Life in the Ville by Jimmy Del Ponte

When I went to the Western Junior High School in 1968, there were a few classifications of people. There were the Mods, the Studs, Hippies, and the Rats had slicked back hair, pegged pants and pointy black shoes. The rats walking around the city are four-legged ones.

Another rat was found in a person’s toilet.

The following comments in quotes are fellow citizens stand on the rat problem.

“Bring in hawks and owls.” Wow.

“People will have to watch their cats and small dogs. And would bring in the feral cats.”

“This is THE WORST I’ve ever seen in my 64 years in the city.”

“The rats are everywhere, all the surrounding cities, not just Somerville.”

“When I lived in Somerville, I used to keep 2 gallons of antifreeze in one of my trash barrels. It would kill between seven and 20 rats a week if everybody does that, they’ll all be gone in a year.”

“The issue is all the construction. It was a problem prior to that but all the construction – the Green Line, the High School, etc. The biggest issue is the utility work. The rats have likely been living in/near old pipes that are being pulled out and replaced. Rats are escaping to calmer areas … then they get there and more work takes place. It’s easy to blame the mayor but it’s a problem that has never been truly addressed for decades. You want to get rid of rats? Get rid of food sources. Creative trapping – rats are smart. Bait stations may work for a few but eventually the rats ignore them. “

“I totaled my husband’s car trying to avoid what I thought was a cat. I freaked when I realized it was a giant rat. I screamed and hit a car. The thing was huge”

One thing that can be said about the rat problem is that it’s very disgusting.