When the Portland Bureau of Environmental Services repaired a sewer break in the alley behind Cordelia Shea’s house in Ladd’s Addition, they didn’t tell her that she had a problem with water damage as a result of the break. Nor did they tell her that her pipes had to be replaced. And there wasn’t any permanent damage caused by the sinkhole the sewer break caused. What they told her had nothing to do with water.
They said she had a rat hole in her yard.
Later, she saw a rat scurry across her lawn. She also frequently sees rats when she walks her dog in the alleyways of Ladd’s Addition. “They’re definitely around,” she says.
The apparent rash of rats in Southeast Portland was a topic of discussion during Hosford-Abernethy’s board meeting on July 19. Linda Nettekoven, the board’s vice-chair, describes a presence of rats in the area as a “perennial problem.”
“It goes underground for periods of time, then it resurfaces,” she says.
The board took the first steps that night toward an awareness campaign to inform residents about rats and how to keep rats away from their homes.
“We were just trying to do a heads up,” Nettekoven says. “At least in some people’s perception, it seems like the problem may be growing worse or getting a little more out of control than usual.”
A fact of urban living, rats can pose numerous livability and health issues, including transmitting diseases to pets and other animals, danger to small children, contamination of food, and damage to homes and belongings.
“It’s better to try to manage them, rather than ignore them and let them flourish,” Shea says.
Nettekoven attributes numerous construction projects involving sewer lines, such as the Tabor to the River project, to driving more rats than usual out of the netherworld and into the open air.
“There seems to be a linkage between collapsing sewer lines and things like that,” Nettekoven says. “We’re all learning as we go.”
Shea is currently speaking with the Multnomah County Health Department’s Pest Prevention and Control about ways to prevent rats from getting close to people.
Improperly stored garbage, open compost piles, and accessible bird and pet food can attract rats. They can enter homes through small crawl spaces and unsealed gaps such as areas where pipes go through walls.
“We’re vulnerable to those kinds of situations because we’re such an old neighborhood with old infrastructure,” Nettekoven says.
Shea, for one, no longer composts because of rats. “Even though we were following the directions… there were still rats coming around the compost bin,” she says.
Shea plans to distribute information to residents during the summer. The Hosford-Abernethy Neighborhood Association, which does not meet in August, may take further action this fall.
If you want more information about rats, learn how to keep them out of your home, and so on, go to the Multnomah County Health Department’s rat webpage.
Correction 7/28/11: The article initially stated that the repair of a sewer break in the alley behind Cordelia Shea’s house in Ladd’s Addition was done by Portland Water Bureau. We have corrected it to Portland Bureau of Environmental Services. PWB only deals with fresh water.
I grew up on a farm, and we ended our rodent problems by capturing gopher snakes and letting them free on our property. They have big appetites, they can easily hunt in any rat-hiding-space, and they aren't dangerous to humans because they aren't venomous and don't carry diseases. In a couple of weeks, the rats and mice were gone. It was way better than poison (we didn't want our dogs or cats to ingest any rat poison), and it was more effective than our cats, who usually just loaf around and sleep.
Another way to get rid of rats is to set humane traps around, as rats will learn where not to go if they smell rat remains somewhere. If you capture them live and release or dispose of, the the pest control will be dealt with effectively.
Rats are also tasty appetizers when times are tough. And they are heading that way. The tough part, not the tasty one.
I've seen one or two rats where I live in Buckman, but my upstairs neighbors got a cat not long ago and decided to make him primarily an outside cat. Since then I've found at least a half-dozen dead rodents left on the driveway or in front of the house in a fashion I like to think of as a warning to other rodents. I so rarely see mice or rats that it was a bit of a wake up call that even unseen, they're still around.
The City of PDX was working on the sewer drains in our area a few years ago resulting in many a rat being seen on the sidewalks & roads around Sellwood. PLUS - urban myth validated. Rats DO climb up out of the sewer into your toilet - they swim!. Lesson learned. Keep toilet lid down when not in use, as sadly, they also drown.
EWWWWW! I cannot unread that. :(