MEDFORD, Mass. (WBZ NewsRadio) — A Medford resident said he’s seen a flood of rats in his neighborhood since the start of the pandemic.
Until two months ago, Laroy Harding said he'd never seen a rat in his yard. He's lived in his South Medford home for 10 years. Now, Harding said they are invading his yard.
"My dog killed like three rats. I've caught over 40 rats," Harding said.
Harding said they might be appearing more because many schools and restaurants are closed. "All those dumpsters they used to eat out of are now empty, so I think they're just going throughout the city trying to find some more food,"Harding said.
Harding called the city, but he claims they've been slow to respond and they only take care of public property. That's why he started trapping them himself.
"I got a Home Depot bucket and I had probably about almost 25 rats in there. And this was over a weeks period, 10 days," Harding said.
With two kids during this pandemic, Harding said he needs his backyard now more than ever.
"I tried to make an outdoor movie theater, and I tried to have them out there to watch a movie on a projector. As soon as it starts getting dark, around 8 o'clock, the rats start coming out in the backyard and we had to get the kids out of the yard," Harding said.
WBZ NewsRadio has reached out to the city of Medford for comment.
WBZ NewsRadio's Shari Small (@ShariSmallNews) reports
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