Burnaby has ranked high on a dubious list.
Orkin Canada has released its list of the rattiest cities in British Columbia, with Burnaby ranking in second place.
This year’s list brought a few notable changes from the year prior: Vernon moved to number seven (from 11) and North Vancouver moved down to 13 (from 8). Duncan also moved down to number 18 (from 14), while cities such as Terrace and Sidney didn’t make it on this year’s list.
Multiple lockdowns this past year have meant more people are cooking and eating at home. A recent survey found that Canadians produced 13.5% more food waste during the lockdown than non-lockdown times. Food abundance means potential increases in rodent populations, which is why people may be seeing more rats and mice in residential neighbourhoods.
There are two species of rat in Metro Vancouver — the brown, or roof rat, which by nature is often a tree-dweller, and the black, or Norway rat, what Elana Varner, who studies rodent ecology as a PhD student at Simon Fraser University in Burnaby, calls “your classic city-dwellers."
When wet, cold weather turns dry and sunny, rats tend to move outside, sheltering in blackberry bushes or other shrubs. Rats are also known to take refuge in people’s car engines, where they chew up wires and hoses often coated in a soy-based shielding.
Orkin Canada said in a news release that their staff had observed bolder behaviour among rodents.
“Mainly nocturnal, increased sightings of rodent activity during the day have become more common, as well as migrations from resource-depleted urban centres to food-rich suburban areas, where rats and mice may have been able to reproduce and drive up the population,” the company said.
This year’s top 10 rattiest cities in British Columbia are:
1. Vancouver
2. Burnaby
3. Victoria
4. Surrey
5. Kelowna
6. Richmond
7. Vernon
8. Abbotsford
9. Langley
10. Coquitlam
City rankings are based on the number of commercial and residential rodent (rats and mice) treatments that Orkin Canada carried out from August 1, 2020, through July 31, 2021.
“Orkin Canada warns that as the cooler weather approaches, rodents may be looking for shelter,” the company said. “But fear not suburban residents as there are tactics that can be employed to mitigate rodents from entering your homes and frequenting your property.”
The company offered the following tips:
● Seal cracks or holes in your foundation and install weather stripping around windows and doors
● Keep shrubbery at least a metre away from exterior walls of your home
● Get rid of moisture sources, such as clogged gutters
● Be diligent in keeping garbage and old food away from your house
