Lake Tahoe Residents Deal With Rat Infestation Amid Growing Outbreak

While the movie Ratatouille may have painted rats in a lovable (and even helpful) light, residents in one Lake Tahoe town are having a completely different experience with the rodents. That's because the North Tahoe area are seeing a rise in rodent activity in 2025, and it's causing a big stir with both residents and renters alike.

And, the heebie jeebies aren't the only things people in this area are worried about, since rodents are known to spread disease.

However, it doesn't seem like anyone has a good solution to Lake Tahoe's rat outbreak, and people who are coming into town to visit are being advised to be on the lookout for unwanted houseguests during their stay.

As for the locals, they say this is the worst they've seen things in almost two decades, begging the question of what's behind Lake Tahoe's rat problems, and is there a humane and safe way to keep rodent populations in check while keeping the humans in town free from disease.

According to SF Gate, Lake Tahoe is closing out the summer 2025 with a rat infestation. A hardware store employee told the magazine that this outbreak is the worst they've seen in 15 to 20 years.

“[We’ve] been upping our orders on mouse traps, really anything to do with mice or rats,” Maurice Jacques said. “We get trucks two times a week. By Saturday, we’re all out. Some people come in and buy 15 traps at a time.”

A pest control pro reported seeing the increase in rodent numbers as early as March.

Previously, calls related to rodent issues would only come in about 20 times a month. Now, one pest control expert says they're getting "anywhere from 50 to 60 calls a week" about them. But, the issues aren't just limited to rats — according to one pest control source who spoke with the publication, roof rats seem to be a big issue — mice are also posing an issue as well.

But it's not just a few rodents showing up here and there, in some cases, the rats are taking over.

“I pulled like 70 rats out of this one house,” one person said, noting that it wasn't even the worst call they had been on. "The worst was a vacant home. I think we pulled something like 150 rats out of this home. They’re chewing through siding. They’re chewing through the wood on people’s homes to get into the walls.”

Other than Havahart traps — or similar traps which allow you to catch and release unwanted rodents from inside dwellings — deterring rats from entering your home is really the only other humane way to deal with these populations.

And unfortunately, dealing with them does have to be a top priority, since rodents can carry a number of diseases, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and they include things like tularemia, leptospirosis, hantavirus, and more.