SUTHERLIN, Ore. -- Police Chief Tom Boggs informed the Sutherlin City Council this week that a pest-removal company has trapped and removed 788 rats from an infested house.

An exterminator will be brought in to poison any remaining rodents.

The council declared the property a nuisance in early March and subsequently received permission from Douglas County to proceed with the extermination efforts.

Jerry Wilson, owner of The Relocator pest-removal company, will inspect the house in a few months make sure the rats have not returned.

Neighbors at this week's council meeting say the smell has improved since March, but flies are a problem.

One neighbor, Mary Pirkey, told the council the house needs to be burned down. But the chief told her the owner of the infested house has rights, too.

The homeowner has declined to comment.