North Castle homeowner voices frustration over rat infestation in neighborhood
NORTH CASTLE, New York (WABC) -- A North Castle homeowner is fed up over a rat infestation that has taken over her property and the neighborhood.
Holly Mottola spoke to Eyewitness News about how her backyard is now full of bat stations and traps. She also acknowledged the horrible body count of rats she's found.
"We would catch about 16 in one night," Mottola said.
Mottola says she spent over $1,000 trying to mitigate the infestation that started a month ago. Her house borders a gas station, where recent video showed rats scattering when the fence was kicked in.
"I tried to notify the gas station owner," she said. "Two days I went in there to speak to him, I couldn't get in touch with him."
Mottola says the rodents have built tunnels to her property, but the owner of the gas station, Asif Muhammad, insisted he's keeping the area clean.
"We've been taking care of everything," Muhammad said. "These guys are coming every week. This is the best we can do. You can't just eliminate them in a day."
Muhammad acknowledged he is also working with an exterminator, and blames the restaurant that just opened next door to his station as to why the rodents presence has increased.
Neighbors say they doubt the restaurant is the source.
"I just want everything maintained so we can use our properties again, because all the neighbors are being impacted, it's not just myself... it's the whole neighborhood," Mottola said.
The Westchester County Health Department conducted a surprise inspection on Wednesday, and said they are monitoring the situation to see if the mitigation efforts are working.
READ MORE: The 'Rat Pack': NYC recruiting new group of anti-rodent activists to help in city mitigation efforts
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