Use the form to record where and when you saw a rat, how many there were, and what they were doing. Repeated sightings can make neighborhood patterns easier to see.
Cambridge’s rats have turned garbage cans, alleys, and construction sites into an all-you-can-eat buffet. Inspectors, contractors, trash reforms, and experimental traps are on the case; the rats keep showing up, utterly unmoved by the paperwork. They have ignored every boundary, memo, and request to stop eating out of the bin.
Our first civic wildlife project, Cambridge Turkey Watch, gave local turkeys the full documentary treatment. We celebrated the flock with sightings and photos. Then we wondered whether the same hyperlocal impulse could be turned toward our greatest foe.
The City has tried inspections, trash reforms, contractors, and experimental traps. Still, the rats return. Residents need a clear, block-by-block picture of where the problem persists.
Our patience with rats ends here.
Our greatest foe:
Every rat must go.
Background: Cambridge rodent-control resources
The City is doing real work. The gap this project targets is whether scattered reports, inspections, trash fixes, and treatment outcomes can be read together at the block level.
Cambridge routes rodent sightings through SeeClickFix/311. A report needs a location and description; photos are optional. That is a usable intake channel, but the public request log does not show every internal work order or provide residents a unified case history for a recurring hotspot. File an official rodent sighting · Browse public request data.
The City's exterior baiting and trapping program serves residential properties with four or fewer units, with an inspection and at least three visits over 60 days. The City reported 900+ properties served since 2021 in June 2025. A later update reported 74% of participating properties cleared—meaning a strong targeted program, but not a citywide guarantee. Program and eligibility · City's 2025 overview.
Cambridge's Smart Boxes recorded 1,149 catches in 2025, up from 377 in their first year; the City Manager described them as more useful for locating activity than controlling the population. Smart Pipe kills fell from 1,381 in 2023 to 355 in 2024 and 311 through 2025 amid technical issues. In the same Nov. 2025 report, the environmental health director described the fertility-control pilot as not looking very impressive. Cambridge Day's Nov. 2025 report.
A 2025 City update said 96% of public complaints were inspected within four business days. That is a response-time measure—not proof that repeat activity stopped or that a block's rat population fell. A citizen map can ask the next question: did this location improve, and did the problem move next door? 2025 City report excerpt.
In Nov. 2025 reporting, Cambridge officials said the City was collecting about nine tons of food scraps a day, while roughly 30% of scraps were still ending up in trash or recycling. The City expanded food-scrap carts, pickups, compactors, and rat-resistant receptacles. Rats get a vote whenever food and shelter stay easy to find. Read the reported numbers and context.
Cambridge Public Health invited residents in designated Cambridge and Somerville study areas to help test a baiting strategy and collect activity data. It was a bounded research project, not a standing citywide service; its 2025 timeline has passed. Public Health project invitation · Boston Globe: Cambridge's Rodent Academy.
So what is failing? “Nothing is being done” would be false. The documented weakness is fragmentation: different programs cover different properties and public spaces, pilot results are not the same as citywide outcomes, and inspection speed can look good while residents keep seeing rats. Rat Watch is a citizen-built repeat-sighting layer—not a substitute for official reports. Log precise location, time, count, and activity here; send actionable service requests through the City's official channel. The map shows approximate public report locations. Exact coordinates are stored privately and are available only to authorized response staff.
See submitted reports or click the map to begin a report. Public pins are approximate; exact locations are restricted.
Repeated reports can help identify where activity persists, especially around waste and buildings. Use the map to see approximate public locations.
Specific observations make patterns easier to identify. Select every activity that fits, record the number of rats, and use your location when you can.
Useful detail: “Two rats eating from a garbage can at night, beside the public bin.” Avoid guesses about nests or private property; describe what you actually saw.
No. Cambridge Rat Watch is an unofficial neighborhood project. If you need city services, use the City of Cambridge’s official reporting channels.
New reports submitted here are stored in the Rat Watch database and displayed with approximate locations. They are not official City reports.
Yes. You can attach one optional rat photo. It is resized and stripped of embedded location metadata, then displayed with the public report. Please avoid people, faces, house numbers, license plates, and private interiors.
Exact coordinates are stored in the database and made available only through a protected staff export. The public map uses rounded locations.