TOLEDO, Ohio — Point Place residents are raising concerns about an alleged rat increase in the neighborhood over the past few years.
"They're running around like squirrels everywhere. In my garden I grow tomatoes, I grow cucumbers, they're eating them," said resident Denise Gary. "I got traps all over, but it's so bad, I'm catching two at a time."
Gary says she's noticed an increase in the number of rats in the neighborhood over the past three years and while she tries her best to keep them away, she's getting tired of it as she has now started catching two at a time.
"That's all, what else can you do? I didn't grow as many things as I usually do this year because I know it's going to happen," she said.
One resident, who asked to remain anonymous, pointed the finger at over-grown properties, saying a lack of lawn maintenance could be to blame.
"They did just cut it like last week or a week and a half ago, they cut it, but it's growing again," she said.
Toledo City Council member Theresa Morris, whose district encompasses Point Place, says the city has recently been notified of the high grass in one of the areas which they've begun cutting and will continue to cut every other week.
But even if grass is cut and traps are set, Jennifer Gottschalk, the Toledo-Lucas County Health Department's environmental health director, said the Glass City is the perfect place for rats to live.
"We have water, we have greeneries, we have railroads, and we are just an area where they are established," she said.
Another reason is construction, she added.
"The weather is great for the rats to be out and about but also due to the construction projects that we have going on," Gottschalk said. "Summer is construction season so we do see rats displaced, so when one street project starts and they've been in that area, once they feel the vibrations of the ground changing, that disrupts them and then they're gonna go look to go live and eat from."
And while people can't keep rats from coming into the city, Gottschalk said there are ways people can prevent them in their yards.
"if you have a garden and you are not maintaining your garden or you allow the fruit to kind of fall off the plant and kind of just sit in the bed, they might actually be attracted to that," she said. "They're going to get that fruit that's rotting."
Gottschalk said not picking up after your dog can also attract rodents, as that is also something they will eat. She recommended people avoid feeding wildlife, too.
"We have a lot of people that like to feed wildlife and birds, and they will climb right up that pole, and shake the feeder and eat right off of that bird seed," she said.
Gary is hoping the city can step in and help.
"It's bad and I know the city's been snooping around so I'm hoping we get some help, because we've been waiting for help and it's been a few years now," she said.