Rat infestation scares families

Residents: Management not helping get rid of rats

DEER PARK, Texas – Residents at an apartment complex in Deer Park said they've been overrun with rats and management isn't helping to solve the problem.

Enue Lucio is a resident at the apartments in the 600 block of West Parktown. She said the infestation is so bad that she doesn't feel safe in her own home.

"It's not healthy. It's not comfortable to live around. My daughter sleeps in my room. All of us sleep in one room because they're in fear of them coming out," said Lucio.

Lucio is the mother of three small children, including a 3-year-old son and a 3-month-old son. She said rats were scampering beneath their cribs just a few days ago.

"I looked down and I saw it run out. One of my sons was sleeping in his crib and I was feeding the other one," Lucio said.

Local 2 found several places in the apartment where the rats have gnawed through woodwork, chewed up carpet and left droppings on the floor where Lucio's children play.

Lucio said she complained to her apartment manager, who sent out an exterminator, but she said that's been ineffective.

"The first time, the exterminator left a note on my front door. They didn't even come in. The second time, they left glue traps at my back door near the kitchen. That was it," Lucio said.

Lucio said some of her neighbors have the same problem, but despite their complaints, the rats have been a constant problem for months.

"I have a baby. I have a small kid -- he puts everything in his mouth. God forbid he picks up a rat dropping and put that in his mouth," said Lucio.