Rodents are once again becoming an unwanted presence in Evergreen Park as some residents attested to during the village board meeting Monday night.
One resident who lives near 95th and Francisco said that she has hired her own exterminator in an effort to reduce the infestation that has increased this summer.
“They have been along my house and in the back,” she said. “I’m really worried. I understand rats are going to be there, I know that. But I was sitting outside and I saw four of them. We don’t have a nest but they just keep coming.”
Mayor Kelly Burke said that the village has hired Anderson Pest Solutions and they patrol different sections of Evergreen Park. She suggested to the resident that her exterminator work with Anderson Pest Solutions to pinpoint where these rodents are coming from.
Trustee Mark Marzullo said that a demolition of a closed business resulted in an increase in rodents near his home. However, he said with the addition of the local pest patrol the presence of rats has been mostly eliminated near his house.
While board members and some residents agreed that rodent infestation has been reduced, other neighbors said they have increased along the 9500 block of Francisco and Richmond.
“Some neighbors may not be cleaning up enough or their vegetation is high,” one resident said. “I mean I don’t know. But I see them and I don’t know where they are coming from.”
One resident, Robin Strohacker, said the alley overall is clean but there are homes that allow weeds to grow high. That could be a source, she said.
Burke informed the residents that she will talk to village exterminators to patrol certain areas.
“They were gone but they are coming back,” Burke said. “We have to do something about this.”
Burke added that there will be a crackdown on the surge in rodents.