Does Metro Vancouver need a rat management plan?

As some Vancouverites report seeing more rats on the city’s streets, a local pest control company suggests the region could do with a better strategy to keep the rodents at bay.

Garth Sylte, senior wildlife technician at All Green Pest Control, says the company has noticed an uptick in calls in recent years.

“It’s been a gradual climb, for sure, and especially this summer it’s really come to a head. The last summer, you know, was one of the first big sparks in the population,” he explained. “They can just make do living on the outside, living off scraps, dumpster diving all that stuff.”

Sylte says he believes the increase is largely tied to a restriction on certain kinds of poison. The B.C. government first banned the widespread use and sale of second-generation rodenticides in July 2021 and made that permanent earlier this year. Other kinds of poison are still allowed, though Sylte says they’re less reliable.

“Most of the cities’ rodent control measures are still geared towards rodenticide-only control. They don’t have secondary methods of population management in place, they don’t have a lot of nesting site reduction in place,” he told CityNews.

Sylte says the warmer weather is also behind the apparent uptick in calls.

‘You always have rats that are left behind’: scientist

However, one scientist says while pest control companies have reported an increase in rats, it’s hard to definitively know if their population is up because there is no systematic tracking system in Canada — which is a problem.

“Are we seeing an increase in the rat population say, over time and with climate change? That’s a really important question — unclear,” explained Kaylee Byers, senior scientist, Pacific Institute on Pathogens, Pandemics and Society.

“A ban on the secondary anticoagulant rodenticides, we can’t say whether or not there’s been an increase in relation to big policy changes like that.”

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When it comes to rat control, Byers says we need a more all-hands-on-deck approach, with long-term strategies incorporated into existing policies, including around housing, construction, and waste-management.

“Not all rats go into traps, not all rats eat baits, and so you always have rats that are left behind, it doesn’t take long for those populations to rebound, and so it kind of ends up in what were seeing now. We’re sort of in this continuous management cycle that doesn’t seem to be all that effective,” she said.

Sylte doesn’t disagree. He says he’d like to see a city-wide approach to rat management.

No formal rat management plan in Vancouver: city

In a statement, the City of Vancouver says it “does not have a formal rat management plan” but uses an “integrated structural pest management approach,” which includes preventing facility access.

It adds it hasn’t seen an increase in rodent issues as a result of the province’s ban.

“City staff closely monitor rat-related calls. Rat-related calls are addressed on a case by case basis and a number of departments work together to share information and address rat-related concerns. 3-1-1 calls are passed on to specific departments depending on whether the issue is related to dead animal pickup, streets and sidewalks, waste, parks or private property,” the statement adds.

The city says it works closely with Vancouver Coastal Health, which it says “investigates when rat complaints are related to commercial establishments like restaurants and grocery stores.”

“Streets Operation and Parks staff fill in burrow holes that are created by rats in roads, boulevards and parks. City inspectors follow-up quickly on complaints related to private property and issuing orders to property owners to address the situation,” the city continued.

As for which areas are the worst when it comes to rats, Sylte says some communities stand out.

“I find a large volume of rat activity out in Richmond area,” he said. “Downtown Vancouver, I think arguably, is the capital of rodents right now. It’s definitely gotten pretty interesting here.”