They’re smart. They’re stealthy. And they are always looking for a new place to call home.

These traits make rats a challenging pest to control, and spring is a time when most homeowners will find signs that the resourceful rodents might take a liking to their property.

In Warwick, Cranston and Johnston, municipal rodent control officers are reporting that it is a busy season and as they work with property owners to keep rats at bay in both residential and commercial areas.

“It’s year-round work, but we do get a lot of calls particularly this time of year,” said David Laquale, rodent control officer for the City of Cranston.

Rats have inhabited the earth for more than 50 million years, but it’s the clash between their evolutionary determination to survive and humans’ equally strong determination to get rid of them that causes problems.

And if people in suburban communities think they’re seeing more rats in recent years than in the past, it’s not their imaginations.

According to scientists, cities and suburbs are seeing more rats (most often brown rats also known as the Norway rat) due to a couple of factors. Scientific studies, including some cited in a 2024 NPR article note that warmer temperatures and even slightly shorter winters give rats more time to leave their burrows and tunnels to scour for food around houses and garages, and the more moderate temperatures also create better conditions for breeding.

Another key factor has been the pandemic. According to Guardian Pest Control, a Rhode Island company with 40 years of experience expelling rats and other pests, Covid changed our landscape forever by creating circumstances that drove rats into residential and suburban areas.

Cameron Correa, office manager for the East Providence-based company, explained that when restaurants closed during the pandemic, commercial dumpsters prevalent in urban areas sat empty so the rodents expanded their territories. They are now unwelcome neighbors in many residential areas and are unlike to recede.

Their presence has prompted many municipalities to try to eradicate the problem, and Cranston, Warwick and Jonston are among several Rhode Island communities that have full-time rodent control officers.

Laquale spends most days responding to residents’ concerns by placing tamper-resistant bait boxes in backyards across Cranston. The boxes contain packets of poison, and he said that the method works well in exterminating the rodents.

In the rare event that the poison has not worked, Laquale carries a golf club – a five iron, to be exact – with him so he can keep some distance if he has to deal with a live rat when checking the traps. “You always empty the box away from you and you want to have something to keep them away,” he said, adding that it is not his favorite experience.

Laquale has a good relationship with fellow rodent control officer Michael Durante in the neighboring town of Johnston. He helped train Durante, who came on board in Johnston about two years ago when Mayor Joseph Polisena Jr. fulfilled a campaign promise to tackle rodent problems in that community.

Both Laquale and Durante say they like their jobs, because they are always busy, they like a challenge and they enjoy meeting people.

“I am out talking to people every day trying to answer their concerns,” said Laquale, who adds that there is no part of Cranston he has not visited. “I’m a people person, and I meet a lot of nice people in this job.”

Durante, who estimates he has put out about 400 bait boxes across Johnston this year, concurs. “I like to help people,” he said. “And that’s what we do in this line of work.”

Laquale said that, like many other municipal programs, Cranston offers assistance only with external rat problems and to only residential property owners of single-family homes or buildings with no more than four dwelling units. Apartment or condominium complexes are the responsibility of the property owners, he said, and if rats have gotten inside a dwelling, it’s time to call a professional exterminator.

In Warwick, a spokesperson for the mayor’s office said that each residential complaint is evaluated on a “case-by-case” basis to see if setting up bait traps is warranted.

But extermination is only part of the solution.

“We also know that it takes a community effort to keep rodents at bay,” said Elizabeth Tufts, media coordinator for Warwick Mayor Frank Picozzi. “Residents need to work together to remove food sources, eliminate hiding places and prevent entry points for rodents.”

Laquale, who works closely with Cranston’s inspection division, agrees, noting that he spends a lot of time educating people on how to ‘rat proof’ their property and the most important rule is the most simple: Keep things clean.

He and Durante say taking basic steps can keep your property from being attractive to rodents. Among other things, residents should:

• Make sure there is no trash or garbage around.
• Clear clutter that would give rats easy places to hide.
• Be diligent about keeping lids on any containers that hold garbage or any kind of food.
• Scoop the pet poop in your own backyard because rats love to eat animal waste.
• Make sure trash containers have not been compromised and are not cracked or split.

One key culprit that residents often overlook is bird feeders, according to Paul McAuley, deputy chief of staff to Cranston Mayor Kenneth Hopkins.  The seeds in the feeders attract a lot more than birds, he said, noting that the mayor is committed to combating the city’s rodent issues. It even has an ordinance that limits bird feeders to one per property until rat problems in the city are under control.

Correa at Guardian said bird feeders and pet waste are probably the two main reasons people end up with rats in their yards. “When the birds eat the feed, they scatter it everywhere,” he said, adding that the company suggests adding something like cayenne pepper to bird feed – it will be distasteful to the rats, but harmless to the birds.

McCauley said that Cranston encourages residents to call the building inspection division, not only if they have a rodent problem, but if they see a property that has waste or other factors that will create a problem in the area. They can also get information and assistance on the city website: https://www.cranstonri.gov/departments/public-works/rodent-problems/

Anthony Moretti, chief of staff for Hopkins, said the mayor recently invested in new residential trash bins that are made with rodent-repellent material. The city will use the new bins when residents turn in old ones that are badly damaged or have holes in them, he said. But, he added, there is no better prevention that making sure your trash bins are shut tight.

Prevention is crucial, Correa said, adding that rats are smart – very smart.

Rats are also “neophobic,” he said, explaining that they notice anything new in their environment and will avoid it, so bait boxes will not necessarily work immediately. He said Guardian often puts out empty bait boxes at first, so the rat will get comfortable with the box before they even try to lure it in with bait.

Laquale and Durante said the only way communities are going to successfully combat rodent problems is by collaborating with residents. “It really is teamwork,” Durante said.