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One of the unforeseen effects of a foreclosure is the reduction of the quality of life in the surrounding area. During the summer time mosquito’s breeding in an untended pool pose a health hazard. But for some people the real problem is an age old one, the rat.

Rats can find empty houses and seeing that there is no one to drive them off take them over. Lawns that are not mowed add to the appeal of these homes. It is not that great of a problem until the rats head out to forage, typically in the neighbors homes and properties.

Staten Island Live has an interesting article on the rat problem foreclosures have brought to the borough of New York City.

“Many times, if there’s a foreclosure, people just walk away,” said Mark Loffredo, president of Post Exterminating Co. in Tompkinsville. “The yards get overgrown and rodents find it conducive to habitation. If they recognize that there’s nothing to stop them getting in, they will nest in the house. They do search for habitat and they’re always searching for food.”

Though there are no official counts of rats in the city, unofficial guesses range from about 8 million (or one rat per person, an old rule of thumb) to perhaps 10 times that many. That would indicate that there could be anywhere from 500,000 to almost 5 million rats on Staten Island. via  SILive.com.

Related posts:

1. Buying Foreclosures Takes Due Diligence
2. Jesse Jackson Calls For March on Washington, Over Foreclosures?
3. Top Ten States For Foreclosures - March, 2008
4. Top 10 States for Foreclosures in August, 2007
5. Top 10 Worst States For Foreclosures in 3rd Quarter, 2007