If you live near a body of water, you might have noticed a group of nutria roaming around. While they’ve been spotted around neighborhoods in Texas, lately nutria, also known as “river rats,” are more invasive as ever.
According to the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department, nutria inhabit Central Texas eastward as well as marshes, swamps, ponds and lakes on the Texas Coast.
And some residents of a neighborhood in Katy are tired of them.
According to the department, the nutria resembles a beaver without the large flat tail and can cause damage “by burrowing which can lead to erosion, damage roads and more."
Some residents told Chron.com they’ve installed wiring at the bases of trees near lakes to prevent nutria from damaging them.
Still, some find the river rats as a welcomed critter to their neighborhood.
The Katy Magazine wrote, “While they can hurt the landscape, these critters are harmless to residents and add to the many Katy wildlife that you can see while out walking in your community.”
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