BOSTON -- The TV show "Inside Edition" sent its cameras into Boston restaurants to check on the rat situation. It's a regular segment they do called the "Rat Patrol," which has targeted rodents in other cities.

Here in Boston, the TV patrol caught rats in numerous upscale restaurants.

NewsCenter 5's Gail Huff reported that Boston's health inspector promises a health crackdown as a result of Monday night's report.

The city's Chief Health Inspector John Meaney said his inspectors were visiting all of the restaurants cited in the report.

"I was surprised and I brought more questions than answers," Meaney said of the report.

According to annual health inspections, Ruth's Chris Steak House has never been cited for rodent activity in the interior of the restaurant. In response to the recent activity in the alleyway and street behind the restaurant, the restaurant increased its dumpster capacity to alleviate trash overflow and its employee training and management oversight as it relates to this issue, the restaurant said in a statement.

McCormick & Schmick's in Quincy Market was also featured in the rat report. A statement to the show "Inside Edition" declared that the eatery undergoes regular inspections.

"We are going through some growing pains. We had the Big Dig come through, smack through the middle of town. We replaced a lot of our infrastructure. A lot of the sewer systems have been replaced -- old sewer systems and a lot of those sewer systems were inhabited by rats," said Jeff Allen of the Quincy Market Merchants Association.

The China Pearl restaurant in Chinatown was also featured in the report. Its owner said Boston's Big Dig and other major construction displaced many rats. He called it an ongoing problem but assures the public he's carrying out monthly exterminations.

"Everybody calls the city and says, 'You are not doing anything.' But people have to be responsible -- the tenants, the landlords. They have keep their (trash) lids closed. You have to call your exterminator when you are supposed to -- every three or four months to be able to regulate the problem," said private inspector Paul Foukas.

Boston Mayor Tom Menino said he is on the case.

"We can do better and we will continue to work with the owners of the different establishments in our city. It is an issue that we continue to battle," he said.

Restaurants in Boston are required to get exterminations at least once a year. Most of them do it voluntarily once a month, according to restaurant representatives.

None of the restaurants in the report had to close because they complied with clean up orders, city officials said.