The town wants to know if you’ve seen a rat, or two or three, in your travels, asking residents to fill out a survey about the less-than-popular rodent.
The survey is the brainchild of Health Department intern Shalmalee Kurvey. Through this initiative, the department will explore common issues, identify problem areas, and guide efforts to control and prevent rat infestations.
Kurvey is working on her master’s degree in epidemiology at Boston University.
“This is the time of year when people call and complain about rats,” Kurvey said.
The survey is designed as a tool to help inform the response to the rodents, Kurvey said. It will be used to generate educational material on the best ways to manage and control the rat population.
Pest control giants Terminix and Orkin both rate the Greater Boston area as a hotspot for rat infestation. An average of both company rankings places Boston ninth, squarely between Baltimore and Detroit.
In addition to weather, rat infestation can be linked to habitat disruption from construction, poor sanitation, and the draw of food. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, rats have the potential to carry diseases that can spread to people directly through contact with feces, urine, or saliva.
The survey in Belmont will not create a heatmap for the rattiest place in Belmont, Kurvey said. Instead, it asks about your living situation and whether you’ve seen rats; how you handle waste management, and what actions, if any, you’ve taken to manage the issue.
Controlling rats has been a hot topic in recent months, as several groups have moved to effect bans on anti-coagulant rodenticides. Opponents of the rodenticides point to a growing number of deaths among predatory birds that die after eating the poisoned rodents.
“This will hopefully educate people on the most humane way to control rats,” Kurvey said.
The survey can be found at tinyurl.com/BelmontRatSurvey.
