Lynn Lumber steps forward to help reduce city rat problem

LYNN – Lynn Lumber joined the fight Thursday against the city’s burgeoning rat population by offering trash barrels at cost to Lynn residents.Rodent control experts say garbage left at the curb in plastic bags provides the pests with plenty of food. City health officials are ordering residents to put trash in barrels with tight-fitting lids.Mayor Judith Flanagan Kennedy visited Lynn Lumber to examine the four styles of trash barrels that the business is selling at no profit.Some city residents cannot afford quality trash barrels, which can cost up to $40 each, she said, commending the business for helping out.Richard Kessel, a member of the family-owned lumber yard and hardware store, said the business has been in Lynn since 1945 and will do whatever it can to quell the rat problem.”It’s hard to sell things at cost in this economy, but we are committed to helping the city of Lynn,” he said.The barrels come in 20-, 32-, 34- and 45-gallon sizes.”We even have a model with wheels so that senior citizens can just push it to the curb,” said Kessel.He added that the store will also sell d-CON rat poison at cost.”If it’s good for the city of Lynn, it’s good for Lynn Lumber,” he said.Kennedy said the increase in rats is due, in part, to the demolition of Manning Bowl and a couple of downtown industrial facilities.”When those places were torn down, the rats lost their homes and went looking elsewhere,” she said.The mayor’s Rat Task Force is charged with compiling information and devising initiatives to address the problem. Storing trash in covered barrels was among the strategies identified.”The most effective means of eradicating the rat population is to eliminate their food sources and that is best accomplished by using sturdy trash barrels,” Kennedy said. “We encourage residents to take advantage of this promotion and we’re grateful to the Kessel family and Lynn Lumber for putting it together.”Kennedy noted that the city charter, which regulates dumpsters and trash barrels, imposes a $100 per day fine for those in violation.”It is our hope that we don’t have to collect these fines. We would much prefer that all residents do their part to keep rats out of Lynn,” the mayor said.