The town of Riverview, N.B. is experiencing a bit of a pest problem.

Plenty of residents have spotted rats and mice getting cozy in their homes, and it’s been causing quite the disturbance lately.

“We had received a few complaints that there were some rat sightings around town,” said Annette Crummey of the Town of Riverview.

The problem has been sparked largely by construction work in the area, where sewer and water lines are being repaired.

“Anytime that you disturb a rodent’s natural habitat, they will go and search for another one,” Crummey said.

Riverview resident Jennifer Dingman thinks rats are a fact of life during construction season.

“They're doing a lot of infrastructure in this region, so animals are going to be disturbed and move around,” she said. “I’ve never seen any rats or mice or anything like that, so I didn’t really think about it; I don't really care.”

Some residents share Dingman’s view and are not concerned, not yet anyway.

“When you're so close to the river, you're bound to find rodents of one type or another,” said Ronald Killam. “They'll fix it.”

Still, the town is taking a proactive approach, Crummey said.

“The town is becoming involved, looking to work with pest control as well to see what we can do to help, perhaps make sure that bait, manholes,” she said.

There are precautions you can take if you're worried about rats and mice. That includes not putting your garbage out the night before, but taking it to the curb the next morning. And keep your yard space uncluttered. Rats and mice gravitate to ground cover, the higher the grass, the better for them.

Dingman says she’s prepared, just in case.

“We have mice traps in our basement, just in case they ever came, so I guess I'd put out more mice traps or check more often,” she said.

Others say to leave it to the pros.

“I guess just leave it up to the pest control folks,” Killam said. :”They know what they're doing.”

Town officials say it’s better to be safe than sorry.

“Have a look around (your) properties to see if (you) can find any openings to garages or sheds that may attract rodents in the area,” Crummey said.

Residents are also encouraged to report rat and mice sightings to the town's by-law enforcement.

For some, that might be a selective exercise.

“I think it’s kind of creepy to have rats or something like that,” Dingman said. “But I think mice are kind of cute.”

Riverview town officials stress they're not trying to alarm anyone, but say they would rather act now so this doesn’t become a bigger issue than it already is.

With files from CTV Atlantic’s Kate Walker.