Rats Are Taking Over Jackson County
Rats have always been a problem for humans. From the medieval period when they spread the bubonic plague to modern day America, rats have always been a pest to humans. For the most part people in larger cities have to deal with the worst rat problems, such as New York City where you can see them running along the subway and down the sides of streets late at night. No person is particularly happy to run across a rat in their vicinity. People in Jackson County are having more rat problems than usual, as the pest population seems to have grown and residents are seeing an increasing number of these rodents around as well as inside their homes lately.
Many people throughout Jackson County have begun to notice a growing rat presence, and the problem doesn’t seem to have an end in sight. They’ve become such a problem that citizens are even taking to social media such as Facebook to show videos and pictures of these rats. One Medford resident posted a video of his run-in with the rodent pests. The video received a whole host of comments from other people dealing with the same problem.
While incidences with humans running across rats have been increasing, James Lunders, the manager for the Jackson County Vector Control, claims that the increase in the pest population and their interactions with humans is not all that surprising when you consider that rats have lived close to people for a very long time. Fewer people are using rodenticides while also planting more gardens that attract the small pests. The growing human population is also a likely factor, as more people provide more food sources for the creatures. Lunders suggest that people trim back any trees and shrubs around their home, cleaning up any pet food or fallen fruit that is outside, and closing up all entrance to your home that are larger than a quarter inch. People should also clean up rodent feces and urine with disinfectant, and to not use a vacuum, as it just spreads any diseases rats are carrying into the air, which will increase the chances of people getting sick.
Have you noticed an increase in the rat population around your home? What do you do to fight off these rodent pests?
