officer go out with the rodent control worker from Modern Pest Control.  They bait the areas that are mentioned on the complaints. “We basically bait the sewers and catch basins in the area, but we also walk around and look for burrow holes and things of that nature. Burrow holes are an indication that rats are nesting in the area or there is some type of infestation,” Keohane remarked.

Frank mentioned that he used to see about dozen rodent investigations on his agenda per week but now that number has doubled.  “It varies though, and periodically sightings of rodents will slow down,” Keohane admitted.  If permission is granted to the city, health inspectors visit the property and determine whether the property meets the standards of building and housing codes. Then citations are administered if the building or property is not up to snuff. “The problem is that if it’s private property then it’s up to the homeowner to exterminate their own property,” Keohane noted.

According to the director of the Health Department, Paulette Renault-Caragianes, the only way to sidestep this issue is “if the next door neighbor were to call and say, ‘next door to me I see evidence of rats.’ If the inspectors aren’t able to contact the property owner about the property that’s being complained about, we’d ask to come onto your property or yard and look over your fence and see what we can see. It’s my understanding that you can still cite people for something that you see. If someone is able to view something from the streets visibly overflowing like unsecured trash you can cite that property owner.”

Rod Kreimeyer, the owner of Best Pest Control Services lives in Davis Square and spoke about a specific case of rodent infestation. “We had a call where they had rats in their front yard and when we went and looked at their backyard we could see their neighbor had about 30 bags of trash piled up underneath their back porch because the tenants hadn’t been taking their trash out and they just thought it was okay to pile it up.”

Whether it’s the derelict properties, absentee landlords, construction sites or just the lack of cleanliness, there’s been an apparent resurgence of these diabolical rodents in Somerville.  A community effort must be made to amend the deteriorating conditions that help the rat colonies thrive. Frank Keohane and the Rodent Abatement Control Taskforce are working diligently to exterminate the rodents in Somerville. They want us all to chip in and do our part to keep Somerville’s streets clean.