BOISE, Idaho — At the Capitol Thursday afternoon, state leaders and pest experts discussed how to keep "Eagle rats" from spreading.
"We've had some reports over the last year about rats, and at first I remember hearing about these reports, thinking, oh, there's just a few rats that are running around, it's no big deal, and then I started hearing more and more about it," Tammy Nichols said.
Nichols is an Idaho state senator and chairman of the Senate Agriculture Committee. Norway and roof rats, first spotted in Eagle, are now popping up elsewhere in the Treasure Valley. Without action, they could quickly become a statewide issue.
Watch to learn more about how Idaho plans to tackle the invasive rats.
"You introduce a new species in the ecosystem, and they don't have any natural predators, and they tend to get out of control really fast," Ryan Davidson said.
Davidson is an Ada County commissioner who wants rats added to Idaho's invasive species list, giving counties more tools to take action.
"We are getting between 2 and 5 calls per week," Adam Schroeder said.
"But there is no clear control strategy or documentation effort that's being coordinated at any level," he said.
Schroeder is the director of Ada County's Weed, Pest, and Mosquito Abatement. He says they threaten infrastructure, food supplies, and public health.
"One pair of rats can produce 800 in a matter of, you know, 2 to, you know, usually 1 to 2 years," Schroeder said.
Eagle neighbors who attended the forum told Idaho News 6 off camera that they see this as an ongoing battle. Some are turning to feral cats, saying rats are moving underground, getting bigger and smarter.
Idaho's agriculture director says a state response will take clear legislation and funding.
"For every $1 spent on prevention, it saves $12 in damage on the back end. That's general," Chanel Tewalt said.
Tewalt is the Idaho State Department of Agriculture director. She presented what she called "a menu of options" for addressing the rat problem, comparing it to ordering at a restaurant.
"What we're gonna present today is like a menu of options. Literally, like going to a restaurant, you tell us if you want steak or chicken. We just need some clarity, and we'll do the thing," Tewalt said.
Tewalt outlined several existing programs that could serve as models for rat control, including successful eradication efforts for Japanese beetles and ongoing control programs for Mormon crickets and grasshoppers.
"We found about 135 Japanese beetles in 2024. Compare that to our friends in Washington who the year before, found about 24,000 Japanese beetles before they implemented an eradication program. We tend to act very quickly on eradication programs when they are well defined in Idaho code," Tewalt said.
She highlighted Idaho's success with quagga mussel control in the Snake River.
"We are the only state in the country that has pushed back a quagga population to the extent that we have. No other state. They either waved the white flag or they never even attempted it. We have had a 50% reduction in the amount of the Snake River impacted by quagga mussels," Tewalt said.
Tewalt explained that different control programs have different funding mechanisms. The quagga mussel program is funded through fees charged to watercraft users, while other programs rely on general fund appropriations.
"Plants, grasshoppers, and crickets. Last year, we spent about $1.14 million across the state. In FY 25, it was less... it was about $985,000. So we come to the general fund and ask to pay that bill every year, because we again have a statutory duty to control the species," Tewalt said.
For Japanese beetles, the state spent $485,000 in fiscal year 2024 and about $280,000 in fiscal year 2025.
Tewalt said the department could help create a public information system for rat sightings.
"We can allow a system, and it wouldn't be hard for us to build. It takes a little time. Where folks could submit pictures of the new friends that they find and where they found it, and they could do a public submission. So we can create that today with or without any changes to the toolbox," Tewalt said.
She emphasized the importance of legislative clarity for any new control program.
"It really helps us when we have that legislative clarity to go and do this thing," Tewalt said.
"We want the public to still be proactive in what they're doing, but we do want to find a way forward because we know this can become a really bad problem very, very quickly. So that's gonna be our next step," Nichols said.
Nichols encourages public input on the issue and can be reached at tnichols@senate.idaho.gov.
