Residents across Sequim are reporting in about a growing rodent problem.

Local pest control experts say recent winter weather hasn’t discouraged rat/mice populations, thanks to warmer-than-normal average temperatures.

Eric Byers, sales manager for Sunrise Pest Management/Sequim Pest Control, said they’ve seen “quite the boom the past few years.”

“We’re constantly receiving calls for rodents … It’s a statewide issue,” he said. “Real cold winters for long stretches kills off a lot of them but unfortunately it hasn’t been long enough or cold enough.”

Byers said rodents continue to come closer to homes also due to high population builds and low food sources.

A Sequim homeowner said a local rat infestation has threatened her quality of life. The homeowner, who asked to remain anonymous because of possible code compliance issues with neighbors, moved into an older home recently near downtown an outbuilding/garage behind the residence leading to an alley. Inside the building, rats made a home inside the walls and a freezer, tearing apart insulation and belongings while leaving rubbish and excrement scattered in the rooms.

“I had to remove everything because it’s been urinated and pooped on,” the homeowner said. This includes insulation in the walls and roof.

Adding to the situation, the homeowner said, a transient living in the alley appeared to have broken the homeowner’s garage door, leaving a small gap to the outside, possibly serving as an access point for more rodents.

The homeowner said the house was the only option she could afford in the area and that she was unaware of any possible rodent issue.

Not able to afford an exterminator, the homeowner turned to pest control devices like traps and poison.

After putting sticky traps down, the homeowner realized they only peeled the fur off the rats undersides and devices that held poison seemed too dangerous if it was somehow spread in the yard/house for the homeowner’s child and dog.

Ultimately, the homeowner turned to wooden snap traps and dabs of peanut better.

“I had to out-think them because they got clever,” the homeowner said.

However, in one week, she found or captured 25 rats — including a group of babies huddled inside a floor freezer.

More measures

To help deal with the rats, the homeowner received weatherization help from OlyCAP, including fixing the home’s insulation and sealing holes.

Colin Graham, OlyCAP weatherization program manager, said funding assistance for low-income homes is designed for weatherization improvement, not home repair.

“The work done on the house (to prevent rodents) was to prevent issues with the weatherization,” Graham said.

The homeowner was grateful for the help though because “the living space is saved,” but now the home’s kitchen is full of items intended for the outbuilding/garage.

“It’s infringing on my quality of life,” the homeowner said.

While she said she hasn’t seen any traces of recent rodent activity, the homeowner has taken further cost-effective preventative measures by removing blackberry bushes near the outbuilding/garage and picking up piles of wood.

However, neighbors’ idle vehicles, abandoned buildings and overgrown yards could be nearby havens for returning rats.

Any action by local homeowners to combat growing pest problems falls to them, local government agencies say.

Agencies respond

“If you have humans, you have rats,” says Andy Brastad, Clallam County environmental health director.

“We don’t have capacity to deal with rats,” he said. “Most of the things we deal with there is a funding mechanism for it. There’s nothing for rodents. The best we can do is guide them to the Department of Health’s website (www.doh.wa.gov/CommunityandEnvironment/Pests/Rodents).”

It provides basic tips to prevent rodents such as trimming vegetation, sealing holes outside your home, ideal traps to use and clean-up methods for infestations.

Complaints about rodents comes in waves to the Department of Health, Brastad said.

If they can act on a matter with rodents, it typically deals with neighbors and how they manage garbage.

“Our compliance is putting people on notice that they need to do clean-up,” Brastad said. “We don’t do a whole lot of follow-up. We have other things that are more of a priority.”

Clallam County animal control officer Tracey Kellas said she’s aware of a growing rodent problem, but that her jurisdiction only covers domestic animal issues, not vermin.

In the City of Sequim, Chris Hugo, Sequim director of community development, said the Sequim Municipal Code has policies for rabies and animal quarantine but not rodents specifically.

However, the city could act on a rodent issue if it’s a property maintenance issue.

“It all depends on if it’s a civil matter,” Hugo said. “If there are vacant cars or piles of junk that lead to rats, then it could be a city issue.”

Like Clallam County, the city’s code compliance officer Lisa Hopper would seek voluntary compliance from a resident to clean up an area that could be causing a nuisance like rodents. If the messiness issue is persistent it could result in a fine, Hugo said.

Rodent response

Local restaurants seem to have avoided any major issue with rodents.

Steve Jackson, Clallam County Fire Department 3’s fire inspector, said he hasn’t come across any rodent problems in Sequim.

“Business-wise, there hasn’t been anything,” he said. “If there was a problem, I’d refer it to the Health Department.”

Brastad said occasionally they’ll discover a restaurant/food service outlet that doesn’t have specific rodent-preventative measures required of them.

Another local issue with rodents has been at Parkwood in Carlsborg, a 55-plus neighborhood.

Bethany Hibay, Parkwood’s office manager, said they’ve seen sporadic issues, all related to bird feeders being too close to homes. She said the issue was solved by moving them away from the homes or simply removing the feeders.

Byers said moving bird feeders away from homes is one of a few simple ways to prevent rodents. He added that keeping vegetation at least a foot from the home is another way along with picking up pet droppings frequently and keeping chicken coops as far away from houses as possible.

If traps aren’t getting the job done, Brastad recommends calling a professional for help.

When it’s that time, Byers said, when they call in a professional depends on the magnitude of infestation.

“Some people don’t want to have one (rodent),” he said. “Or we’ll go into a hoarder house with dozens. It just depends on people’s tolerance.”

Again, for more information on rodent control, visit www.doh.wa.gov/CommunityandEnvironment/Pests/Rodents.