MARMORA'S RODENT INVASION
/Marmora Herald, October 1972
Like most of us, the good people of Marmora Village must have got used to the threat of a nuclear holocaust, some Kind of a disaster caused by germ warfare, the melting of Arctic
ice or the invasion by little green men with antennae on their foreheads.
But whoever figured on rats?
Well, as we have reported, Marmora Village was invaded by rats who lost their natural habitat and food supply when the old garbage dump on Deloro Road was closed on September 7.
The hungry hordes of rats have not only invaded neighboring fields and backyards and resorted to trying their luck on ordinary garbage cans, but a dangerously large number of them have gone straight to town. Residents have reported seeing rats in their backyards, garages, all around some houses, out on the roads and fields and our reporter met a few of the bolder ones on their (the rats') way to town.
Rats were killed in the yard of Marmora Senior School and at least one resident had a field day shooting them with a .22 rifle. All this may sound like an interesting break in the everyday monotony, and the children probably love the rat hunt, but it should not be dismissed as just one of those things.
Rats are numerous and if they get hungrier they will get bolder, which means that more and more of them will invade the town. Rats can, and sometimes do, bite, especially if they are hungry or threatened, and who knows when children will start to have a bit of fun chasing them?
Rats can also carry a lot of sickness. If not taken seriously enough or not cleaned out soon enough, they can cause serious health problems. They can also cause property damage. They should be taken seriously.
