GONE TO THE RATS: Toronto's rodent population booming since pandemic

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Perhaps rats, not raccoons, should be Toronto’s official mascot since their numbers have grown during the pandemic.

Multiple pandemic lockdowns led to bolder rodent activity and migration to residential neighbourhoods, according to Orkin Canada.

As pandemic fears have lessened, and Canadian cities are back in business, food sources are abundantly available in urban areas again for rats.

“With more available food, there will be exponential population growth. Food availability favours population growth since there will be less competition for food, which also will result in high reproductive potential, high survival and healthy thriving populations,” said Alice Sinia, Ph.D. entomologist with Orkin Canada.

But no agency in the city can put an estimated number on how many rats are in the city.

One stat suggests a rat for every person.

The city does not have an estimate of how many rats there are in Toronto, but did share the number of waste- and property-standards-related rodent service requests and the number of rodent complaints mostly linked to food premises.

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“On average, under the DineSafe program, Toronto Public Health (TPH) also responds to about 400 rodent complaints a year, of which approximately 80 per cent concern mice and the balance concern rats. Over the past five years, TPH has responded to 1,906 rodent complaints mostly linked to food premises,” the city said in an email.

“From time to time rodent populations tend to increase in areas across the city where they are able to find harbourage, food and water. Noise and vibration from construction projects can also upset rodent habitats and displace populations.”

During construction, contractors have to follow the Ontario Occupational Health and Safety Act and need to take action to protect workers and the public against any hazards, which includes biological hazards the presence of rodents would create.

Actions to address rodents could include reporting it to the contract administrator so appropriate arrangements can be made according to the Act.

On private property, residents and business owners are responsible for maintaining their own properties to prevent any rodent infestations, and should use private pest control services.

“If the city needs a mascot, I’d vote for raccoon since they are a native wild animal. Norway rats are an introduced species, but I do love rats and feel they are undeserving of the bad reputation they usually have,” said Nathalie Karvonen with the Toronto Wildlife Centre.