More rats in Wilmette — but this time it’s all in good fun

Though Jimmie Jones’ home office faces the street, there’s typically not much to distract him on his sleepy Wilmette block.

But October has been different, and he only has himself — and his daughter, Maddie — to blame.

Thanks to his unique, and topical, Halloween display, Jones has witnessed plenty of stirring through his front window, whether it is people snapping photos, gawking motorists causing mini backups or a young girl nearly crashing her bike.

Jones followed up on Maddie’s idea and turned his yellow-painted home in the 1500 block of Washington Avenue into a block of cheese, but the real eye-catcher is all the blow-up, red-eyed rats seemingly invading his property.

The originality of the display is enough to attract onlookers, but it is the all-too-real element that makes Jones’ display stand out in Wilmette. The Village has been fending off a rat infestation much of this year, with hundreds of residents using Village resources to respond to rat issues.

But, believe it or not, Jones’ display coinciding with a local infestation was mere coincidence. His daughter thought the house looked like a block of cheese, so he bought blow-up rats. Simple as that.

“I’ll be honest, I had heard about it but really didn’t put two and two together,” Jones said. “… It wasn’t a statement or anything like that, just funny timing.” 

The Jones family enjoys decorating their home for the holidays, whether it is Christmas or Halloween. He said usually a display features standard blow-ups, spiders, etc. But this year, Jones moved into a new home and it provided a special opportunity.

Jones had to have the inflatable rats shipped from Spirit Halloween and picked up some other complementary rat decorations to go with the home, which was given some touches — holes and yellow window coverings — to really hammer home the cheese idea.

The attention has been constant, and Maddie Jones is a big fan.

“There are so many people who stop by,” he said. “She’s so excited, she loves it, because it was all her idea.”

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