12 | FEBRUARY 18 - 24, 2022 | WORCESTERMAGAZINE.COM
COVER STORY
RATS!!!
Worcester is dealing with increased rat sightings in recent months. ANATOLY PAREEV/GETTY IMAGES
Poisoning rodents has long-term impact on Worcester wildlife Veer Mudambi Worcester Magazine | USA TODAY NETWORK
Jenny Pacillo is delighted by how much wildlife her family gets to watch in their Burncoat neighborhood. “It’s such a treat — foxes, hawks. (I) never expected to see so many animals in the city, but it’s very cool.” The mother of three talked about the two neighborhood hawks and how sometimes they’ll sit on her neighbor’s roof. “And two backyards away from ours, there’s an abandoned shed where a fox gave birth last year. There’s been a little pack of baby foxes.”
She fi nds any kind of bird fascinating. “I love crows, they’ll bring you presents if you get on their good side. They love peanuts and cashews so if you build up a good relationship with them, they will bring you what they consider to be a gift, like string and elastic pieces.” But rats are a diff erent story. Initially, she would see one rat at night that would set off the motion sensors. But it became a bigger issue over the summer, when rats would run by outside in the middle of the day.
“I was lenient at fi rst — it’s a part of city life.” Inspectional services trimmed some bushes, which helped till this winter when the rats came back with a vengeance. Sometimes their traps get three or four a night. She believed the construction work being done on Burncoat Street might have stirred them up and now See RATS, Page 13
