Addressing Recent Rodent Activity:  Our Community-Wide Response & How You Can Help

The Town of North Andover and the North Andover Health Department would like to share the steps the town is taking in response to recent rodent activity.

The Health Department has seen an increase in reports of rats in recent months. Rats are common wherever there is food and shelter, including denser residential neighborhoods, commercial areas, near older infrastructure, and waterways. Many Massachusetts communities are dealing with the same issue.

The Health Department is leading the Town's response using an Integrated Pest Management Plan, which combines several methods rather than relying on one treatment. That means understanding where activity is occurring, identifying what is supporting it, correcting those conditions when appropriate, and bringing in professional pest management services when the evidence calls for it.

The Health Department is undertaking three actions aimed at areas where complaints are concentrated:

• SmartBoxes: Modern Pest Services will deploy 15 SmartBoxes, which are non-toxic, industrial-grade digital rodent traps that monitor activity and eliminate the pests through a controlled shock. Placement will be based on documented rodent activity, repeated complaints, inspection findings, and identified harborage, with an initial focus on the center of town. The boxes serve two purposes: they provide targeted control where there is chronic evidence of a problem, and they generate monitoring information that helps us understand where and how much activity is occurring. These locations are a starting point for the collection of data and are not the permanent location for the devices. After approximately three to six months, the Town will review monitoring data, rodent complaints and inspection findings. The Town will then keep the boxes in place or move them to other documented problem areas as needed. This keeps the program responsive to conditions and prevents us from focusing on only one location.

• Prevention letters to neighbors: For each reported sighting, the Health Department is sending a letter with practical rodent prevention tips to every property within 200 feet. Rodents do not respect lot lines, and conditions on neighboring properties often contribute to activity at the reported location. The letter gives residents and businesses specific steps they can take right away, such as securing trash, removing food sources, trimming vegetation and sealing openings without waiting for an inspection. It also tells them where to report activity they see, which broadens the information available to the town.

• Professional assessment: Where staff determine that a property or area needs expertise beyond what the Health Department can provide, Modern Pest Services will inspect and advise on the likely source of activity, the conditions contributing to it and an appropriate control strategy. The Town expects to use these assessments selectively, such as in incidents of persistent activity, complex sites, or areas where several properties appear to be involved. These assessments will not be used as a response to every complaint. The Health Department will play the primary role in assessment and coordination, with professional intervention used when the information supports a need for it.  

Trash is a major food source for rats, and the town is working to modernize how trash is stored and collected, with the Health Department supporting that effort. The Health Department is also working with residents and businesses on prevention within current and future construction projects. 

At this time, the Health Department has not identified a single event, condition or source that would explain an increase in recent rodent sightings. An increase in reports does not necessarily mean an increase in the rat population. Construction, weather and seasonal conditions, trash and food waste practices, landscaping, changes in property use, and greater public awareness can all make rodents more visible or make residents more likely to report them.

Residents and businesses can report rodent activity to the Health Department through online reporting, telephone, or email. The most helpful reports include the location, the date and time, what was seen (a live rat, droppings, burrows or damage), and any conditions nearby that might be contributing to the sighting. Consistent, complete reports make it much easier to spot patterns.  The best place to make reports is through the town’s website: https://www.northandoverma.gov/549/Report-a-Problem.  These complaints go directly to the department and are also seen by the Town Manager’s office.