McKenna wants city to use less invasive rodent control measures

  Keeping the city’s rodent population under control has unintended consequences for other wildlife, according to Ward 1 Councillor Joanne McKenna. During Monday night’s City Council meeting, McKenna requested the city to look into using less invasive rat baiting techniques. McKenna said it’s a motion she’s been trying to get through the City Council for the past year.

  The site supervisor for Belle Isle Marsh and members of the Friends of Belle Isle Marsh have been seeing a number of negative effects from the baiting of rats with poison in the area, said McKenna, especially with the construction of a large apartment building across from the marsh. “Since construction is at a maximum in Revere and Orient Heights, baiting rats is at its highest demand,” said McKenna. “In the abutting marshland, we have species such as owls, coyotes, hawks and other animals that have been affected.”

  After eating the poison, the rats die after being dehydrated and then are eaten by other animals in the area. “That poisons the animals that digest the poison rodents, and then these animals also die a horrible death,” said McKenna. “The poisons that we currently use have a 100-year shelf life, and this is affecting the ecosystem in a catastrophic way at the Belle Isle Marsh. What the site supervisors at Belle Isle Marsh and all across Massachusetts are seeing is a disturbing death rate among these animals, and that includes dogs and cats.”

  McKenna said there are less invasive ways to keep the rodent population in check, including a dry ice type of bait, natural predators and snap traps.

  “If we continue to overlook the factors because wildlife is not a primary concern for people, there are chemicals that we bait rodents with that never break down that could get into the water table and eventually into our food,” said McKenna. “The overall use of these chemicals are shortsighted from a public health and safety standpoint.”