A St. George neighborhood experienced an infestation of hundreds of roof rats. Exterminators said the population would increase exponentially across St. George
A St. George neighborhood experienced an infestation of hundreds of roof rats. Exterminators said the population would increase exponentially across St. George if not controlled. (Photo: A St. George neighborhood experienced an infestation of hundreds of roof rats.
Exterminators said the population would increase exponentially across St. George if not controlled. Exterminators said the rats were entering homes for water, a problem worsened this year by the dry winter. “What we were seeing more of was a specific type of rat,” said Chris Hill, sales manager and lead pest professional. “It's not native to here. It's not natural to here. With growth comes new critters, but these particular guys were very aggressive and did a lot of damage.”Rats an 'increasing problem' in Salt Lake County, reports Cottonwood Heights “Those types of communities were worse, but it was also not the only place. I did roof work in gated communities with multimillion-dollar homes that were standalone, but they were just as infested as anything else.” Pest control companies said roof rats arrived in St. George about five years ago. They could get in anywhere with a quarter-size hole. The rats might go unnoticed, but their chewing on plumbing could cause flooding issues.“The water first originally came through the ceiling and the light fixtures, and it was dripping from the top. It destroyed the wall between the den and my bedroom,” said Roth. “They had to completely replace this wall, repaint it, and drywall it. All my flooring was ruined. We had to rip everything out except for the tile, and had to rip out the carpet in the bedrooms because even one inch of water damaged it.”“I was gone for two days and came home, and water was dripping from my ceiling again and there were more rat bites,” said Roth. “When we put everything back together, I had confidence and was all excited to come back and finish doing all my decorating and get things back in order, and it flooded again. So, I didn't have any confidence at this point.” Western Pest Control said roofs offered countless points of entry, including air vents, HVAC pipes, and pinhole lights. Pest professionals recommended keeping yards clear of debris, trimming trees, and not overwatering to deter rats. They also suggested leaving out bait boxes, filling crevices with steel wool, or spraying areas with peppermint and clove oil. “There's not going to be a silver bullet,” said Hill. “It's going to have to be a little bit of everything to stay ahead of it.” Roth said she had lost confidence in it getting better and was shocked this was happening to her well-maintained home. “It's an ongoing thing,” said Roth. “Because I could fix all the holes in my ceiling and my roof, and if they chewed in from a neighbor's through the firewall again to get into my house, then I was going to have that problem continually. So, I just had to stay on top of it, I guess. I didn't know what else to do.” Western Pest Control said it was the human-population environment that made these animals thrive, so there wasn’t much the city could do. The city told 2News they didn’t have involvement.A Utah mother was charged after she allegedly kidnapped her child's bully in order to force him to apologize.SHANNON MARIE TUFUGADOB: 8/7/1985COUNT 1: CHILD KIOne person was taken to the hospital after a crash involving five cars on State Road 36 near Stansbury Park in Tooele County.Lt. Cameron Roden with Utah HighwaParker Kingston, a former wide receiver at Brigham Young University, was scheduled to make an appearance in a St. George court today on a felony rape charge.DuA woman went to buy groceries on Monday — only to find that someone tried to steal her SNAP benefits.She has been speaking out to spread awareness. Local advocaA hiker was hospitalized after he fell at least 20 feet down Donut Falls in Big Cottonwood Canyon.Salt Lake County Search and Rescue crews were called to assist
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