Homeowner Arrested, House Condemned Amidst Hundreds of Rats in Rocky Point

Overrun Home in Rocky Point

• 🏠 Officials discovered an entire home in Rocky Point, Suffolk County, completely overrun by an estimated 300 to 500 domesticated rats.
• 🤢 The situation inside the house was described as a disaster, with rats spilling out of cabinets and covering every inch of the floor, making it difficult to breathe without masks.

Animal Hoarding and Health Concerns

• 💔 The 48-year-old homeowner was arrested, and the house has since been condemned.
• 🏥 Volunteers from Strong Island Animal Rescue are working to capture the rats, many of whom are injured with large wounds, abscesses, and some going septic.
• ⚠️ Volunteers also found rat poison in the basement, with some rats exhibiting symptoms like bleeding from the nose.

Rescue Efforts and Future Needs

• 🐾 Approximately 150 rats have been contained in separate containers, with an estimated 100 to 200 more still inside the walls.
• 🔬 All rats are being treated for mites, and volunteers emphasize that the situation could have been avoided with proper rat separation.
• 🙏 Volunteers are seeking foster homes for the rats and monetary donations to help cover their extensive healthcare costs.
• 🗣️ Neighbors reported not seeing or smelling anything unusual, indicating the problem was contained within the home.