Vancouver named 2nd ‘rattiest’ Canadian city

Here’s a creepy fact, just in time for Halloween: a new report has named Vancouver — and four other B.C. municipalities — among the top 10 “rattiest” cities in the country.

According to exterminator company Orkin, Vancouver is second on the Canadian list, just after Toronto, which takes the overall top spot.

Some locals tell CityNews they’ve seen their fair share of rats recently, while others say they’re surprised the situation is this bad.

“I didn’t know that! I’m terrified of rats,” one person said.

“I think that tracks based on the noises I hear in my backyard,” said another.

“That’s a little bit surprising but not at the same time,” one added.

“Just take a look down any of the alleys, and you’ll see rats running all over the place.”

Burnaby follows in third, while Kelowna comes in at fourth. Mississauga in Ontario rounds out the top five.

Richmond and Victoria are sixth and seventh respectively on the list, followed by Ottawa, Scarborough, and Moncton.

Orkin says cities on the list are ranked by the number of treatments the company performed for rodents between Aug. 1, 2021, and July 31, 2022.

When looking specifically at B.C., other cities that were named the “rattiest” included Surrey, Vernon, Delta, Abbotsford, Coquitlam, and Langley.

As temperatures dip across Canada, the company recommends people “take precautions” to keep mice and rats out of their homes.

That includes keeping shrubbery cut back from the exterior walls of your home, eliminating “any moisture sources” like clogged gutters and pooling in trash, taking a look around your property to see if there are any droppings or other signs of rodents, and sealing any entry points to keep the animals out.

Orkin also recommends keeping your home clean — inside and out — to avoid attracting rodents.

Orkin Canada Fraser Valley Branch Manager Trine From says COVID and the B.C. government’s ban on certain rodenticides earlier this year have contributed to the uptick in rats.

“We’re having longer nice summers, as we’ve noticed, and this is making the food more abundant,” she said. “We have a lot of ships coming and going and transporting rats in and out. Older buildings as well are a huge issue with rodents.”

“A rat can squeeze through a hole the size of a quarter and a mouse through the size of a dime … steel wool, copper wool, something like that, really get that stuffed in there and seal up those holes.”

With files from Monika Gul