Rats in SunBird?

Layne Varney, General Manager

Some residents have reported seeing rats in SunBird. Who would have ever thought of this? Several years ago, “roof rats” were found in Tempe, and some neighborhoods not taking action led to a problem. Over the years, they have slowly migrated to most areas in the Valley. With COVID-19 arriving in March, and many SunBird residents leaving the area quickly to return to their summer home, fruit from many trees was not removed. Roof rats seek these areas of low-lying fruit. Pest control companies have set up some traps on homeowners’ properties who have reported these sightings. SunBird has purchased several traps to set up around the common areas where sightings have been reported. To help eliminate roof rats, please pick up the fruit from the ground, keep garage doors closed when not in use, avoid leaving pet food outside when not being used, and always bag and discard garbage into the trash container and close the lid. Let’s join together to deter the rats from coming into SunBird.