Rats Are Surging Across Westchester Villages This Summer. Larchmont and White Plains Are Just the Latest.

The Short Version

This Pristine Pest news report covers a pattern. Most Westchester homeowners only see it happening in their own town.

Larchmont brought in an exterminator this summer. Residents say rats have proliferated near the train station. The activity built up over the past six months.

In White Plains, a construction-driven rat problem hit Mamaroneck Avenue. It has drawn city summonses against the property owner. Neither is an isolated local nuisance.

Westchester is named among nine large New York counties on a national most rat-infested list. A similar dispute played out in North Castle two years ago.

Larchmont: Rats Near the Train Station

Residents describe the change as dramatic. "At night when you walk out, there's just rats running around everywhere," one resident said. The resident spoke to News 12 Westchester.

An exterminator began targeted rodent control operations this summer. The village warned residents they may see more rodent activity. They may also see deceased rodents in clearly marked treatment areas.

Village officials point to a mix of causes:

• Improper garbage disposal by businesses near the station
• People skipping trash receptacles
• Food left on sidewalks and streets

The affected areas sit partly on MTA property. The village is coordinating with the MTA on treatment. The plan includes better dumpster and trash enclosures for nearby businesses and landlords.

Village Mayor Sarah Bauer said Larchmont is working with the MTA to resolve the issue, since the problem areas are located on MTA property. The village has committed to monitoring the situation and continuing broader sanitation improvements.

White Plains: Construction Dirt and a Paper Trail of Summonses

On Mamaroneck Avenue in White Plains, the trigger looks different but the outcome rhymes.

A nearby restaurant owner and a property committee chairman agree on the cause. They point to exposed dirt from ongoing construction as the draw. Rats first arrived last year and stayed once food sources kept them around.

A local worker described the scene on Mamaroneck Avenue:

"They're always running back and forth through there, up through the bushes and near the sidewalk. So, yeah its not comforting, especially with restaurants right there."

Mayor Justin Brasch has said responsibility for elimination efforts sits with the property owner. The city's Department of Buildings has stayed in contact with the owner.

It issued summonses requiring compliance with local law. The city says it will remain "involved and vigilant until this is fixed."

Property management has planned concrete replacement work and fumigation as the fix. Not everyone is confident it solves the problem quickly.

This Isn't New: North Castle's Warning From 2024

Westchester has been here before. In 2024, a rat infestation hit Palmer Avenue. That's in North Castle's North White Plains section.

It escalated for three weeks before making news. Homeowner Holly Mottola trapped nearly 100 rats in her own backyard. She spent almost $1,000 trying to keep up.

Mottola described what the infestation had done to her family's routine:

"I'm beside myself. I could even cry just now. It's just too much already. It's destroyed my outside living that I usually have with my family. It's destroyed it."

That case followed a familiar shape. A gas station owner and a neighboring restaurant blamed each other for the source.

The Westchester County Health Department opened an investigation into both properties. Residents, largely uninterested in assigning blame, just wanted the rats gone. The dispute over responsibility is exactly what's playing out again in White Plains today.

Why Westchester Keeps Showing Up on These Lists

None of this is unique to any one village. A national study by Cinch identified the most rat-infested counties in the country. It named Westchester among nine large New York counties on its list.

The other counties on the list:

• Bronx
• Kings
• New York
• Queens
• Nassau
• Suffolk
• Erie
• Monroe

New York as a state ranked 20th most rat-infested nationally.

What This Means for Westchester Homeowners

Municipal action in Larchmont and White Plains addresses public infrastructure. It also covers the specific commercial properties named in complaints. It doesn't reach individual homes nearby that share the same food sources and entry points.

A rat colony displaced by treatment on one property often relocates. It moves to the next-closest food and shelter source. That can mean a neighboring home, not an actual drop in the local population.

Sealing entry points, securing garbage and removing harborage are the same fundamentals. That's true whether the source was a train station, a construction site or a restaurant. A single sighting is usually a DIY-manageable problem.

Recurring activity, droppings or gnaw marks is a different story. That's the pattern every case in this report eventually reached. That's when professional rodent control and exclusion outperforms trapping alone.

Exclusion closes the entry points that trapping alone never addresses.

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