Are there more rats in Metro Vancouver since BC banned rat poisons?
Recent “horrific” sightings of rats around Metro Vancouver have had many questioning if changes to BC rat poison regulations are to blame.
Two years ago, BC introduced a ban on rat poisons except in rare situations.
However, after several rat parties were caught on camera since the ban, people are suggesting there’s been an increase in the rat and mouse population.
Solutions Pest Control’s Jay McIntyre told Daily Hive that he has noticed an uptick in business, but “from what [he sees], there is a steady increase in rat activity, not just a sudden boom.”
However, he admits not being able to use second-generation anticoagulant rodenticides (SGARs) means there is one less “tool in the toolkit.”
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Unfortunately, experts like Kaylee Byers, an assistant professor in the Faculty of Health Sciences at Simon Fraser University and Senior Scientist with the Pacific Institute on Pathogens, say there is no definite answer if the rat poison ban caused an uptick in second-generation rodenticides.
She explains the data from pest control can be helpful, but “it’s also not perfect” as it relies on people noticing they have a rat problem and are financially capable of paying someone to deal with it.
The City of Vancouver also has a 3-1-1 line to call and report rats but Byers said not enough people are aware of it.
Byers added, even in the video captured near Burrard station of countless rats crawling near Burrard Station, “It’s hard to know it was somebody’s feeding them.”
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While the use of second-generation anticoagulant rodenticides (SGARs) did kill rats, it also impacted owls and other wildlife who were eating the poisoned rats and mice, according to the province.
Byers explained that there is no single solution to treat a rat problem.
While people may assume the solution is to “see a rat, kill a rat, get rid of a rat,” she said it’s much more complex. However, cities have other priorities and “understandably, rats fall sort of lower on the rung of priorities,” Byers said.
“What I’d be really excited to see is municipalities sit down and map out … their route priorities … Do we want to reduce rats? Or do we want to address risks from rats? … And how do they intersect with city services?”
While rat poison was a tool that did a “great job,” McIntyre said it is up to pest control and other experts to implement the tools they had left properly.
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Aside from snap traps, he encourages people to call pest control when they see a rat near or in their home. If people wait to call, “that one rat will have young, and now we’re at 7, 12 rats in the backyard,” he said.
He is also urging people to clean up their food and not feed birds or squirrels “because you’re also feeding the rats and the mice.”
The Ministry of Environment and Climate Change Strategy said it does not track rodent populations in the province but supports the new requirements through “online guidance and feedback from interest groups, including pest control professionals and environmental organizations.”
“Simple rodent prevention methods, like rodent-proofing buildings and cleaning up rodent attractants, are more effective and sustainable pest prevention methods. When needed, other rodenticides (non-SGARs) and products (e.g., traps) are available to use,” an email statement reads.
“Urban development, waste management practices, natural population cycles and climate conditions can all contribute to rodent population increases.”