SAN DIEGO — Residents living in Downtown San Diego told CBS 8 they've seen a major uptick in rats in recent months.
"You'll see like 10 of them running up the sidewalk," said Deborah Assadzadeh, an East Village resident.
Jone Rodley, who also lives in East Village, said she started noticing the increase a few months ago.
"They're getting to where they're not so scared of people," Rodley said.
Assadzadeh posted on the Nextdoor app and had a huge response from people who also expressed concerns about the rat population exploding.
She made a report to San Diego County Vector Control. CBS 8 also reached out to see if they plan to do anything about the rats but didn't get a response as of Thursday night. A local pest control company said they began seeing more people call about rats this summer.
"I know they're not all going to go away but they could probably do something to stop the progression of them," Assadzadeh said.
CBS 8 reached out to the Downtown San Diego Partnership about the rats. Although the organization can't directly address the rat issue, they do have a new app for their clean and safe program that can be used to help clean up trash that might be attracting the rodents.
"If there's litter on the ground, trash on the sidewalk, report it to us. We are happy to take care of those things," said Alonso Vivas, the executive director for the Downtown San Diego Partnership Clean & Safe Program.
The clean and safe program can be used to clean up graffiti, power wash sidewalks, wellness check or even provide a safe walk home.
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