A rat infestation at Shawmut Avenue’s waste transfer station and the surrounding neighborhood has worsened in the past 48 hours, forcing the City of New Bedford to take action.
The infestation is depicted in a video posted on Facebook, which shows several rats in the street near a truck parked on the side of the road.
A portion of Shawmut Avenue has been blocked off by the New Bedford Police Department from Nash Road, according to Henry Bizarro, a retired NBPD police officer stationed at the intersection. The road remains open to through traffic for workers at the companies located on Shawmut Avenue, including Goyette’s Auto Parts and Penske Truck Rental.
Bizarro said there is not a scheduled time for when the road will reopen, but New Bedford Animal Control is in the area nearby.
In a Facebook statement, the City of New Bedford said it will be taking “corrective actions,” as the city Health Department evaluates the issue. The city says it has required EL Harvey Waste & Recycling Services, which operates the transfer station, to place bait stations and snap traps across its property, disinfect the area, collect all remaining rats in affected areas and cover remediation costs, according to the post.
The city asked the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection to investigate how the rats escaped Harvey’s facility. If Harvey is found to have violated state law, the company potentially faces “civil and criminal penalties” and fines for violating city code, the post said.
The post further said city Animal Control removed rats from Shawmut Avenue this morning. New Bedford is working with the Regional Refuse District to prevent late-arriving garbage trucks from being parked overnight at Shawmut Avenue.
“Harvey’s commitment to ensure that the area and surrounding neighborhoods go back to normal is good to hear,” Ward 3 City Councilor Shawn Oliver said.
Oliver said he received more than 20 phone calls from the neighborhood and throughout the ward regarding the rodent issue Tuesday morning.
“This is by far the worst I’ve been aware of or seen,” Oliver said. “We had a brief stint about six to eight months ago, but that was right around the time when construction was happening.”
Affected areas, according to Oliver, include Price Rite Plaza, the New Bedford Housing Authority’s Brickenwood development on Hathaway Road, Durfee Street, Upton Street, the corner of Mount Pleasant Street and Downy Way and “everything in between.”
A Price Rite worker, who asked to remain anonymous due to company policy, said they reported the rats to their supervisor after seeing hundreds of them, both living and dead, two days ago between the ABC Disposal Services and the New Bedford Airport on Shawmut Avenue. They said they did not see the rats anywhere else.
“Since we were very close, I wanted to let someone know,” they said. “We don’t want that around here.”
The worker said there were so many rats in the road they had to stop their car to avoid running them over.
“It’s so hard to believe,” they said. “There were so many on the sidewalks and on the grass. There were live rats running across the street to eat dead rats.”
There have been no rats at Price Rite, according to the worker.
Oliver, who urged the city to address the issue in a letter sent out Tuesday morning, said the mayor’s office plans to release an action plan regarding the issue. The matter should be dealt with “swiftly,” he said.
“I’m assuming facilities will increase current rodent protocols and hopefully there will be some kind of mitigation service to surrounding neighborhoods and businesses,” Oliver said.
In his letter, Oliver calls for an official public action plan, increased inspections, community outreach and support and collaboration across departments. These departments include the Board of Health, Animal Control and Public Works.
A fire at EL Harvey Waste & Recycling Services last week may have triggered the infestations, as well as contributing factors, like rain and work at the facility, including construction and post-fire clean-up, according to Oliver.
“With the cleaning of the facility and rising water, these rats are looking for nests and food sources,” he said.
In the meantime, he advised residents to take “basic precautions” until the problem is solved.
“These rodents are looking for a place to nest, a food source,” Oliver said. “Make sure trash lids and garage doors are closed — little things we take for granted.”
Crystal Yormick, a journalism student at Boston University, is a summer intern at The New Bedford Light. She can be reached at cyormick@newbedfordlight.org.
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There has also been an increase in rat and mouse infestation in other parts of the city prior to this, largely because of roadwork. The city should turn its attention to this once this major crisis is managed.
Drop off some Raccoons ,opposum,and cats and coyotes All lovers of Rats they will feast and chase away Rats .🐀
The only problem with bait stations is that other animals/birds will eat the dead carcass and become poisoned themselves. Snap traps are the better option.
The town needs to call in a team of rat hunting dogs to deal with this situation. One company is called Ratology. Once the population is reduced, then they can use a rat birth control project to keep them in check. Or there are other options to use CO2 in their burrows.