SWAMPSCOTT — Residents have voiced their concerns about what they are describing as an increased rat presence in the Humphrey Street neighborhood.
Moira Farrell of Blaney Circle has approached the Select Board to share her experiences with the rodents, hoping that it will encourage the town to take action. In her 30 years as a Swampscott resident, Farrell said this is the most severe the problem has ever been.
“It’s out of control,” Farrell said. “I’ve got rat holes all around my yard. My neighbor has a huge rat colony. It’s about a four-by-three nest.”
Farrell described her and her neighbor’s lawns as sponge-like due to the amount of holes rats have tunneled through there. She claimed to have seen rats during both the day and night.
She said she believes that a nearby restaurant could play a large role in attracting rats to the area. She has presented photographic evidence to the Select Board showing the restaurant’s dumpster being open on multiple occasions.
“I live directly behind it,” Farrell said. “This morning, the dumpster wasn’t closed.”
According to Public Health Director Jeffrey Vaughan, he has been in contact with the residents and restaurants in the area.
“The businesses have been good,” Vaughan said. “Everybody’s doing their part down there, now it just takes a little bit of time for them to go away. Extermination will help.”
Vaughan’s instructions for households with a rat presence include keeping trash in closed containers, not having bird feeders on their properties, and removing certain things, such as leftover garden materials and animal droppings.
“They’ll eat it if they can find it,” Vaughan said.
He contrasted the behavior of rats with that of squirrels, in that rats prefer to be below the surface and minimize their visibility to humans.
Select Board Chair and Board of Health Liaison MaryEllen Fletcher acknowledged that the issue is legitimate and needs to be seriously addressed.
“In my dealings with the restaurant owners, they’re very open to doing whatever it is going to take to control this issue,” Fletcher said. “So far everybody’s been very cooperative… We just need to put in a little bit more work.”
Fletcher plans to have the topic on the Select Board’s agenda for its next meeting, which is currently scheduled for Tuesday, July 23.
