Rats Rampage Closes Section of Highway 145 Sunday

Rats are invading a section of Franklin County.

Sunday morning, Franklin County Sheriff’s deputies came upon miles of dead rats along Highway 145 near the Stephens County line.

Listeners took videos and some who called in to 92.1 said at one point Sunday so many rats were running over 145 it looked like the road was moving.

Franklin County Sheriff Stevie Thomas said this has been ongoing problem and his office is also receiving complaints.

“We’ve had several calls,” Thomas said. “It’s coming from a farm in the area up there.”

According to the Sheriff, at one point Sunday morning, so many dead rats were found in the roadway, deputies put up signs warning motorists to slow down so crews could clean up the carcasses.

“They put up ‘slow’ signs so they could get some of the animals off the roadway,” Thomas said. “One of my officers came down the road this morning and he advised there were numerous animals in the road and they had to remove them.”

WLHR News has learned the rats were coming from a poultry farm on Tom’s Creek Road on the Stephens County line.

Sources say the chicken houses were emptied Friday and are being aired out, which caused the rats to migrate to another farm, crossing highway 145 in the process.

Franklin County Environmental Health Director Louis Korff said has contacted District Two Public Health officials, as well as the Georgia Department of Agriculture and a local judge to make them aware of the situation.

Korff said he spent the better part of Sunday working with State health officials and taking statements from neighbors whose properties are being inundated with rats.

He said he’s never seen a rodent infestation on a farm of this magnitude.

“I’ve seen a lot of infestations in my time, but this is worst I’ve ever encountered,” Korff said Monday morning. “I have made contact with a high ranking official with the company. He’s going to meet me out there and we’re going to have an immediate eradication of the issue and then we’re going to come up with a game plan so this never happens again.”

Korff said once the rats are removed, he will continue to monitor the farm for rodent problems.

He said District Two Public Health will also be working to make sure the rat problem is taken care of.