'One individual not being responsible can bring misery to a whole neighborhood'

A typical Norway rat, most common in New Hampshire (Courtesy photo)

ROCHESTER - Most of Rochester's rat problem can be traced back to chicken coops, poorly secured trash and garbage, and bird feeders, and while the vast majority of residents practice due diligence to mitigate the threat, it just takes one careless person to create a full-blown infestation.
"One individual not being responsible can bring misery to a whole neighborhood," Rochester Health Inspector Bob Veno said on Thursday. "And if you have a few rats, it doesn't take many to make a lot more."
A female rat typically births six litters a year consisting of up to 12 rat pups, although 5-10 pups are more common. Rats reach sexual maturity after nine weeks, meaning that a population can swell from two rats to around 1,250 in one year, with the potential to grow exponentially, according to critterstop.com.
Raising chickens and chicken coops are likely the number one draw for rats," said David Rousseau, director of the New Hampshire Division of Pesticide Control.
He told The Rochester Voice that if chickens are free range, you have to secure the fenced-in area, using tight mesh chicken wire, and you have to bury that mesh at least three to six inches into the ground. If not they'll just dig down and tunnel under.
"Rats are very clever," he said.
Veno says if you're keeping the chickens in a pen you have to clean them constantly, securing their food overnight, and sweeping up and disposing of chicken droppings, because rats have a fondness for feces as well.
With regard to bird feeders Veno cautions against putting out unlimited food, especially if the feeder is in an unkempt area of your property, where rats can take up residence in burrows, shrubs and bushes.
He said those that don't want to give up their bird feeders should put a catch basin under the feeder so other animals like squirrel and chipmunks can't scatter it out for the rats to feed on.
If a rat infestation gets out of control, the first remedy is nonchemical trapping followed by the final solution, chemical destruction.
"That's the last resort," Rousseau said. "We don't want pets or birds of prey ingesting dead rats, and we are seeing chemical residues in birds of prey."
Interestingly, while chicken coops are the number one target for rat infestations, big-city rat czars around the country are getting paychecks that aren't exactly chicken feed. New York's rat czar makes $155,000 a year.