Photo: Madison Rogers/WBZ NewsRadio
SOMERVILLE, Mass. (WBZ NewsRadio) — Somerville has created a new plan to address the city’s pest control problems, especially in terms of the rat population.
“It’s a public health issue, it’s an environmental health issue,” said Alicia Privett, an environmental health coordinator for the city of Somerville’s Inspectional Services Department.
She explained the city’s new plan to combat the rats. “We have a three-pronged approach including abatement, education, and enforcement.”
Specifically, Privett said that Somerville wants to address fines, add staff to the pest control effort, reach out to the community more, and get creative with abatement tools like “alternatives to rodenticide.”
She added that “we’re still exploring and looking into new technologies,” such as birth control and carbon monoxide.
Privett said they’re “using carbon monoxide and dry ice for burrow treatments. It has been shown to be pretty effective and environmentally friendly.”
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Somerville was the first city in Massachusetts to start using electrocution in their fight against rats. The city partnered with Modern Pest Services in 2022 to implement 50 SMART Boxes, which is a technology that kills rodents with an electrical current.
Privett said that the city is receiving fewer complaints compared to early in the pandemic, and they're hoping to continue along that trend.
The Somerville Board of Health held a public meeting on Thursday evening, where members of the community were invited to learn more about the pest control plan and voice their concerns.
WBZ NewsRadio's Madison Rogers (@MadisonWBZ) reports.
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