San Francisco Bay Area resident Erica J., 43, dubbed "Rat Girl" by those who know her, is reportedly breeding rodents in her residential hotel room and releasing them in public parks.

Rats as pets may not be a good idea for some citizens, as they are believed to be dirty and ill-tempered. But once the animals are bred as pets; clean, calm and affectionate rats could be ideal because of their moderate maintenance requirements. But this was not the case for Rat Girl, accused by her neighbors for breeding a dirty rat army.

Health authorities worried about Rat Girl and her neighbors' safety, after seeing a video shot in 2011 on Thursday. The video showed piles of dirty clothes, soiled mattress, and dozens of rats rummaging around in the filth. Officials from Animal Care and Control said they did not exterminate dozens of rats, but thousands.

"The rats have actually burrowed into other people's rooms," said Animal Care & Control Captain Denise Bongiovanni to KTVU.com. "They can carry disease; they can carry parasites."

Bongiovanni felt concerned for Rat Girl and stated that she might be in need of help for an underlying mental health problem that could harm herself, her neighbors and the rats.

According to neighbors, Erica used to live under a pedestrian bridge before she transferred to the hotel room with her rats. People complained about her unusual rat breeding behavior and accused her of breeding a "rat army."

The last report received by the Animal Care and Control occurred in May 8 when a passerby reported seeing Erica feeding eight rats with dog food before releasing them in the park. The officials only captured seven rats and impounded six; one died during transport.

Animal Care had taken care of most of Erica's rats but had some euthanized due to sickness. Erica surrendered some rats to them, but was believed to be keeping some at her place.

"She has come across as being very anxious and always concerned that she could keep a couple of rats," said Bongiovanni to KTVU.com.