Hundreds Of Rats Invade Homes, Backyards In Deer Park

DEER PARK, N.Y. (CBSNewYork) -- Residents of one Long Island community are disgusted after reports of rats invading homes and basements in the area.

Hundreds of rats have been crawling into homes, basements and backyards on Conklin Street in Deer Park, WCBS 880's Sophia Hall reported. 

Residents blame one run-down home in the middle of the block, where a woman in her 60s had recently lived.

"I know the neighbor next door woke up to 50 rats in her backyard," one neighbor said. "She couldn't throw a graduation party for her kids because of it."

The owner left only after the rats ate up her furniture and infested her home. She now lives with her sister.

One resident told Hall he had tried to help her, but she refused.

"We'll had to have exterminators -- traps in all the yards," another neighbor said. "This is a disgusting situation."

The Town of Babylon is cleaning up the house at the owner's expense.

"The Town of Babylon has been working closely with the Suffolk County Department of Health, and several notices of noncompliance were issued to the homeowner," Town of Babylon spokesperson Brendan Cunningham said in a statement. "The homeowner has been notified that if the unsanitary conditions at this location are not rectified within the next 48 hours, the Town will complete the work and bill the homeowner."

The owner of the home could not be reached for comment.