GREEN BAY, WI (WTAQ-WLUK) – What has four legs, whiskers and tends to come out at night? Rats. Joy Glass lives in the Fisk Addition neighborhood and she’s not happy about it.
“We caught several rats,” said Glass.
She started noticing the rodents about three years ago and says they come and go.
“These burrows underneath our shed were from the rats,” she said.
As for the size of the rat, Glass says she found one that was at least 14 inches long.
Glass is the president of the Fisk Addition Neighborhood Association and says within the last two weeks, she’s received a dozen complaints about rats from people in her neighborhood.
She adds, rats can also be found in other neighborhoods.
“We suggested that we have a neighborhood-wide meeting with all of the neighborhoods of the west side,” she said.
Glass also contacted Alderman Mark Steuer. The two are working together to inform neighbors and offer ways to prevent rats from calling your home, their home.
“Rats are looking for food, shelter and water. We had issues where people had bird feeders, maybe eight to ten bird feeders up and there was a lot of food available. There were wood piles in the backyard,” said Mark Steuer.
The city inspector’s office says continues to follow up on rat complaints and adds, if you notice any burrowing along a garage and shed set traps and bring bird feeders inside at night.
The Centers for Disease Control says rats and mice spread over 35 diseases worldwide.
Some of the ways to prevent them include:
Seal any holes inside and outside the home, trap rodents around the home to help reduce the rodent population, and clean up rodent food sources and nesting sites.
If you think rats are becoming and issue in your neighborhood, contact Eric Crummy, the neighborhood compliance inspector for the city, at 920-448-3306 or email him at ericcr@greenbaywi.gov.
