Officials winning battle with rats in Pawcatuck
Stonington — A Ledge Light Health District official on Wednesday updated the Board of Selectmen on the rat “infestation” in Pawcatuck and the steps being taken to eradicate the rodents.
While he did not go so far as to say the problem is stabilized, Ryan McCammon, Ledge Light’s supervisor of environmental health, said health district staff have visited 338 homes and businesses in four Pawcatuck neighborhoods to educate owners about the problem, look for signs of rats and food and other conditions that attract them.
He said Ledge Light is following up with the owners of 12 properties where rats were seen, as well as properties where bird seed and other food was available. He added summer is the time when rats, which can breed almost monthly with up to a dozen babies at a time, are most active.
“It will take some time,” he said. “But it’s not just Pawcatuck, it’s not just Stonington. We’re seeing rats throughout the region.”
He praised the cooperation of various town agencies to help get control of the problem.
“This situation came dangerously close to getting away from us,” Selectman Mike Spellman added.
“I think we’ve done an excellent job getting our arms around this problem,” First Selectman Rob Simmons said.
At McCammon's suggestion, the board also decided to form a Pawcatuck neighborhood coalition to discuss the rat problem and other issues.
In addition, Simmons said he will return to the board in two weeks with a proposal to possibly revise the town’s ordinance that allows homeowners to keep chickens in residential areas. McCammon said feed for chickens can attract rats.
Spellman also cautioned residents to not let their pets roam, as their neighbors may be using poison to kill rats.
The problem first began about a month ago, when a home on Milan Terrace, where owners were feeding rats, became infested, sending rats onto adjacent properties.
Simmons has said 70 rats have been killed on the property and other steps have been taken at the homeowners’ expense to clear the yard and remove debris that was attracting the rodents.
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