RAT INVASION THREATENS JERSEY CITY RESIDENTS

An invasion of rats is terrorizing residents of Halladay Street in Jersey City, New Jersey. Rat populations disturbed by ongoing cleanup of the nearby Garfield Avenue chromium site have moved into the small residential neighborhood in northern New Jersey. Rats are so numerous in the neighborhood that these usually nocturnal pests are regularly seen during the day scurrying along sidewalks and crossing driveways. One resident told NJ.com that he is catching as many as five rats per hour in a homemade rat trap baited with dog food that he has set up on his driveway.

Occasional rat sightings have occurred in the Halladay neighborhood due to its location near an area of industrial warehouses; but, until this summer, residents had never experienced a full-blown invasion of the disease-spreading rodents. When rodent habitats are destroyed or disturbed, as they have been during cleanup of the nearby chromium site, NJ pest control experts say rats will relocate to more protected areas nearby. Warehouse lots overgrown with tall grass and weeds and strewn with garbage from passing motorists and pedestrians have provided an ideal habitat and food source for displaced rodents in the Halladay Street area.

The same problem frequently occurs in areas of new residential or retail construction. When animal habitats and food sources are destroyed or disturbed by construction, rats, mice, raccoons, opossums and other local wildlife seek shelter and new food sources in nearby areas. Quiet suburban neighborhoods in northern New Jersey are frequent targets of such rodent and wildlife invasions.

When wildlife is forced to relocate, the New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware, and Eastern Shore of Maryland pest control professionals at Viking Pest Control warn that rats and mice are the most frequent home invaders. If you see evidence of rodents in or near your home, contact the licensed NJ, PA, MD, and DE pest control experts at Viking Pest Control immediately for expert rodent control service.