NEW BEDFORD, Mass. — A massive rat infestation is forcing New Bedford to take emergency action.
The rodents started appearing in the area last week after a fire at a recycling plant.
“I killed four rats yesterday,” said resident Gabriel Arsenio.
And that was just another day for Arsenio, a Shawwood Avenue resident.
Lately, he’s been dodging rodents like potholes.
“Three, four rats every day, every day. It’s big ones, not small ones,” Arsenio said.
The rats are out in broad daylight, in plain sight and in numbers.
Neighbors say they’ve never seen anything like it before.
“A bunch of rats around here, even across the street in the store, price right and out the store. It’s getting bad around here,” one resident said.
Cell phone video shows rats running wild on Shawwood Avenue.
Animal control was recently on scene removing bags of dead rats.
The city says the source of the surge is the El Harvey waste and recycling facility, which caught fire last week.
“Once all that detritus was removed, now there’s no food source for the rats,” said City Councilor Leo Choquette.
Rats displaced by fire, flooding and construction are now scurrying into neighborhoods and businesses nearby.
“I get out of the car and they’d just be flying by there. My manager even pulled one out of the menu board at work,” said local resident Kerrie Duro.
To stop the spread, New Bedford officials blocked off Shawwood Avenue from the airport to Nash Road.
Police and animal control crews have been out spraying poison, setting traps, and sealing off the area.
“We’re working very closely with the mayor’s office and with Harvey and their pest control to make sure that this can get remediated as quickly as possible,” said New Bedford Board of Health Director Stephanie Sloan.
Until the cleanup is complete, leaders are urging everyone to take precautions and to secure trash, shut garages, and don’t approach any rats.
“They need to do something. They do. They got a lot of little kids around here. They start chasing the rats,” one resident said.
“One or two is fine, but not multiple rats,” Duro said.
The state has launched an investigation into how the rats escaped the facility.
If violations are found, Harvey could face civil and criminal penalties, along with fines for violating city code.
This is a developing story. Check back for updates as more information becomes available.
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