Reports of rats on the rise in Maine neighborhoods amid pandemic

PORTLAND, Maine (WMTW) - Exterminators said they have seen a 30% increase in the number of calls for rats since the beginning of the pandemic in Maine.

Exterminator Nathan Jewett said rats are opportunistic feeders.

When many restaurants were forced to shut down at the beginning of the pandemic, rats that would normally feed out of their dumpsters, moved to other food sources, like people’s trash cans.

“Because people are home more, they’re noticing things they may not have noticed before. But then too, being home more you’re creating more garbage. Maybe that garbage that used to be sufficient for you is now overflowing and having it overflow is definitely going to invite a rat issue,” Jewett said.

Jewett said ways to make a home less inviting to rodents include keeping the yard and home clean and storing garbage outside as opposed to indoors.

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