Rat extermination calls up over 50% since COVID-19
Article content
With restaurants and other businesses shut down, rats are scavenging for new food sources — namely in homes and empty businesses.
According to Abell Pest Control, calls across Canada for rat extermination last month increased by 52% — into the high-end of the hundreds — compared to March 2019, which the company is attributing to the rodents scrounging for places to get food. Across the GTA, calls are up 36%.
Recommended Videos
tap here to see other videos from our team.
Rat extermination calls up over 50% since COVID-19 Back to video
tap here to see other videos from our team.
tap here to see other videos from our team.
“Rats don’t travel very much if they don’t need to,” said Abell Director Mike Heimbach. “They’ll stay within an area of 10 feet (3 metres). We see a lot of garbage put out by restaurants on the streets in bags and dumpsters in back alleys and they’re the main food source for rats.
“(Now) we’re seeing them empty and those rats have to go somewhere. So they will start travelling and they’re very creative in how they get into places.”
Rats can enter homes and buildings under door gaps, cracks in foundations or spaces around pipes. They can squeeze through a 2.5-cm opening — the size of a quarter.
“In urban areas, they’re going to be under a lot of pressure over the next few months,” said Heimbach. “To add to the problem, the restaurants rats are going into are empty. Rats prefer to have places empty and now, they have more free reign to move around.”
When spring arrives, rat populations typically increase because of prolific breeding, he said.
“I’m not saying there are more rats, I’m saying there are more rats trying to get into the buildings where they may have been content living outside before,” he added. “In Toronto, with the Union Station construction — that dispersed a huge amount of rats into the GTA.”
tap here to see other videos from our team.
In a recent National Geographic article, rat expert Bobby Corrigan said that “as particular colonies of rats lose their established food sources — whether it’s litter and trash cans in parks, or dumpsters outside restaurants — they will start fighting over any food that’s left … others will strike out into the unknown, looking for new food sources.”
Rats can cause damage by chewing through wiring. They can also transmit pathogens such as salmonella and E. coli, which are dangerous to humans.
“They don’t spread COVID-19, but they are a health hazard on their own,” Heimbach said. “The plague was started by rats.”
He recommended that home and business owners inspect the exterior of their buildings to seal up any cracks or holes and to clear yards of clutter and debris where rats can hide.
Postmedia is committed to maintaining a lively but civil forum for discussion. Please keep comments relevant and respectful. Comments may take up to an hour to appear on the site. You will receive an email if there is a reply to your comment, an update to a thread you follow or if a user you follow comments. Visit our Community Guidelines for more information.