What Homebuyers Should Know About Rodents In Hunterdon County

This is seriously so disgusting I barely want to write it. But I feel like this statistic I stumbled across ought to be shared.

Before I do, maybe I should reveal my paranoia about rats.

You know how Indiana Jones had his aversion to snakes? Well, for me it’s rats. I honestly don’t think I could last one night sleeping in a place where I knew there was even one rat.

When I was a kid, my grandmother’s apartment had mice. Once in a townhome I lived in in Michigan, there was a small mouse problem. Not a fan. But at least I could go to sleep at night.

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If I knew there were the larger rodents in my home, a rat in my home, I would be too freaked out to shut my eyes.

Now I see I lived for nearly a decade in the county with the most rats and mice in all of New Jersey, and frankly, I’m skeeved out. According to a study, Hunterdon County has the biggest problem with rats and mice in the whole state.

Eden Emerald Buyers Agent analyzed state- and county-level statistics from the latest US Census experimental data on Signs of Rodents from 2024, as part of the American Housing Survey. ‘Rodents’ refers to either mice or rats.

The good news? Overall, the Garden State was ranked as the 33rd most rodent-infested state.

So, we could be worse. There are 406,933 rats and mice in 3,641,812 housing units, averaging 112 rodents per 1,000 homes. Hunterdon County is the most infested place in New Jersey according to the data, with 187 mice and rats per 1,000 housing units.

Look, I get that Hunterdon County is more rural. But wouldn’t you have guessed rats to be more of an urban problem like Hoboken or Jersey City?

Salem County and Warren County follow closely behind, where 180 and 174 rodents, respectively, were spotted in every thousand homes. The fourth and fifth most rodent-infested areas in New Jersey are Sussex County, with 17.4% of affected homes, and Camden County, with 16.4%.

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Advice from the authors of the study?

“Homebuyers in New Jersey should demand property inspections that specifically look for signs of rodent damage. In rural counties, concentrations can generally be three times higher than the national average of 13.6%.”

Well, never mind dinner tonight. I’m out.

The bass are biting in New Jersey fresh waters

Starting in mid to late May the largemouth bass started biting on my favorite lake. I finally got a chance to get out and see how good the fishing is this year and it didn't take long to catch. I got two bass in the first 10 minutes on the lake. We used to fish exclusively with live bait, either worms, nightcrawlers (the bigger worms), or minnows. That got too easy and it's not what "real" fishermen do.

It's more of a sport if you fool the fish into biting your hook with the right lure and the proper presentation. You have to figure out what they would be feeding on that time of year, pick a lure that resembles that and finesse it in a way that makes it look enticing to the fish. To most people, this is a stupid waste of time, but to those of us who caught the fishing bug as a kid or an adult, it's almost addictive. OK, it is addictive.

Most people look at a body of water such as a pond, lake, river, or stream and admire it for its natural beauty. Fishermen try to figure out what kind of fish are below the surface and what would be the best spot to catch them. If you have small kids and you know how to fish, you can create amazing memories and give a great lesson on nature. My dad and my uncles did that for me and those of some of the best memories of my childhood.

There are so many different kinds of fish and fishing in New Jersey's fresh waters. We usually think of fishing at the Jersey Shore, but there are plenty of fishing opportunities not far from where you live. Make sure you know a few simple rules and ask a local tackle shop for some good advice on what to buy and where to go, and you're good to go. It's a great way to enjoy the diversity of landscapes we have here and challenge yourself a little.

I challenged myself for the first time this season to try and catch a few bass on Thursday afternoon right before the rain and thunderstorms and had success right away in one of my favorite fishing holes in Medford.

Gallery Credit: Dennis Malloy