Here we go,
We will be approaching the most serious time for trash accumulation in the next few days. As people get beyond the storage limits of their hard plastic and covered trash containers, some will begin placing garbage in plastic bags outside of their homes. As the temperature really heats up past 90 degrees, the raw garbage will ferment and become magnets for our already abundant rodent population.
They will get into the garbage easily and feast. They will feed and breed rapidly from then on until the food source is cut off. Once this process gets going, there is a lag effect of a few weeks before infestations become fully evident. Once it starts, it must run its course until it peaks and then subsides. Abundant food sources are the fuel that drives infestations.
At this exact time two years ago, my neighborhood was experiencing the early stages of a rat infestation that ran until late summer. It was put in play by the excavation at the Moxley Field for the modular swing space building the previous early spring. The rodent population around that field went on the move and sought out greener pastures.
They found paradise in the backyards of the neighborhood homes that contained good food sources for them, in particular the old established fruit trees such as berry and cherry varieties which were all in full fruit production in June.
By mid-July, there were rats everywhere and we would see them during daylight hours moving between the backyards. We lost the outdoor enjoyment of our property for that entire season. We wouldn’t sit or eat on our backyard patio until the following year. That was the first time in my lifetime that I have seen rats in Watertown’s neighborhoods.
The City’s response to that infestation was pathetic. No pre-emptive rodent control measures were put in place around Moxley prior to beginning the excavation even though rodent issues were becoming more evident wherever heavy construction activity was taking place across the city. They simply let whatever was going to happen occur without doing anything to minimize the impact on the residents.
I attended several rodent control committee meetings in the months prior to warn them that doubling the cafeteria service output for both the middle and high school students and support staffing would generate a lot more food waste garbage. We needed common sense thinking, empathy, and proactive measures.
The only actions that I saw come out of those wasteful and useless meetings was a directive to mandate the use of the most benign grade of rodenticide. The DPW never answered any of my emails.
Keep in mind that even after trash pick-up resumes, the impacts on the rodent populations may not become evident until several weeks later. The infestation in my neighborhood was severe enough that I hired pest control services to construct a metal foundation barrier along the entire sill of my home and seal every possible point of entry up to the bottom of the first-floor windows.
This barrier protection installation cost me over $5K and I pay a yearly protection service fee to ensure the barrier remains intact and sealed. I invested heavily to re-landscape my backyard to disrupt the rats’ daily travel runways and eliminate any potential points for hiding or harborage. It saddens me to see how far some of Watertown’s neighborhoods have declined in recent years after greatly improving during the 1990’s. (Lower population years were cleaner and had better neighborhood living conditions)
The first sign that infestation may be imminent is seeing dead rats in the area. The sure tell-tale sign that an infestation is occurring is having daytime rat sightings. They will multiply so fast (in days) that strong food source competition draws them out to feed even during daylight hours.
I saw the first rat ever in my backyard at about 2 in the afternoon in mid-June 2023. My neighborhood is particularly vulnerable to infestation due to the large permanent food sources nearby that sustain a very active rat population. (schools, elderly housing, fast food establishments).
This time of year, I watch very closely and will bait snap traps to monitor activity due to the end of middle and high school year at Moxley that dramatically decreases the dumpster food sources over the summer months. That gets the rats out on the hunt for new food sources in the nearby neighborhoods.
Hang in there and try to enjoy the your summertime outside activities. Look out for yourselves and please don’t touch any dead rats, if you come across any. They carry very HIGH risks to our
health.
Just a final thought, bone-in chicken waste will begin to rot and decay in the garbage extremely quickly and the odor is gagging and will attract rats faster than just about anything else. I am putting all high-risk food waste in freezer bags in my freezer until I either have no room left to add to it in there or the trash collections resume.
Everything that I have written here has been sent, in the past, to multiple City function leaders and Council members. It never made a bit of difference in any actions or outcomes. In the past, they simply could not achieve any level of common-sense management and problem control. But this is the present. I ask the City, what are your plans, and how do you plan to get your information out into this community?
Dean Martino
Watertown Resident
Taking advantage of the free compost service in Watertown may help remove some of the more desirable rat treats from the uncollected garbage. Compost is still being collected weekly.
Suggestion to the town manager,
provide a location for people to bring trash to on a appointment bases until this strike is settled.
Strikes can take a long time to work out and trash keeps coming.
Just checked Republic’s website. All they got about this fiasco is “Service Alert!
Service has been interrupted in your area. Some services may not be available to you at this time.” May not? Shall not is more likely. Not a beep about the strike or negotiations with Teamsters.
Is someone in City government checking its contract with Republic, specifically remedies upon breach? How did the 7/3/2025 meeting go? Hello??
I see rat traps on my street but never anyone checking them.
Seems like they were put there just to “shut up” citizens.
DEFINITELY more rats around here than ever before been here 50 years.
City should supply residents with necessary rat traps.
Please Watertown do something! We are having issues with rodents which we never had doe to the construction projects around Mt Auburn and Arsenal streets. It’s costing us a lot of money to barricade our house and we are diligent on keeping things as clean as possible. We need your help.
Diane Woodward
Watertown Resident
Also, Have the recycling center open for swap shop.
See this link
https://www.watertown-ma.gov/1492/Swap-Shop
Dean, NONE of this would be a problem if you started to take advantage of the free weekly compost pickup (Black Earth Compost are not on strike). Composting is EASY and cuts down on smelly trash. Rats will not be attracted to your trash if it is all non-perishable items. Black Earth takes just about anything, including chicken and meat bones. That Watertown offers this great service is proof that they ARE doing something.
See more and sign up at: https://www.watertown-ma.gov/740/Composting
I am old enough to remember the compost holes that every house had in the backyard with a step-on lid (the hole is still in our backyard). What happened to us? We got lazy. The irony is that composting doesn’t take much effort at all. But we’ve been acclimated to other people taking care of our garbage. Good for the rats.
Try it. After a week or two, I guarantee you’ll wonder why we haven’t always done this.
It must be stressed that Mass., in line with federal regulations, restricts rodenticide use, particularly Second-Generation Anticoagulant Rodenticides (SGARs). As things stand, consumer retailers are federally prohibited from selling SGARs, meaning people can’t buy them for home use. Limited use is restricted to licensed pest controllers and certain agricultural users. It is illegal to put any poisons including SGARs outdoors except under highly regulated permitted conditions. Consumers are restricted to the purchase of reading-to-use bait stations containing specific types of rodenticides. Pelleted baits are not permitted. Avoiding rodenticide use, especially SGARs, reduces the risk to raptors, the most effective rat killers, prey wildlife, and household pets. The safest response to rat problems is baited snap traps, which provide a faster and more humane death, and they are safe and easy to use. The best response to rat problems is to remove any sources of food on your property and close any exterior openings that may allow rats access to your home. The best solution to the rat problem is prevention. That means municipalities should adopt site specific goals and encourage human behavior change.
I thought we are not supposed to put garbage in our trash . Composting with Black Earth and garbage disposals should take care of the garbage.
Dean: great idea to freeze potentially stinky garbage until just before it’s put out for collection. Strike or no strike, that sounds like a good habit to get into.
Dean raises a lot of legitimate concerns. When you live in an area where people frequently drop off their trash, we alone can’t control all of the issues near us. Dean did more than the average person to keep rodents from invading his property.
I use the small compost bin and do like being able to dispose of this type of rubbish separately from regular trash, but I don’t put the garbage in this bin until the day of the pickup. A neighbor got one of these bins early in the program and some type of critter actually ate through the bottom of the bin, so they stopped using it as they felt it was attracting rats, squirrels, raccoons or whatever. So these bins aren’t a foolproof way of cutting down on trash or critters.
I accumulate my waste in a small covered plastic container in my kitchen and either put it in the compost bin on my scheduled day or bring it to the Recycle Center on a Tuesday, Friday or Saturday and put it in their big bin meant for this waste. If I have enough to do this or it’s developing an odor, it’s out of my house in just a few days. I know this option doesn’t work for everyone, but it may be helpful for others to consider.
With the delay in rubbish pickups with the strike, it would have been nice if the city leaders sent out a robo call sooner to update people of what was happening or planned. I found out about the option behind Sterritt Lumber by accident as I saw the small sign. I shared the information with friends who I knew didn’t get a pickup last week so they could dispose of some trash in case a backup plan hadn’t been worked out. Very few people clicked on the down answers on the special website and, therefore, didn’t know they had options for Friday and Monday to get rid of excess rubbish after the holiday weekend.
We have a rather large group of people now in city hall, especially the communications staff, but we didn’t seem to benefit from their expertise over the weekend. Was everyone out of town for the holiday? Was no one from City Hall available to get the word out sooner with a robo call?
Going forward I hope we get regular updates on any issues related to trash as we can’t afford to increase our rat population in Watertown. Good communications goes a long way in making our lives less stressful.
This comment is from Linda Scott:
Thanks, Dean,
For taking the time to share what has become an all too common problem in Watertown! Your analysis of the situation and what you’ve gone through to solve this problem in your neighborhood was compelling.
There are many approaches to this problem. I have heard, for instance, that at least one person gave up on the green bin, because something was chewing through it. As a matter of fact, something chewed through a large toter on my street. We have some tough wildlife in Watertown!
I also have a question. If the green bin is the ultimate solution, do we deposit dog poop and baby diapers in it, since they are very attractive to rodents? I think not…it’s complicated!
What you presented is a view of how the cycle of “ratification” grows in a neighborhood. You pointed out that there are no simple solutions to this issue, and a multi-strategy (not just raptor protective poisons) needs to be applied to be successful.
For instance, I haven’t seen the coyote lately in my neighborhood, and I think as a result, the rabbit population is out of control! I strongly fear that the very successful, prey-driven coyote we had was eventually done in by the more benign poisons ingested by the rats, since it has a cumulative effect.
“Eco” solutions like soy covered car wires have a two-fold effect, attracting these little beasts as well, and they’re wreaking havoc on our car expenses, as they merrily chew through thousands of dollars of car wires.
I also share that I have the “rat boxes” on my street, which don’t seem to move an inch until there’s an issue, like street repair. We have a good Health Department now. We need to earnestly work with them on these things.
Speaking of the Health Department, they are to be commended for instituting Watertown’s first “Dumpster regulations.” That in itself is a full-time job! And as we see more and more large buildings being built, with their accompanying dumpsters, the rat problem will be even harder to tame. Remember, companies like Republic service these facilities, too. I know of at least one large residential complex in the City that is serviced by Republic. Are they all?
You mentioned fruit trees. People, PLEASE do not cut down your beautiful trees. Just clean around them regularly when they bear fruit.
An equally concerning issue to me is the ineffective City messaging on this strike. It doesn’t just affect the older residents, as you might expect. A young guy on my street was shaking his head, because a friend of his on the other side of town had put his garbage bins out…having no idea that a strike had been going on for two days!
I have taken advantage of the offer to deposit three bags of trash across from the Recycling Center. Thank you, DPW…this helped! How did I find out? A friend happened to drive by and see the (very small) signs.
There’s a lot to do here. I would like to see the City’s actual plan (in writing) for the strategy that they will follow in situations like this. If it’s not in writing, there is no plan, just flying by the seat of your pants!
And, I’m hoping that the City will be more open to working with the public on making messaging to the residents not more plentiful, but more effective.
Finally, I know that I’m not the first to say this…Go Union!!