Rat sightings surge nationwide as Windsor sees decline

Prevention is the best tactic when trying to keep mice and rats from freeloading in your home.

A new survey conducted by Abell Pest Control says rat sightings are surging across major Canadian cities.

During last month’s Canadian Institute of Public Health Inspectors (CIPHI) conference in Kelowna, 89 per cent of attending health inspectors reported having observed increased rat activity over the past three years.

Abell says through its own data, combined with municipal reports, public complaints and health inspectors’ insights, all point to an almost 15 per cent increase in rat activity nationwide over the past three years, driven by breeding cycles, construction disruptions and the abundance of urban food sources.

In Windsor, the data is swinging the other way.

The city offers a rodent extermination program where officials will come and perform free property inspections.

City manager of environment services, Jim Leether, told AM800’s Live and Local with Kyle Horner, that calls for service peaked during COVID.

“I’m happy to say that over the last few years 2022, 2023, 2024, the City of Windsor has actually seen a pretty significant decline in requests to bait rodents in the city. To the point where we’re less than half of what we were seeing in 2020 and 2021,” Leether said.

Leether credited his team and residents for helping to improve the situation.

“We got in front of the problem a few years ago, and we have a nice sustainable program, credit to the City of Windsor residents, they make good use of it. They listen to the advice that’s being put out there from our team and our certified contractor that goes out there and actually baits the locations,” he said.

Leether said they typically run into problems where food sources are present.

“So if you’re growing a home garden or you have bird feeders, bird feeders is a big one, if left unclean or unattended, just like the birds are going to come feed on it, the rodents are going to come feed on it. That kind of invites them into your backyard. Other things we see is pet waste, if pet waste isn’t cleaned up, and just general clutter in the backyard,” he said.

Residents who have seen rats on their property, neighbourhood or alleyway can call 311 to access the rodent extermination program.