Consider the rat—specifically the Norway rat, which doesn’t come from Norway. It is brownish gray and as long as 16 inches. During its year-long lifespan a female can produce up to five litters of seven babies, although litters can be as large as 14. It has excellent sight and hearing and an acute sense of smell. It can swim across the Charles River.

It thrives in cities all over the world. Here it lives in burrows in the Boston Common or wherever it can find suitable soil near people. Some of Boston’s best addresses are the most infested. Rats carry salmonella and rabies. About 50,000 Americans are bitten yearly by rats.

Rats can live in your house, as several did recently on Hancock and Myrtle streets on Beacon Hill. Andrew Christoffels, who works at Charles St. Supply, heard from the residents that the rats were in the toilet.

I’m betting you don’t want them in your house. The city helped the Beacon Hill residents with their problems, said John Meaney,  director of the city’s Environmental Services.

Many Boston residents, however, are at risk from rats moving in. We live in old buildings with holes in the foundations and improperly sealed pipes. Continue reading →