Resident sues neighbor after hoarding allegedly caused rat infestation in home

VANCOUVER, Wash. (KATU) - From the front to the back, piles of junk cover every inch of Steve Slocum’s Vancouver-area home in Washington.

For more than a year, Slocum has been collecting mannequins for what he once considered was art.

But in the midst of that, Slocum says the collection turned into a problem.

He admits to hoarding.

“It’s a hoarding case with a real interesting twist,” Slocum described.

The hoarding has caused a rat infestation at a home next door, according to a pest control company that Keelie Price hired.

“They scratch on the side of the house right next to my head, so you’re awake,” Price said.

Price is now suing Slocum.

“I’m not even able to work. I can’t do my job because I can’t even use half my yard,” Price added.

Price is concerned about her pet sitting business she runs out of her home.

She shared an email from the Washington State Department of Agriculture, which says in part, “the neighbor property certainly does seem to pose a risk.”

“The public health concern is valid as rodent excrement is a major disease transmit route to other animals and people,” the agency’s statement said.

The city of Vancouver’s code enforcement said they have met with Slocum and fined him, but he is appealing.

Slocum says he’s been trying to clean up his yard. He claims his hoarding issue began after he lost his home during a fire.