Authorities in Rochester, Washington. used a warrant to enter the home of a woman who’s house was overrun with hundreds of rats.
The floor of the house was covered in rat faeces and the carpets soaked in rat urine. The rats roamed freely around the property, chewing through walls and furniture. Animal services had been alerted to the infestation months earlier, but Michelle Diller was unhelpful in trying to remedy the problem. The woman referred to the rats as “her friends” and didn’t want anything done to them.
The cause of the infestation appears to be from rats bought as reptile food escaping and allowed to thrive unhindered.
Besides the rat situation, animal welfare officers had to rescue four malnourished snakes from the property. Two boa constrictors, a corn snake and a king snake were taken from the house to be treated at a local veterinarian practice.
