By Eva Mazzara
Aiden Appleby kicked the trash can before opening it. Rats scattered into the darkness, claws scraping against plastic as one scrambled across his hand.
This is a scene playing out in Mission Hill and other marquee Boston neighborhoods as an exploding rodent population has many residents recoiling in “ewww,” and others questioning the livability of their historic city.
“When we went down and dropped stuff off in our basement, there was a whole family,” Appleby said. “We open the door, and it was like ‘Ratatouille’ when they all just scurried away and rippled out. It was disgusting.”
Mayor Michelle Wu acknowledged in a CBS Boston story earlier this year that the city has been overrun with rodents ever since the COVID-19 pandemic, in part, due to overflowing garbage in many neighborhoods. The city launched the Boston Rodent Action Plan this summer, a multiagency effort to combat the infestation.
“Our neighborhoods have unique infrastructure challenges, narrow streets, aging buildings and limited alley access, which all make waste management more difficult,” said District 8 City Councilor Sharon Durkan. Securely closing garbage bins, she said, along with using strong trash bags, safely disposing of pet waste, and not leaving trash out overnight would go a long way toward reducing the rat population.
The issue isn’t unique to Mission Hill, but residents who pay to live in one of the city’s most expensive ZIP codes believe a change needs to happen. “I think I will move to another neighborhood, because I also feel like the rats somehow attract mice. You don’t really feel safe,” said Maria Quintero, a nurse at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center who moved to Mission Hill at the beginning of this year. She said some homes in her neighborhood aren’t being maintained. “The houses are pretty old,” Quintero said, “and I don’t really think the landlords take care of them, which is awful.”
Durkan said she understands residents’ frustrations, but the city is taking the issue seriously. “Rodents are not just a nuisance, but can cause serious quality-of-life and public health concerns,” she said. “My office remains in close communication with ISD’s (Inspectional Services Department’s) Sanitation Division to ensure that the concerns of district 8 residents are heard and addressed.” Durkan said residents are welcome to contact her office with complaints.
Small businesses and tourism make up a large part of Boston’s economy, and the rat infestation is a serious threat to the city’s historic charm, Durkan said. The issue can result in additional costs in waste management and maintenance for small businesses such as restaurants and cafes. “The more proactive we are about rodent control and sanitation,” Durkan said. “The more we support both the local economy and Boston’s reputation as a vibrant, livable city.”
Durkan said the city is taking a long-term view of the problem. “At the policy level, I’ve filed and held a hearing to explore same-day trash put-out and pickup for non-containerized residential waste, as well as containerization for commercial trash,” she said. That hearing was held in early October and featured suggestions for the future. “It’s about layering solutions, infrastructure fixes, community participation, public education and smarter city operations,” Durkan said. “So that over time, we can see sustained reductions in rodent activity.”
Within the last 10 years, Donna Dowd, a nurse in Boston and a resident of Mission Hill for 59 years, says the city needs to do more to address the exploding rat population. “The other day I was walking to work and (saw) five rats,” she said.
Lisa Timberlake, director of communications at the Boston Inspectional Services Department, said three things are contributing to the rodent explosion: food, water and shelter. The city’s plan “focuses on addressing these factors by taking an all-of-government approach to reduce rodent populations and keep neighborhoods safe, clean, and healthy for residents, families, businesses and visitors.”
Even as rats push, climb and scramble their way into trash bins, Timberlake said the city is examining new ways to make neighborhoods less hospitable to the beady-eyed invaders. “One important recommendation in the BRAP was to discontinue the use of second-generation rodenticides,” she said. “In response, our team has shifted to more environmentally friendly treatments, such as BurrowRX machines.”
For the first time, Timberlake said the city is using data-driven tools to measure rodent activity and evaluate the impact of mitigation measures.
City officials said residents may call 311 with rat complaints, and someone from the city’s inspections department should follow-up within 48 hours.
Eva Mazzara is a student in the Boston University Journalism program. This story is a partnership between The Mission Hill Gazette and the Boston University Journalism program.