Rats are prompting some parents to keep their kids out of a South Shore elementary school

“Having rats in the cafeteria is a big one to really kind of rein in and get under control."

A rat looks out from a burrow hole as city of Boston's Inspectional Services fill rat burrows with dry ice to exterminate them at the Central Burying Ground during a demonstration on how the extermination is done for a workshop on rodent extermination in Boston, MA, April 27, 2016. (Keith Bedford/Globe Staff)
A rat looks out from a burrow hole as City of Boston's Inspectional Services fill rat burrows with dry ice to exterminate them at the Central Burying Ground, April 27, 2016. Keith Bedford / The Boston Globe, File

What school officials have described as a “small” rat infestation at a Plymouth elementary school has some parents keeping their children home as the issue is addressed.

“Having rats in the cafeteria is a big one to really kind of rein in and get under control,” Steve Hall, who kept his third-grader home from South Elementary School, told WHDH Monday, when families were first notified of the problem.

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According to the news station, Principal Dan Harold notified parents and guardians in a phone call.

“I know some of you heard that we have a small rodent issue here at South Elementary,” Harold said in the call. “The district contracts with a pest control company that monitors all of our schools and has been dealing with it. But we have opted to hire a company that specializes in this area.”

The director of the Plymouth Department of Health also told WHDH exterminators would be at the school Tuesday morning before classes begin.

“Please note that we do not use any pesticides whatsoever,” Harold told parents in his call. “Being a school, we are not allowed.”

The trap-and-remove approach is anticipated to take at least two weeks to complete, according to the station.

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