Ferndale residents concerned over rat problem amid I-696 construction

CBS News Detroit has learned about a new problem associated with the Interstate 696 construction project in Oakland County.

People who live along the interstate in Ferndale say the road work has caused rats to flood into their neighborhoods.

When Timothy Paré moved into this rental property back in May, he realized he had the worst kind of housemates, ones that leave a mess and never pay.

"I remember the night I was in my backyard, I heard some noise, and he was like the size of a football. Came right up to me ... He was very confident. I stomped my foot, and he looked right at me," said Paré.

Homeowners on Hilton Road say rats are everywhere. It's a community that sits right next to I-696.

Additionally, it's peak season for rats to have babies.  

"The rats have to exist. We know the construction does not create rats; it can uproot them, so it can make them come out of their burrows a little bit," said Laura Mikulski, Ferndale mayor Pro Tem and founder of Ferndale Rat Patrol.

Mikulski says the Ferndale Rat Patrol was created back in 2016.

"Really, it was a culmination of so many people having rat issues," said Mikulski.

The group has had community trapping parties and is even starting an app to locate these squatting rodents.

Mikulski says the rats have been mooching off these residents for years, but she says the road work has made a bad problem worse.

"I think people are squeamish; we have removed ourselves from the process and just push it off to pest control and let someone else take care of it when ultimately this is yard work," said Mikulski.

It's why Mikulski and the rat patrol work to inform the community about how to properly trap and release them while educating residents on the risks of using rat poison.