Somerville, Quincy expand non-toxic SMART rodent control as fall approach raises risk

Somerville and Quincy are continuing to use SMART Box traps with Modern Pest Services after a 2022 pilot showed measurable drops in rodent activity. The program has removed thousands of rats, cut 311 complaints in Somerville, and aims to keep rodents from moving indoors and breeding as cooler weather approaches.

Why it matters: - Rodent control affects public health, property conditions and quality of life in dense neighborhoods. - The SMART program removes rodents without pesticides, reducing concerns about secondary poisoning in water supplies and risks to other animals. - Coastal New England is expected to have a warmer, drier fall, which can push rodents indoors to breed before temperatures drop.

What happened: - Somerville and Quincy are continuing to deploy SMART Box rodent traps with Modern Pest Services after a 2022 pilot program. - Somerville was the second municipality in the nation to pilot the technology in 2022, after Portland, Maine. - The program has since expanded to Cambridge, Malden, Brookline and Quincy. - The current effort builds on a SMART program launched in February 2022 as part of former Mayor Katjana Ballantyne’s 100-Day Agenda. - Somerville installed and maintained 50 SMART Boxes across four neighborhoods during the initial pilot.

The details: - SMART Boxes are above-ground traps with sensors that detect rodent movement and body heat. - When a rodent enters the unit, an electrical current is activated and the trap kills the rodent humanely. - Each unit automatically resets, stores the rodent in a closed container and is locked to block access by people, pets and wildlife. - The system monitors and records activity 24/7 and sends real-time alerts to Modern Pest Services. - The city places SMART Boxes in locations identified through 311 rodent reports and Inspectional Services data. - Installations cover business districts, residential areas, open spaces and sites near construction and transit. - The SMART program is part of Somerville’s Integrated Pest Management Plan and complements residential inspections, public education and free baiting services through the Residential Rodent Control Assistance Program. - Live SMART Box data is available to the public online through the city’s SMART data portal. - Since installation, Somerville has prevented rodents from producing millions of offspring by removing thousands of rats from the population. - Somerville has seen an average annual reduction of at least 11% in rodent-related 311 calls, with nearly a 15% decrease in 2025. - Based on rat-removal data since 2023, the program has prevented estimated population growth to about 6.5 million in Cambridge, 4 million in Quincy, 1.4 million in Somerville and 2.2 million in Brookline. - From April through August 2026, Modern Pest Services removed 2,952 rats across Cambridge, Quincy, Somerville and Brookline. - That five-month total included 1,866 rats in Cambridge, 565 in Quincy, 332 in Somerville and 189 in Brookline. - A female rat can produce six litters a year of about a dozen offspring, and the offspring reach sexual maturity in four to five weeks. - The release says each female can produce roughly 1,250 offspring a year.

Between the lines: - The program is shifting rodent control from reactive trapping to data-driven prevention. - Real-time monitoring lets the city identify where activity is concentrated and respond more quickly to the highest-need areas. - The public dashboard also signals an effort to make rodent mitigation more transparent. - The non-toxic approach is being positioned as a way to reduce disease exposure without introducing new chemical risks. - The latest five-month removal total suggests pressure remains high ahead of the fall season, even as the city reports progress.

What’s next: - Residents are being encouraged to seal homes now before colder weather drives rodents indoors. - Somerville and its partners are expected to keep using location data, inspections and SMART monitoring to guide future mitigation. - The city will likely continue expanding its integrated pest-management approach if the data keep showing lower complaint levels and sustained removals.

The bottom line: - Somerville’s SMART program is being used as a non-toxic, data-driven model for reducing rat populations before fall weather intensifies indoor infestations.