On March 11, a bald eagle known as FAE, which nested near Lower Mystic Lake on the Arlington-Medford border, passed away. While the cause of death is still being determined, wildlife experts suspect second-generation anticoagulant rodenticides, commonly referred to as SGARs.
“Every raptor I hear of in Somerville or around Somerville that meets an untimely death is exposed to these rodenticides,” Mary Vriniotis, co-founder of Save Somerville Wildlife, said. “I would be very surprised, when the results come back, if it doesn’t turn out that there were highly lethal doses of [SGARs] in [FAE’s] system.”
The Tufts Wildlife Clinic has ruled out avian flu as the cause of death, making rodenticide poisoning even more likely.
“The fact that this animal doesn’t have flu … increases the likelihood it’s something else, like rodenticide poisoning,” Laura Kiesel, head of Save Arlington Wildlife and Save Massachusetts Wildlife, said.
Activists have been urging the city of Somerville to take action on this issue for years. Last December, two owls in the city died from rodenticide exposure within a two-week period, and in 2023, a bald eagle known as MK and her offspring were also poisoned. Despite these incidents, there has been minimal change at the city level.
“The city is responsive to our requests to communicate about this important problem … [but] I haven’t, to date, seen what I would describe as meaningful progress to reduce the use of rodenticide in Somerville since the owls died,” Vriniotis said. “I see a lot of discussion about it, which is certainly important, but what I’m looking for is some more concrete steps.”
While Somerville currently has a policy against the use of SGARs on public land, wildlife activists have been vocal in support of this policy’s codification. They also request the city file a home rule petition requesting the state allow the city to extend the ban to private property.
“I think that that would go a long way, because Somerville is a large city,” Kiesel said. “I would really like to see the bigger cities like Somerville, Cambridge and Boston actually do these home rule petitions and join other communities. I’m just disappointed they haven’t, given their progressive nature.”
With the new mayoral administration, the city may be placing a stronger emphasis on eliminating the use of rodenticides. Wilson included Kiesel on his transition team, where she advocated for the home rule petition and explored other ways the city could limit rodenticides. Kiesel and Vriniotis are also planning to meet with Wilson on April 9 to further discuss new approaches.
“I think [Wilson is] also … eager to take on this issue and supportive of the bills currently going through the Massachusetts Legislature on this issue,” Vriniotis said.
While formal policy changes are being considered, the city’s Inspectional Services Department remains committed to limiting the use of SGARs.
“The city has an internal policy … we don’t use [SGARs] on city properties unless in very specific special circumstances,” Alicia Privett, Somerville environmental health coordinator, said. “With our contractors for city property, we ask that they use snap traps, dry ice or carbon monoxide for burrow treatment. … For the Residential Assistance Program, [we use] the vitamin D-based rodenticide.”
Activists continue to push for codified bans despite the city’s stance, arguing that a formal safeguard is necessary to ensure the policy is upheld.
“They’ve already gone on record before saying, ‘Hey, we’re not using [SGARs],’ and then a few years later they went back to using it,” Kiesel said. “Without that codification, there’s just a concern that they can backpedal, and they might even do it without people noticing.”
Kiesel explained that while Somerville stated in 2018 that it was no longer using rodenticides, a public records request she filed in 2023 showed the city had resumed using SGARs.
“It looked like during [COVID-19], the pandemic shutdown, they regressed and started using [SGARs] again, because there was an uptick in rat sightings during the pandemic,” she said.
Neighboring towns, including Arlington, Lexington and Cambridge, have already banned the use of SGARs on public property, with Cambridge banning it most recently in June 2025.
Privett argued that a codified ban would be beneficial for the city, as other methods of rodent control are more effective than SGARs. She said improved sanitation practices are the best solution to rodent control.
“Increased waste management is really the solution to the rodenticide problem,” Vriniotis agreed. “Rats have plenty to eat around Somerville, so you can put out all the poison you want, but if there’s overflowing trash next to it, then you’re [still] going to … have an increase in the rodent population. It’s not something we can poison our way out of.”
