Rodent Issues Prompt City to Close Farrel-McWhirter Barnyard

A rodent "population explosion" has prompted Redmond's parks and recreation department to close the barnyard at for at least a month, Greg Byszeski, the department's deputy director, said Thursday.

All of the activites that are scheduled to take place in the barnyard will be relocated to other areas within the park — along with the barnyard animals, Byszeski said.

Meanwhile, crews will work on bringing the park's rat population to a more manageable level and repair some minor structural damage to the barnyard, Byszeski said. He said it's rather typical to find rats in the barnyard, which backs up to some of the park's wooded areas, but parks officials aren't sure what caused the population to get out of hand.

“It’s really hard to judge that," Byszeski said."We had kind of a population explosion, and we’re not really sure what all the reasons are for it.”

For more information on the closure, contact the city at 425-556-2300.