Unincorporated Bensenville residents say 'nightmare' rat infestation threatens their health, safety

UNINCORP. BENSENVILLE, Ill. (WLS) -- People living in a neighborhood in unincorporated Bensenville say a rat infestation is a threat to their health and safety.

Those in the White Pines neighborhood say they know the source of the problem, but they feel like elected officials are not doing enough to help them.

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Multiple homeowners say the issue goes back at least two years. They believe one particular property is ground zero and that there have been no significant measures to eliminate what they are calling a rat infestation.

"It's just a nightmare right now," said White Pines resident Jim Brill.

Brill says for two years, he and his neighbors have dealt with rats running around their property.

"It's impacting every house that surrounds that house. The rats come out when we put our trash cans out. They literally swarm out of the yard, that house's yard, go in our trash cans," Brill said.

Another neighbor says his home security picked up the rodents after they tripped the camera's motion sensors, sharing at least a dozen videos with ABC7 showing them scurrying around the side of his house.

And pictures show multiple rats on the windowsills on the home that neighbors believe is the root of the issue.

"We have to, you know, take huge measures to maintain our property, and we've done that, but when your neighbor isn't doing that, and then creating housing for these vermin, right, that carry disease, and can, you know, be troublesome and problematic, it's quite frustrating," said White Pines resident Kristin Henri.

Henri says her parents have lived there for more than 50 years, never with a rat problem, until 2024. She says the rats are a hazard to their health and safety.

"We've had rats on our property, running through in broad daylight, so it's unnerving. I can't let my dog out. I worry about my neighbor's child across the street, who's a toddler," Henri said.

Henri and Brill say living in an unincorporated part of Bensenville has complicated matters. At this point, they believe it is in the county's hands, but still the problem persists.

"We contacted the county. They keep telling us they're going to take care of the problem, and they don't," Brill said.

"We need somebody to help eliminate this. It's not fair to us. We maintain our properties, and we want to live in a safe environment," Henri said.

The DuPage County Building and Zoning Staff told ABC7 they been working on this problem since 2024.

They are working with the owner of a single property to clean the home's interior.

Once that's done, the county says, it will have an exterminator come in and set traps in the area.