RI, MA EHS Pest Control Blog

Why do I have rats? Why is the city not doing anything? That is quite often the top two questions when a community, neighborhood, development, association, etc. is besieged by rats. I was called out to consult on a rat issue and offer my expert advice. The attached picture tells the story.

What rat would not want to live on this street? What you don’t see in this picture is the empty lot right around the corner of the building and in the lot is tons of wood scraps and debris, that is where the burrows are. They live in the lot and enjoy the spilled garbage buffet. Rats like humans want food, water, and shelter. In a 50yd stretch the rats have all this. The solution? Clean up the lot, clean up the trash and improve trash procedures, hire EHS to eradicate the existing rats.

George Williams,
General Manager - Staff Entomologist

Pest Control, RI, Pest Control, MA 

Rats Nibble at Paralyzed Patient in Government Hospital

An elderly paralyzed man, who was on ventilator support, has been seriously injured after allegedly being nibbled at by rats at a government hospital.

The 70-year-old man was found seriously injured yesterday morning by his family members at the Mathura Das Mathur hospital with his ears, lips, nose bitten allegedly by rats. However, hospital authorities have not confirmed that the man was injured in rat attack. It was brought to our notice by a patient's attendant.

George Williams,
General Manager - Staff Entomologist

Pest Control, RI, Pest Control, MA 

Rats can exhibit 8,000LBS of pressure per square inch! Their teeth are harder than copper, concrete, iron and many other materials. This picture shows how a rat got inside a building. The landlord used expanding foam with copper mesh. As you can see the rats buzzed right through it plus the wood door!

How does this stack up against other animals???

Pit Bull (dog): 310 lbs
Lions: 600 lbs
White sharks: 600 lbs
Hyenas: 1,000 lbs
Snapping turtles: 1,000 lbs
Crocodiles: 2,500-6,000 lbs
Tasmanian Devil: 5,100 lbs

George Williams,
General Manager - Staff Entomologist

Pest Control, RI, Pest Control, MA 

Boston Cop Mailed Dead Rats as Payback in Sex Ring

A Boston transit police officer has been suspended after he was caught mailing dead rats.

Why was he mailing dead rats?

According to CBS Boston, the officer was sending a message to a man who failed to pay the cop's girlfriend or another prostitute for sex.

Not your run-of-the-mill dead rats in the mail story.

MBTA Police Officer Greg Thorpe was caught mailing dead rats to a Hyde Park man, from a UPS store in South Boston about ten days ago. Sources tell the CBS Boston that Thorpe was caught on video by security cameras in a UPS customer service center, mailing two packages. At one point he reportedly looks at the security camera and smiles.

Sources say officer Thorpe's girlfriend offered her "services" on Craigslist and that the uniformed officer would drive her and her friends to appointments in his marked MBTA cruiser during his midnight shift, offering protection.

Sources say one man never paid one of the girls and so Thorpe mailed him the rats.

The MBTA police released a statement, saying, "Greg Thorpe has been placed on administrative leave pending the results of an internal investigation."

Sources tell CBS Boston officer Thorpe may at some point face charges from Boston police for intimidating a witness and animal cruelty.

Source: CBS Boston

George Williams,
General Manager - Staff Entomologist

Pest Control, RI, Pest Control, MA 

UPDATE: Wal-Mart Deli, Bakery Reopen After Rodent Problem

The deli and the bakery at the Wal-Mart superstore in Lebanon have reopened after being shut down for a rodent problem.

News 8 initially reported the problem on Thursday, Aug. 4. A store spokeswoman said the problem was first discovered at the end of June but that pest control efforts were unsuccessful. The spokeswoman would not say what type of rodent had gotten into the store.

Here is the complete statement the company issued on Thursday:

"Unfortunately it has come to our attention that rodents have found their way into our store in Lebanon, Pa. We are aware of the situation and we are working to resolve this issue.

As part of our commitment to food safety, the bakery and deli remain closed until the problem can be corrected. We’re working with a pest control company, a professional cleaning service and the Department of Agriculture to remedy the situation.

We make every effort to ensure our stores are clean and pest free and apologize to our customers for this inconvenience. Once the Department of Agriculture inspects our store and gives us the okay to re-open, we will."

On Friday, a company spokesperson updated the situation, saying the store had passed the inspection and the deli and bakery are open for business

Source = wgal.com

George Williams
General Manager - Staff Entomologist

Pest Control, RI, Pest Control, MA

It looks like a disturbing trend is continuing with rats appearing on subway trains. They keep this up and they are going to need metro cards!

George Williams
General Manager - Staff Entomologist

Pest Control, RI, Pest Control, MA