Resident thinks Sutter Street construction behind rat problem

Rodents have forced a Folsom mom to battle her car insurance company, leave her home for nearly two months and ponder if lengthy Sutter Street construction may be to blame.Heather Watson, 40, is a single mom who moved to Folsom a year ago. She rents a converted carriage house on Reading Street in the historic district. Life was fine for Watson and her 8-year-old daughter Holly until stories in the Telegraph and TV news focused on exploration of a tunnel running under Sutter Street."It was about the same time when those stories came out that this started," she said.What started for Watson was an odd smell coming from her oven in late July."I got brave enough to investigate (and) found rodent droppings in the pull-out drawer where I stored my baking pans," she said. "I didn't find a dead rodent, though."A handyman came by to pull out the appliance and found the cause of the offensive odor."Apparently a poor unsuspecting snake had crawled in to snack on (a) rat in my stove and then became too large to exit the panel," she said. "I had decided to make bruschetta and used my broiler, which in turn, killed the snake."That was just the beginning of her run-ins with rats."About a week later I was sitting in my living room with my (dog) on my lap. It was about 11 p.m. and we'd been winding down," she recalled. "From across the living room a very large rat leapt out from behind my loveseat … and proceeded to run into the kitchen, it's long tail (waving) behind it."The next morning, she found rat droppings on her pillow. That's when she called the property manager. The exterminators came and discovered she had not one, or even two, but numerous rats living with her."They found a massive infestation," Watson said. "(During the inspection) the rats started scurrying above me on the drop ceiling panels (in) my bedroom."The exterminators went to work, removing 15 full-grown rats over two-months. During that time, Watson couldn't live in her place."Everything was covered in plastic and it was like a construction zone," she said. "I couldn't even take a shower or get to my clothes."Her daughter was none too happy with the arrangement either."The rats took one of my toys and I never found it again," Holly said. "They stole my favorite toy."Watson, who cleaned up the mess after the rodents were removed, found what was left of the toy in the back of a leather chair. "They had a nest back there," she said.She ended up moving back into her home in September and said she "enjoyed a couple of rodent-free months."That was until the "check engine" light came on in her car. While on her way to the mechanic to have it checked out, she lost control of the vehicle, spinning out across the center median.The mechanic diagnosed the problem immediately — rats. The chew-happy rodents had gnawed through wires in her engine. Damage from scraping the median, combined with the wires, means she's facing an estimated $14,000 to $18,000 repair bill. The car has been in the shop ever since."The insurance company wanted to total my Boxster," she said.She only paid $18,400 to purchase the Boxster in the first place.In an e-mail response to Watson, Brian Reed, one of the city's Sutter Street project engineers, wrote that there has been no evidence of increased rodent activity related to construction.Watson isn't so sure. She believes the city should have considered the possibility of displacing rodents during construction."If the city can show they did due diligence, then there is no problem," she said. "I used to live on a ranch with horses, so I'm accustomed to dealing with wildlife."City officials believe there is no link.According to Sue Ryan, the city's information officer, this is the first complaint they've received regarding rats and the project."It is doubtful the old drainage tunnels have any connection to the rats," Ryan said. "(The tunnels) weren't recently discovered. We've always known they were there and we haven't done any work on the tunnels to date."She said the city does receive the occasional call from residents who suddenly find they're sharing space with an unwelcome visitor."Periodically, Pete Piccardo, the city code enforcement officer, receives calls from residents in different areas of the city who have discovered rats on their property," Ryan said. "He refers them to the Department of Agriculture for free rat bait."