‘It’s a takeover’: Residents in Fulshear neighborhood say rats are invading their community
With Halloween right around the corner, some families in the Jordan Ranch subdivision say their real-life nightmare has already begun and it’s not ghosts or goblins. It’s rats.
With Halloween right around the corner, some families in the Jordan Ranch subdivision say their real-life nightmare has already begun and it’s not ghosts or goblins. It’s rats.
Residents told KPRC 2 reporter Re’Chelle Turner the rodents have taken over their neighborhood, crawling through backyards, parks, and even swimming pools.
“And if they’re migrating, they don’t seem to be moving very fast,” one resident said. “It’s been three weeks. They’ve actually found, you know, a place to live and good food, and they’re happy. This is not a migration. This is a takeover,” Kat Littmann said.
Homeowners say the problem has been going on for weeks and the HOA hasn’t done enough to stop it.
“Lately it’s kind of scary and gross at night,” Littmann said.
Families say the situation is so bad, it’s turned their community into something out of a horror movie.
“It’s a rat invasion and it’s not like a normal rat situation,” another neighbor told KPRC 2.
Kat Littmann, who’s lived in Jordan Ranch for several years, said she’s seen the rodents running along sidewalks and scavenging through trash bags.
“We’re not talking like Michael Myers kind of rats here,” Littmann said. “But I come back late at night after volunteer work, you know, 10:30 at night on trash, when people have put out their trash cans for the next morning, and there will be five or six rats on a bag of garbage, or there will be rats running down the sidewalk to get to something, you know, like food a kid dropped or something,” she said.
Parents say they’re now worried for their children’s safety especially after finding rats and carcasses near play areas.
“The hawks are, like, eating them and leaving behind part of their carcasses,” one mother said. “And my son, he’s only about to be two, and he likes to be touching absolutely everything, and I’m afraid that he’s going to touch one of the rats and, you know, get sick from it,” one parent told Turner.
Residents shared several disturbing photos with KPRC 2 showing dead rats in traps, rodents scurrying across sidewalks, and one floating in a homeowner’s pool filter.
“It’s a health hazard. It’s not… It’s not a game,” another resident said. “Like, I’m afraid to go with my kids to trick-or-treating,” one resident stated.
In an email to homeowners, the Jordan Ranch HOA said it’s aware of the issue and is working with pest control to determine what treatment options can be used in the community’s shared spaces.
Here’s the full statement from the HOA email sent Thursday:
“Good morning, Jordan Ranch residents,
The HOA has received several emails regarding the rodent infestation in Jordan Ranch. We are working with our pest control vendor to determine what treatment options are available for the community’s common areas. The shed has been treated routinely for several years. The bait traps are checked monthly by the pest control company. If homeowners are having issues on their personal property, they should contact their own pest control company for help.
The technician also mentioned that rodents tend to migrate during the fall, but they typically don’t stay longer than a few weeks.
The HOA will continue to update residents on what actions are being taken to control the rodent problem in the common areas.
Thank you!
SBB Community Management
(on behalf of Jordan Ranch Residential Association, Inc.)
Still, many residents say the HOA’s explanation isn’t enough especially since they’re paying more than $1,200 a year in HOA fees.
“We pay for maintenance on the grounds of the community itself,” Littmann said. “That means that they should be eliminating the places that the rats can live. They should be putting up maybe more trash cans so people can throw away things and it will be cleared out regularly, so the rats don’t have food,” Littmann said.
KPRC 2 reached out to the HOA on Thursday asking who’s responsible for addressing the infestation and where the rodents are coming from. A follow-up email was sent Friday afternoon.
As soon as the HOA responds, KPRC 2 will update this story.
