Rodent Issues Special Committee

Meeting Date: December 1, 2025, at 12:00 AM Governing Body: City of Somerville City Council Committee Meeting Type: Remote Participation Attendees:

• Jake Wilson, Councilor at Large and Chair
• Willie Burnley, Councilor
• Matt McLaughlin, Councilor
• Alicia Priva, Environmental Health Coordinator, Inspectional Services Department
• Colin Ziegler, Environmental Health Manager

Executive Summary: The Rodent Issues Special Committee convened for its final meeting of 2025 to receive updates on the City's rodent mitigation efforts. Key discussions included initial data from the Rodent Hormonal Birth Control Program pilot, a continued decrease in 311 rodent-related complaints, and an increase in residential and commercial trash violations. The Inspectional Services Department (ISD) presented updates to the Integrated Pest Management (IPM) program for 2026, focusing on expanded public education, improved residential abatement tracking, and new initiatives for commercial education and public abatement, including the acquisition of a carbon monoxide machine for burrow treatment. All agenda items were marked as "work completed."

ID Number: 25-0871 Description: Approval of minutes of the Rodent Issues Special Committee meeting of April 30, 2025.

• Discussion: No discussion.
• Vote:
  • Councilor McLaughlin: Yes
  • Councilor Burnley: Aye
  • Councilor Wilson: Yes
• Outcome: Approved (3-0-0)

ID Number: 25-0243 Description: That the Director of Communications and Community Engagement update this Council on efforts to educate the public about preventing conditions conducive to growth of the rodent population.

• Summary of Discussion (Alicia Priva, Environmental Health Coordinator; Colin Ziegler, Environmental Health Manager):
  • Integrated Pest Management (IPM) Program Update (2026): The City operates under an IPM program, which is updated every 2-3 years. The 2026 update focuses on residential, public, and commercial categories, with subcategories for education, enforcement, and abatement.
  • Residential Education:
    • Expansion of the annual communications plan.
    • Exploration of yard signs and trifold mailers to notify neighbors of properties actively reducing rodent activity, fostering peer pressure and collaboration.
    • Continued engagement with landlords to educate them on proper pest control.
    • Exploring resources to connect residents with energy efficiency work (e.g., insulation, patching holes, new windows) which can reduce pest activity, particularly mice. Trenching and replacing soft soils can also impact rat activity.
  • Commercial Education and Enforcement:
    • Implement education and empowerment for businesses, providing information to reduce rodents on their properties.
    • Developing a new best practices guide in collaboration with Cambridge, to be provided to businesses when applying for licenses (e.g., building demolition, vacancy, dumpster food, outdoor seating).
    • Pest control reviews currently occur for all building and demolition permits.

ID Number: 25-0244 Description: That the Director of Inspectional Services update this Council on efforts around enforcement of rodent-related ordinances, including the number of complaints, inspections, warnings, and fines issued for vegetation and trash violations.

• Summary of Discussion (Alicia Priva, Environmental Health Coordinator; Colin Ziegler, Environmental Health Manager):
  • Rodent-Related Violation Data (2025):
    • An increase in residential trash, commercial trash, and rodent control violations compared to 2024.
    • A decrease in vegetation overgrowth violations compared to 2024.
    • Residential trash remains the highest rodent-related violation type.
    • Commercial trash violations are concentrated in areas with more commercial activity (e.g., Union Square, Davis Square, Broadway in East Somerville).
    • Rodent control violations (e.g., burrows, excessive droppings) are clustered in East Somerville, often associated with older homes and gardens.
  • Vegetation Overgrowth Policy:
    • Violations occur if vegetation blocks public ways or if there is evidence of burrows under overgrown vegetation visible from a public way, indicating conducive conditions or harborage.
    • Yard waste piled up with rodent activity can also lead to violations.
    • Inspectors differentiate between light overgrowth and excessive conditions.
  • Rodent Control Violations on Public Property:
    • Burrows in parks or other public spaces should be reported to 311 to be routed to Public Works for treatment.
    • Burrows in City Hall should be reported via 311, preferably by the designated building administrator, but public reports are also accepted.
  • Residential Abatement:
    • Residential Rodent Control Program: Over 800 unique properties visited in 2025, an increase from 2023 and 2024. The program expanded to four visits per property in 2024.
    • CitizenServe Integration: All visits are logged in CitizenServe, including bait consumption data, to identify effective bait box placement (e.g., near fence lines, sheds, buildings) and assess bait palatability.
    • Bait Type: The City uses T-RAD (vitamin D-based rodenticide), not eschar. Contractors for residential pest management also do not deploy eschar on private property.
    • Resident Reports: A new feature will allow residents to receive direct reports from CitizenServe detailing visitation information, inspector recommendations, and licensed pest control technician findings. This is critical for long-term rodent reduction.
    • Compost Pilot Program: Monitoring the compost pilot program for its impact on rodent report data and reductions in properties participating in the residential program.
  • CitizenServe Module Expansion: The biggest need is an online application for residents to log requests directly, which is being developed for early spring 2026 launch.

ID Number: 25-0245 Description: That the environmental health manager update this council on rodent activity data and rodent mitigation efforts, including any novel approaches being are under consideration or being utilized.

• Summary of Discussion (Alicia Priva, Environmental Health Coordinator; Colin Ziegler, Environmental Health Manager):
  • 311 Data and Reporting:
    • Continued steady decrease in 311 rodent-related complaints in 2025 (data as of November 20).
    • Complaints follow seasonal patterns, with higher numbers in warmer months.
    • SomerStat is mapping complaints to provide additional context, showing the percentage of unique rodent-related callers and the percentage of 311 requests that are rodent-related by census block.
  • Rodent Assistance Program:
    • 834 unique properties visited in 2025, higher than 2023 and 2024.
    • The program focuses on treating multiple properties in a block simultaneously for increased effectiveness.
    • Tracking feeding rates and treated burrows helps assess activity levels.
  • Public Abatement:
    • Big Belly Trash Receptacle Replacements: Ongoing collaboration with DPW to replace open decorative barrels with Big Belly units in high-impact locations.
    • Smart Box Expansion to Schools: A scope of work has been developed for DPW to include smart boxes for monitoring rat and mice activity at external sites (2-3 boxes per school, near dumpsters or high-report areas).
    • Dry Ice and Carbon Monoxide (CO) Use: Continued use of dry ice and CO for burrow treatment.
    • CO Machine Acquisition: The City is acquiring a carbon monoxide machine using participatory budgeting funds. This machine will be used in public spaces, particularly parks or areas away from buildings, to treat identified burrows. Future plans include exploring its use near buildings with Harvard's guidance on evacuation processes.
    • Long-Term Mitigation Ideas (Pie-in-the-Sky):
      • In-ground trash receptacles.
      • Installation of public dumpsters or drop-off locations for compost, recycling, and trash to consolidate and secure waste.
  • Monitoring:
    • Continued efforts to monitor data on diseases, infections, and eschar poisonings.
    • Exploring city-wide or larger-scale monitoring programs beyond smart boxes, such as 4G gateways for long-term tracking of rodent activity.

ID Number: 25-1687 Description: That the Director of Inspectional Services update this council on the Rodent Hormonal Birth Control Program being jointly piloted with the City of Cambridge.

• Summary of Discussion (Alicia Priva, Environmental Health Coordinator):
  • Fertility Control Study (Evolve Product):
    • Initial data collection is ongoing, with analysis underway. No conclusive information yet.
    • Somerville High School Site: High activity and consumption of the Evolve bait product observed.
    • Pre-baiting (August 2024): Traps baited with peanut butter to attract rodents and assess activity.
    • Evolve Baiting (September 2024 onwards): Increased "rat events" (number of times a rat entered a box) and consistent bait consumption. This is an improvement over the previous Contrapest product, which was less appetizing.
    • Data Comparison: Future analysis will compare Evolve data with smart box data and 311 complaint data for broader context.
    • Lincoln Park Residences: Ongoing baiting with Evolve (1-2 times/week) with high consumption rates.
    • Outcome: Time will tell regarding the product's overall effect on the population.

• Motion to Adjourn: Made by Councilor Wilson.
• Vote:
  • Councilor Burnley: Aye
  • Councilor McLaughlin: Yes
  • Councilor Wilson: Yes
• Outcome: Adjourned (3-0-0)
• Note: All agenda items were marked as "work completed."