‘Aw rats!': Some West Hartford residents fed up with rodent problem

Some frustrated West Hartford homeowners are facing an issue that has them a bit "rat-tled," so to speak.

One person said they've been battling pesky rats for months, making them wonder whether there's a wider problem in town.

“It just scares me knowing that they’re here and they can pop out at any time," the resident said.

Emily Salvador of West Hartford is fed up with rats, especially the ones she captured on home surveillance scurrying near her hedges and by the rim of her pool.

Salvador said it’s been an issue at her home in the Elmwood neighborhood since January — and that it's only getting worse as the temperatures go up.

“We were catching about six in the snap trap a week,” she said.

Salvador said they’ve been trying to trap and kill the rodents for months — even calling in help from a professional exterminator — but there hasn’t been much improvement.

“I think he regrets giving me a yearly price because I’ve had him come out so many times to reset these poison traps,” Salvador said.

At Richland Pest and Bee control, they’ve seen an uptick in calls across town year-round.

“Our client list has doubled in the last year in terms of rodents,” said Michael Sarnese, vice president of Richland Pest and Bee Control.

Rick Ledwith, the West Hartford town manager, said although he hasn’t seen an increase in the overall number of rat calls, they rat calls he does get are typically during the spring and summer.

Sarnese said rats are resilient creatures that thrive in the warmth.

“Anywhere they have access to food or water or shelter, they’re going to like. Doesn’t matter how clean the place is,” he said.

Sarnese advised homeowners to make their properties hostile environments for rodents by removing any standing water and blocking off entry points.

“Get that stuff away from the structure. Look for entry points that you can block off. Sometimes you have to use some pretty sturdy material because they can chew through a lot of over-the-counter products,” he said.

While it’s a pesky problem from some, others say they haven’t noticed any rats — and yet, even unaffected residents understand why it would be unpleasant.

“That would be very unnerving. Yeah. Absolutely not,” said Katie Dziedzic of West Hartford.