Daniela Berson
WMAL.com
BETHESDA, MD — (WMAL) Montgomery County’s Department of Health and Human Services reported this week that rat populations in Bethesda are on the rise.
Most of the rats are concentrated in the Woodmont area, but no one can pin down exactly where they’re coming from.
Kenneth Welch, Manager of Licensure and Regulatory Services with the DHHS, said that rats are being found in places where they normally wouldn’t survive.
“We’re seeing them in unusual places, like a potted plant,” he said, “A rat was hiding underneath a one of the Rideshare platforms, things of that nature.”
Welch attributes the growing population to construction work.
Rats often live in sewer pipes and foundations, and the construction might be bringing them to the surface.
Welch said that the DHHS was committed to working with local business owners to combat the rat problem, though no long-term, permanent solutions have been proposed.
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