MARLBOROUGH – In late January, the mayor’s office and the Board of Health launched a program to help the city deal with rodents.
The program – a way for residents to report rodent sightings as well as learn how to reduce the rodent population – has yielded some results.
Three months after the launch, the city has received 80 reports of sightings.
According to information provided by the mayor’s office and the Board of Health, the rodent “hot spots” are close to the city’s center.
“Lincoln, Mechanic, Huntington, Washington and streets near there,” said the mayor’s chief of staff, Ryan Egan. “It seems to line up with a lot of the construction happening, though [it’s] not isolated.”
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According to Board of Health Director Paul Dinwoodie, the board divided the city into four quadrants, with routes 85 and 20 as the dividers. He said the northwest quadrant – including Lincoln and Mechanic streets – had 40 sightings, while the northeast quadrant – including the middle and high schools – had four sightings.
Dinwoodie said that most of the reports were recorded in January and February (28 and 38, respectively), with 14 sightings in March. He said the reason for the high initial number of sightings had to do with the “city increasing awareness and education to our residents.”
The next steps
Now that rodents have been sighted, and in specific locations, the city is planning its next steps.
“Property owners are responsible for private property; the city is responsible for city specific property such as parks, sidewalks and public buildings,” Dinwoodie said.
According to Egan, the city is exploring an option for some public traps. An announcement on this will be made in the coming weeks.
The city’s efforts to educate residents are available via https://www.marlborough-ma.gov/home/news/rodent-information-and-reporting-tool.
