Boston’s new rodent action plan aims to outrun rats in Beacon Hill
By Milena Fernsler
Diego Osorno, executive chef at a Beacon Hill restaurant, The Paramount, says he isn’t afraid of anything, but the countless rats he’s seen scurrying throughout Beacon Hill are starting to get on his nerves.
The rats don’t seem to be afraid of anything either.
“They’re not scared of people anymore,” he said. When he goes out to the back stoop for a cigarette, he said his presence doesn’t deter the dusty brown Norway rats from racing to and fro in front of him, even during the day.
Rats may have resided in Boston since the 1700s but it has only been a year since Mayor Michelle Wu launched the Boston Rodent Action Plan (BRAP), a cross-departmental effort to track and measurably decrease the rat population.
Now the plan is beginning to roll out in Beacon Hill, which is designated as a priority neighborhood due to its high call volume of rodent-related complaints.
“Citywide data suggests the population is on the rise, which is why this coordinated, cross-departmental effort from the city is so important,” Councilor Sharon Durkan said in a recent statement.
Since BRAP’s launch in the summer of 2024, Boston’s Inspectional Services Department has responded to at least 2,639 rodent-related 311 calls.
What prompts all the calls? The answer may not surprise anyone who’s lived in a big city. In addition to warming climates and rats’ rapid breeding rate, the city’s rodent report, written in coordination with New York City’s renowned rodentologist Bobby Corrigan, narrows in on one key factor: food waste.
“Improperly stored trash, overflowing barrels, and open bags create a buffet for rodents,” said Durkan.
Due to its density, aging infrastructure, and limited alley access, city officials say waste management poses a greater challenge in Beacon Hill than in other neighborhoods.
“We do not have trash cans because people don’t have a driveway or garage to store them,” said Patricia Tully, executive director of the Beacon Hill Civic Association.
Monday and Friday are trash days in Beacon Hill. The afternoon before, many residents put their rubbish on the street in plastic bags, where it is vulnerable to overnight rat rampages until trash pickup the next day.
Tully said the ideal solution, if not the practical one, is for residents to separate their food waste and drop it off at one of two compost centers near Beacon Hill. Otherwise, she urges residents to put their trash out as close to pickup time as possible, although she said getting up before 6am to take out the trash is a tall order, especially in the winter months.
“The Civic Association has always hoped to change the trash pickup time,” Tully said.
To address the issue, Durkan sponsored a public hearing at City Hall to hear resident testimony and explore the possibility of same-day put-out and pickup of residential waste and sealed bins for commercial trash.
One strategy underway began as a suggestion from a Beacon Hill resident, Durkan said. Working with Beacon Hill’s tree warden to ensure greenery remains healthy in the process, the pilot program layers a wire mesh fabric on tree beds to prevent rats from entering and burrowing.
Over the past year, Durkan said she has also partnered with the Beacon Hill Civic Association and the city’s neighborhood services to walk Charles Street and survey missing bricks, which have nearly all been fixed. The team is also working with the city to eliminate every documented rat nest.
John Ulrich, assistant commissioner of the inspections department, said the city’s campaign to control rats has recently finished collecting baseline data on rodent activity using new technologies such as sewer traps. While the project is at too early a stage to draw conclusions, he said the coordination of all city departments on rat mitigation is “promising.”
“This is a quality-of-life issue,” Ulrich said. “Rats cause damage to infrastructure, tree beds. They live in our sewers and burrow in breaches in the sewer lines.”
“Their teeth constantly grow, so they’re gonna constantly chew,” he said, explaining that adult rat teeth never stop growing, an adaptation that once allowed them to gnaw through nuts and roots in the wild, but now allows them to chew through electrical wires and damage vehicles.
In addition to their supernatural teeth, rats can be difficult to manage due to their prolific breeding abilities. According to a Facebook post the inspections department made as part of a public awareness campaign, “A single pair of rats can produce up to 2,000 offspring in just one year.”
Beyond physical damage, Durkan said there’s an “ick” factor that influences how people feel about their neighborhood. “If residents regularly see rats running across sidewalks or near their homes,” she said, “it takes away from the sense of cleanliness.”
Durkan said the city will continue to do its part, but it’s important residents stay vigilant in eliminating food sources for rodents. She recommends the use of heavy-duty trash bags if people do not have space for closed-top bins, and putting out trash as close to the collection time as possible. Refraining from feeding birds and cleaning up dog waste is also critical, she said.
“With everyone working together, including residents and community groups,” she said, “I’m confident we’re moving in the right direction.”
Rodent activity can be reported to 311.
Milena Fernsler is a student in the Boston University Journalism program. This story is a partnership between Beacon Hill Times and the Boston University Journalism program.