It's a problem no one wants to talk about. It's embarrassing, some say. Disgusting even.'
Hilton Head Island and Bluffton have a serious rat problem, and according to some homeowners and local pest control companies, it's a problem that's getting worse.'
"It used to be one house on the block that had them," said Billy Karijanian, general manager of Critter Management. "Now, it's five houses on every block. We're talking about homes, businesses, churches, offices -- everywhere from one end of the island to the other, Bluffton included."'
Five local pest control companies each say they've had to add personnel within the last two years to deal specifically with rats. Most companies reported fielding between 30 and 50 calls a week from people complaining of a rat problem. Critter Management receives an average of 40 calls a day, said Karijanian, adding that he wasn't exaggerating.'
It's reached a point, some said, that a community-wide effort is needed to get the rat numbers under control.'
Biologists and pest control experts say the growing rat population is due to the growing human population in the area, with the increased number of dwellings creating ideal living conditions for the non-native species. Rats thrive in environments that provide good cover, abundant food and a lack of predators, making homes and other buildings perfect habitats, said Greg Yarrow, professor of wildlife ecology at Clemson University.'
Rats burrow under homes, chew through screens and can squeeze through tight spaces as small as a half-inch, like roof vents and gaps left when routing water, electrical lines and air conditioning pipes into structures.'
Rats can cause serious damage once inside. They can chew through electrical and water lines, ruin insulation, destroy household items and, in general, become an infuriating nuisance. '
COSTLY CRITTERS'
"At first I thought it was just squirrels, but then we heard them crawling up the walls," said a 21-year Bluffton resident who lives near the May River. "Then we opened the attic and saw a tail. I was freaking out."'
She asked not to be named because she's embarrassed.'
Rats had infested her house and both family cars. She called a pest control company, and they caught seven rats in her attic and several more under her house. She even got a cat to help with the problem, a pet she never wanted to have. "It's pretty bad when getting a cat starts to sound good." '
Technicians installed hardware screens over small openings under the house and along the roof lines, set traps in her attic and positioned poison outside the house.'
But that wasn't cheap. The price tag? $3,280 -- and counting. She caught another rat this week, and she's still having trouble keeping them out of the cars.'
Rat-proofing homes can cost anywhere from $150 to more than $10,000, depending on the size of the structure and the amount of work required to seal it, pest control companies said. On average, the total bill amounts to about $1,500, said Karijanian of Critter Management.'
Sometimes, a simple trapping and baiting program can stop the problem. Most often, however, keeping rats out of the house requires a significant investment.'
The first step is finding where rats are entering the house and sealing off those points with a heavy-duty hardware cloth, which is similar to steel wool. In elevated homes, like many in the area, it's often necessary to seal off the entire crawl space. '
Next, technicians set traps in attics and install tamper-proof bait boxes around the perimeter to the house. For the next four to six weeks, the companies usually stop by once a week to check traps and bait stations. '
WHY HERE, WHY NOW?'
Local pest control companies say the two species of rats commonly found living with unsuspecting homeowners are Norway rats, also referred to as brown rats or wharf rats; and roof rats, also called black rats. Including their tails, roof rats can be as long as 14 inches and weigh about a half pound. Norway rats are slightly larger, reaching an average total length of about 17 inches and weighing in excess of 1 pound.'
Both species are prevalent on the East Coast, and each have been around since the early Colonial days, most often in port cities like Charleston, where the rodents would hitch rides on incoming cargo and passenger ships from Europe. But the problem hasn't been significant until the last three or four years in southern Beaufort County, said homeowners and pest control experts.'
This rapid growth, biologists said, is common for non-native species like Norway and roof rats, which have no natural diseases, parasites or predators to help control populations. Typically, non-native species undergo exponential population growth, meaning numbers start small but multiply rapidly until eventually leveling off. '
It's unknown why rats have only recently become a problem here, and no one has a clear estimate of populations. '
What is clear, said John Kaiser, owner of Island Pest Control, is that rats are more prolific than ever in southern Beaufort County. '
"I've been charting it for about three years when customers first brought it to our attention," Kaiser said. "I can tell you, it's not a rumor, there has been a tremendous spike in rat problems over the last three years."'
Kaiser's client list ranges from individual homeowners and residential complexes to commercial warehouses and restaurants. '
Rats are "an equal opportunity invader," he said. "It doesn't matter if the structure is lower end or a million-dollar marshfront home, rats don't discriminate."'
Tom Buchanan, facilities engineer at First Presbyterian Church on Hilton Head, said that before the church invested in a rat-control program, "they were just everywhere." '
"People would hear them in the walls, see them in their offices ... I guess it was just awful." '
COMMUNITY APPROACH'
While people can take steps to rat-proof their homes and businesses, a rat problem won't be solved on an individual basis, said Yarrow, the Clemson biologist. '
"It's going to take a very coordinated and integrated approach to dealing with the problem," he said. "There is no one silver bullet."'
In large cities like New York and Chicago, rats have been a problem for years, and those cities have invested millions of dollars in extermination and building code enhancements to try to control the pests. '
Hilton Head town manager Steve Riley said he was unaware of the rat problem, and said the town hasn't discussed how or if it would deal with it.'
"You caught me by surprise on that one," he said. "At this point, I wouldn't want to conjecture."'
But Ashley Fleetwood, pest control supervisor for Hilton Head Exterminators, said the problem is widespread, and the town needs to step in to take action now.'
He said dealing with the "out-of-control rat problem" will require a wide-scale baiting and trapping program. Building codes need to be updated to require builders to install rat-proofing hardware screens and seal off ventilation systems and other potential entrance points, he said. '
If something isn't done soon, Fleetwood said, "rats will impact absolutely every home" at some point.'
"This is an issue that's only going to get worse."