Roof rats move to Valley suburbs

PHOENIX - The Valley’s roof rat problem is moving from the central city to the suburbs.

Vacant houses and fresh fruit are giving these rat packs plenty to eat and places to stay.

It’s not just the Arcadia and McCormick Ranch areas being hit anymore.

The rats are now being seen as far away as Mesa, Gilbert and Chandler.

“My wife found six babies in my work bench, she was hysterical,” said Rick Budd from Tempe.

He was one of several dozen Tempe residents who attended a roof rat meeting on Wednesday night.

People were getting tips on how to beat back the critters.

“I had a friend in town and we saw one crawl on top of my daughter’s playhouse,” said Roseanne Berry.  “It was so embarrassing."  

Roof rat expert Bruce Paceley is well known across the Valley for his efforts helping residents rid themselves of the roof rat problem. 

Bruce knows first hand how bad it can be. “My wife set up traps and in a few weeks we caught 26 rats at our house so I was a believer.”

Bruce gave the crowd a power point presentation about roof rats with rat facts like how they can grow to be 18 inches long including the tail, or how in one year, two roof rats can produce more than 6,000 offspring.

But he also told them fixing the problem is usually fairly simple.

1. Seal your home.
2. Cut back trees.
3. If you have rats, get traps and poisons.
4. Work with your neighbors because if they have roof rats now you soon will.

Bruce told the story of one man who caught roof rats in his home but didn’t have the heart to kill them. 

The man took them to the Papago Park area and set them free. 

Those rats, according to Bruce, led to the roof rat infestation at the Phoenix Zoo that lasted the better part of a decade.