Meetings Ahead
Most meetings in Eastham are in-person, typically with an online-attendance option. Go to eastham-ma.gov and click on the meeting you are interested in for details. All meetings are at Town Hall unless otherwise indicated.
Thursday, June 1
- Board of Assessors, 11 a.m., Small Meeting Room
- Historical Commission, 11 a.m.
- Zoning Board of Appeals, 5 p.m., Earle Mountain Meeting Room
Monday, June 5
- Search Committee, 10 a.m., Small Meeting Room
- Select Board, 5:30 p.m., Earle Mountain Meeting Room
Wednesday, June 7
- Community Preservation Act Committee, 5 p.m., Earle Mountain Meeting Room
Conversation Starter
Rat Strategy
After community input on the dangers of secondary poisoning posed by rodenticide in rat traps, town staff announced a new approach to rat control at the transfer station.
As of May 18, the town is now using a mix of two rat mitigation substances as bait inside the black box traps at the site: an unidentified “organic bait,” which will have a far less toxic effect on animals that consume the dead rats, and a form of rat birth control that decreases reproductive rates.
At the select board meeting on May 22, Town Administrator Jacqui Beebe told the board that the birth control is known to be “maybe 40 to 50 percent effective,” which is why pest management companies recommend combining the two methods. Rats must consume the birth control regularly for it to work.
Beebe said the measures are needed to keep rats from proliferating at the dump. They like sandy soil, hills of dirt, and food and water, she said, “so they have everything they need at the transfer station.” —Amelia Roth-Dishy
