"Adeline Lining says they ruined Christmas for her last year. She had received a delivery of Bartlett pears. "They were on my porch for two hours," she says. "And then my neighbor texted me a picture and was like, 'You probably don't want these anymore.' No, I don't want them anymore because there were rats inside the box feasting on my Christmas pears. They are directly responsible for ruining Christmas," she says."
"Then there's Donine Williams who says that a couple years back, rats got under her deck, chewed through the subfloor, and nested in the insulation. "I could smell the urine and their poo," she says. "I can still smell it." And Andrew Jefferies can't un-remember the noises he heard at his last apartment. "All night in the summer, the rats would scream" as they rifled through his trash, he says."
Somerville, Massachusetts experiences pervasive rat problems that ruin food deliveries, infest homes, chew structures, and disturb residents. Rats have gnawed through decks, subfloors, insulation, trash cans, and wiring, producing tunnels and foul odors from urine and feces. Rats pose disease risks including leptospirosis and hantavirus and cause substantial property damage. Residents report nighttime noises, damaged deliveries, and persistent contamination. City officials launched a field trial of a safer rodent birth control method to reduce populations. Officials and residents view population reduction as a practical step to limit damage and health risks despite skepticism about fully eliminating rats.
Read at www.npr.org
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