Peabody Combats Growing Rat Problem With Pair Of New Rodent Weapons

PEABODY, MA — Peabody is looking to rid itself of its excessive rat problem with the help of some new tools designed to sterilize or shock rodents to death.

The city stationed 55 SMART boxes in "high-problem areas" in June as part of what it calls a "pest population control project." These boxes, secured through Modern Pest Control, kill the rodents with an electric current and use no toxic materials or pesticides.

This month, Peabody will place 50 more Contrapest stations "in areas of high rodent activity." This program through A-1 Exterminators includes a "fertility control" bait that does not kill the rats but makes both male and female rodents unable to reproduce.

"Like many urban areas in the Northeast, Peabody is seeing an increase in complaints related to rodent activity," Peabody Mayor Ted Bettencourt said. "We recognize the potential health and quality of life issues this can pose for our residents and businesses, and we are one of the first communities in this region to implement these innovative approaches."

While rodents running wild are an issue throughout the North Shore, animal control experts have cautioned against the use of poisons to control the population because hawks, eagles, owls, coyotes, foxes and other natural predators ingest the poisons when they eat the infected rats and mice and become very sick themselves.

"We are pleased to have these new strategies at our disposal, to supplement our existing surveillance, trapping, and traditional baiting activities and to minimize the need to rely on pesticides," Peabody Health Department Director Sharon Cameron said. "In addition, we really need the partnership of property owners, business owners, and residents to work with us to control rodent activity in the city by eliminating sources of food and harborage.

"These measures are the most important part of any rodent control program."

The city will also be stricter in enforcing codes to correct conditions that support rodent activity, require food establishments to produce and follow Integrated Pest Management Plans, require pest control plans for large buildings and street opening projects, and cite violations of city ordinances that require covered trash cans and maintenance of properties.

Residents are asked to keep outdoor trash in rodent-proof, air-tight containers, eliminate outdoor food sources — including bird feeders — eliminate "nesting" areas such as old vehicles, tires and overgrown vegetation, elevate hay and woodpiles to at least one foot off the ground, monitor compost bins for rodent activity and discontinue compost use if there is a sign of rat infestation, and quickly remove vegetables and fruit that has fallen to the ground from gardens and trees.

(Scott Souza is a Patch field editor covering Beverly, Danvers, Marblehead, Peabody, Salem and Swampscott. He can be reached at Scott.Souza@Patch.com. Twitter: @Scott_Souza.)