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Bensalem residents demand help as severe rat infestation plagues neighborhood
Homeowners in Bensalem are turning to pest control and calling on local officials to intervene as a growing rat infestation disrupts their quiet neighborhood. While residents suspect past sewer pipe construction or unkept properties may be driving the problem, the exact source remains under investigation.
BENSALEM, Pa. - On the surface, it is a serene Bensalem community where families stroll with their children, neighbors walk their dogs, and squirrels move playfully across the lawns. But underneath, residents are battling a disturbing and growing problem: a massive rat infestation.
The issue, which residents say began about a year ago, has significantly worsened in recent months, prompting desperate pleas for help from local and county officials.
The backstory:
For long-time residents, the sudden influx of rodents is unprecedented.
"I've lived here 40 years, and I've never had anything like this," said Carol Termine, a resident of Corsair Court.
Termine and her husband first noticed the problem last summer when they discovered mysterious holes appearing across their property. The true scale of the infestation soon became horrifyingly clear.
"We looked at our yard, and there were probably 30 of them running around," she recalled. "It looked like the movie Willard."
The rats aren't just numerous; they are large. Termine admits she was "freaked out" after recently catching a rat that measured about 10 inches long, not including its tail.
What they're saying:
Just a short walk away on Brandon Court, Rochelle Porto is dealing with the same nightmare. She first realized the extent of the issue when she heard strange noises coming from outside her home.
"One day I'm sitting, and I'm hearing scratching underneath my air unit, and I’m like, 'Okay, that's not a mouse. There is something else under there,'" Porto explained.
Porto has since hired a private pest control service to help reclaim her backyard. Her property is now heavily armed with countermeasures.
"He has my whole entire yard laced up with traps and fake rocks with better traps, and we caught one over the weekend," Porto said. While the burrowing has slowed down, she suspects a large number of the rodents have taken up permanent residence beneath her air conditioner.
"There is plenty. There is probably a condo," she laughed.
Dig deeper:
The exact cause of the sudden infestation remains a mystery. Neighbors have speculated about several potential attractants, including food left out by people feeding stray animals or wildlife, improperly stored household trash and recent infrastructure projects in the area.
"Last year, the sewer pipes were replaced on Pasqualone Boulevard, and according to what I’ve been told, most likely that's the source of where they came from," Termine noted.
PennDOT responded to inquiries, stating that while the road where the recent construction occurred is not state-owned, they will look into the residents' claims.
FOX 29 reached out to the Bucks County Department of Health and the local township, but have yet to receive a response.
What's next:
While they wait for official intervention, neighbors are banding together. They are urging everyone in the community to clean up their properties and remove excess clutter to eliminate potential nesting grounds. However, some residents believe a large-scale municipal response may ultimately be necessary to eradicate the problem.
"I think the city needs to come out and drop big [trap] boxes all along the fence line," said Porto. "We are all connected."
The Source: Information from this article was sourced from reporting by FOX 29.