North Texas sees increase in rats

FORT WORTH, Texas, Nov. 17 (UPI) -- The owner of a pest control company says the rat population is increasing in North Texas and it isn't in just low-income areas.

Allen Sanford of A-1 Pest Control in Fort Worth says some of his best customers are in Tarrant County's high-end ZIP codes, the Fort Worth Star-Telegram reported Monday.

According to Sanford, North Texas is a good habitat for rats since it provides them with plenty of food and water.

One of his customers, Anne Potthoff, experienced a rodent problem 17 years ago when she moved to the tony Mira Vista subdivision southwest of Fort Worth.

"We had rats in the swimming pool and in the bird feeder," Potthoff told the Star-Telegram.

Janet Hurley of Texas A&M's Agrilife Extension in Dallas, says rodent populations can be thriving in one part of a neighborhood and relatively stable a few blocks away.

"They're just very opportunistic," she said. "Once they're in, they're in."