City Reminds Residents to “Clean Up, Seal Up” to Help Curb Rodent Population

As warmer weather lingers through the fall, our winters become milder, and more people continue to congregate outside, the environment is ripe for rodents and other animals to scrounge for food, shelter, and water. To help curb this rodent activity, the City is reengaging its education campaign “Clean Up, Seal Up” to address rodent control, prevention, education, and enhance compliance with regulations. The campaign provides actionable items for the public to perform that will make it harder for rodents to populate.

Residents and property owners who feed birds and wildlife, may not appropriately pick up pet feces, have open water sources, open trash, or accumulation of debris in their yards, improperly maintained composting, barrels with cracks and holes or overgrowth on their property are all contributing to the current rodent problem facing most communities. Unfortunately, those conditions if not addressed will result in enforcement efforts, including citations and fines, by the Board of Health.

In addition to steps the community can take, the City is also working in public spaces, parks and streets to limit rodent activity. In 2022, the City partnered with professionally licensed Yankee Pest Control to assist the Board of Health with rodent complaints, investigations, and compliance.

Resident Responsibilities

Actions taken by residents and business owners are essential to controlling and preventing rodent populations. Most importantly, access to food, water, and shelter for rodents must be eliminated. The following steps are encouraged to help this issue and be a good neighbor:

• Dispose of garbage properly. Make sure all trash and compost are stored in barrels with tight fitting lids. If the barrel doesn’t close properly, replace it.
• Avoid feeding the wildlife. Feeding birds and other animals produces food waste that attracts rodents.
• Trim trees and shrubs and remove overgrowth.
• Clean pet waste frequently.
• Avoid having standing water on your property.
• Keep our parks, open spaces, building foundations, alleyways and streets clear of all dropped or discarded food scraps.

City Responsibilities

If you believe there are rodent burrows or activity on your property, you can contact the Medford Board of Health (BOH) to schedule an inspection. The BOH and its inspectors can conduct inspections of private property and provide tips and resources to support rodent control, however, they do not provide rodent control services.

Yankee Pest Control Responsibilities

Yankee Pest Control can conduct rodent activity investigations, including looking for evidence of burrows, food sources, or other contributing factors for rodent issues as requested by the BOH. They can also perform carbon monoxide treatments of rodent burrows to control issues.

“Rodents thrive in warmer weather, wet areas and where food scraps are accessible,” said Mayor Breanna Lungo-Koehn. “Thanks to measures taken by the Board of Health and our most recent rodent ordinance, there are many strategies for the City, pest control vendors, and residents to reduce this problem and keep our community healthy and free of pests.”

“With the current warm weather and upcoming milder winters, it is more important than ever to take appropriate steps to prevent rodents from settling on your property,” said MaryAnn O’Connor, Board of Health Director. “Please help us “clean up and seal up” around the City by following the tips and resources we have available online. Don’t hesitate to contact the Board of Health with questions or for additional resources.”

The Board of Health can be contacted at 781-393-2560 or bohadmin@medford-ma.gov. More information and resources can be found at www.medfordma.org/rodents.