Stonington — Reports of rats in two more Pawcatuck neighborhoods have prompted the town and Ledge Light Health District officials to visit more than 120 homes to look for signs of the rodents and then come up with plans to eradicate them.

The two areas are the Birdland neighborhood off Route 1 and an area around Moss and William streets. The town also has cited one homeowner in the latter area for illegally raising chickens and warned others about feeding ducks, geese and birds, all of which it says are attracting rats.

The problem, which First Selectmen Rob Simmons described Wednesday as an “infestation” and not a crisis, first became public last month, when the town and Ledge Light received complaints about a home on Milan Terrace where a resident was feeding rats. Neighbors complained that rats were coming onto their properties. Since then, Simmons said 70 rats have been killed on the property and other steps have been taken at the homeowners’ expense to clear the yard and remove debris that was attracting the rodents.

The town also is consulting with pest control firm Griggs & Browne.

Simmons said four Ledge Light officials, whom he has accompanied on their neighborhood canvas, look for signs of rats when they visit homes and offer advice to homeowners about keeping their properties rat free. If residents are not home, information is left for them.

“Due to the relatively dense location of homes within these two neighborhoods, it is important to get everyone on board with preventing and eliminating food, waste, shelter and access for rats and then considering a pest control operator to assist with elimination of the pest,” wrote Ryan McCammon, Ledge Light’s supervisor of environmental health, in a letter to residents.

Simmons said residents do not need to feed birds in the summer, as there is plenty of available seeds and food for them. He added that recent mild winters have produced more rats.

Simmons said that in light of the rat problems, the town will revisit a 2013 ordinance that allows no more than 10 hens to be raised on lots of more than 20,000 square feet.

In addition, he said F.E. Crandall Disposal, which picks up trash in Pawcatuck, will add one or two more trucks to its routes during the summer to avoid compacting garbage on the trucks, something that creates a smelly liquid that sometimes leaks onto the road, attracting rats. In addition, the company is resealing all of its trucks to prevent any leaks, Simmons said.

As for who pays to get rid of the rats, under state law, it is property owners' responsibility. If people cannot afford to do so, Simmons said, they can contact the town’s Human Services Department for possible financial assistance.

Simmons said the town’s decision earlier this year to contract out its health department to Ledge Light was a timely one, as the health district has assigned four employees to the rat issue. Previously the town’s health department only contained two part-time employees: an inspector and a doctor.

j.wojtas@theday.com