Pet Forum / Mammals / Rats / November 2004

FROM THE GEORGETOWN RECORD, a Massachussetts paper,
Wednesday, November 24, 2004
written by Sally Applegate

A Georgetown animal lover, evidently unable or unwilling to kill her
uninvited dinner guests, has had her home condemned as unlivable after
health inspectors found hundreds of rats inside. The large brown Norway
rats showed little fear of humans, scrambling over everything and
sometimes everyone in sight when discovered at the beginning of this
month.

Neighbors on North Street alerted the Board of Health of the presence of
rats in their yards on Nov. 2. Health Agent Deborah Rogers went out to the
home, but was denied admission by the owner, who teaches at an elementary
school in another North Shore town. A few days later, the woman allowed
Rogers and Town Administrator Stephen Delaney to enter the home for an
inspection.

What they found, according to Delaney, was a home overrun with rats, and
reeking with the smell of their urine and feces.

"I observed rats on the countertops in the kitchen, and on the living room
and dining room furniture," said Delaney last week. "The owner has
voluntarily left the premises, which have been condemned by the Board of
Health as unfit for human habitation."

The owner has lived alone for 10 years in the large home, which includes a
barn and carriage house. She had several pets: three dogs, two cats and a
bird, according to Delaney. He said these animals were removed from the
home and examined by a veterinarian, but showed no evidence of disease.
The woman has informed her school of the situation, and may be staying at
a hotel, according to Delaney.

"Once the building is certified as free of rats she'll be allowed back in
to get her personal belongings," said Delaney. "Anything she retrieves has
to be inspected and declared clean by the Board of Health. They decide.
The house may have to come down, due to the decay of the home. Water
penetration is everywhere."

Delaney said the barn and carriage house portion has been declared
structurally unsafe, and could collapse at any time. It is going to be
taken down.

"A question remains on the main house," said Delaney.

Building Inspector Charles Brett described urine-soaked, feces-covered
wood floors and carpets in the main portion of the old home, and rats
scurrying around outside.

"In my opinion, the house should be removed," said Brett. "The back
portion [barn and carriage house] has been condemned. I'll be coming back
here with the fire chief and a structural engineer."

Regarding the smell, which was evident outside the home on Friday even
with the doors and windows closed, Delaney said even with cleaning, the
owner might never get rid of it.

"You'll never be able to get this clean," said Delaney on Friday. "How
could you?"

Not yet rat-free

Extermination of the rats began on Nov. 4 and is still continuing,
conducted by professional exterminator Mark Ganong of A1 Exterminators of
Lynn. On Friday morning, as he has been doing twice a week, Ganong donned
a protective suit and gas mask and entered the front door.

He reported there was still some rat activity inside, although it has
decreased markedly since the beginning of the month.

"When I first came out here you'd see bunches of them," said Ganong. "It's
not overrun anymore. I saw a couple scurrying around. There are still a
couple of rats here and there. You've got adolescents coming out of the
burrows. I can hear them running around in the walls and through the
clutter on the floor, but there's been a big reduction in activity."

Ganong has been poisoning the rats with Bromadiolone since the beginning
of the month, and said the rodents have already consumed between 40 and 60
pounds of poison bait. Ganong has also placed enclosed bait boxes around
the outside of the home, and at several nearby houses.

North Street neighbors received phone calls and a Nov. 3 letter from
Delaney explaining what was going on at the condemned property, and the
remedial actions being taken.

Ganong said it is hard to estimate how many rats were infesting the home,
but guessed there were probably not more than a couple hundred.

"It's hard to estimate, because not all the rats are there all the time,"
said Ganong. "They're living in the walls, floors, insulation and
outside."

Ganong found little activity at most of the outside bait boxes, but said
the one in front of the house, by the front steps, had the most activity.

Ganong said it will be "at least another week" until the house can be
declared rat-free. "I'll know it when I see it," he said. Ganong was
planning to revisit and inspect the home on Monday, and on the day after
Thanksgiving.

He said there are misperceptions about what draws rats to a location.

"People think rats and roaches only go where there's dirt," said Ganong.
"Not true. They go where there's food, and hiding and nesting places."

Brett said Ganong told him he's never seen anything like this infestation
before.

Norway rats have little fear of people, are talented climbers and swimmers
and prolific breeders, with each rat producing about 20 offspring a year.
They have been known to carry bubonic plague, endemic typhus fever and
ratbite fever.

On Friday, the old home showed a large hole near the roof in front, and a
sapling was growing out of the front rain gutter. Delaney said he's been
checking the home almost daily, and inspections are being made twice a
week.

As part of the condemnation process, a new padlock was placed on the
building to keep it secure, and neighbors were asked to report any
trespassers to the police immediately.

The cost for demolition of the building will become a lien on the
teacher's property, which she still owns, according to Delaney.

Police Lt. Dave Thomson said no criminal charges are being considered at
this time.

"This is just a really sad story," said Delaney.