Rats have become the scourge of the Okanagan Valley becoming established in urban areas across the southern Interior.
With the provincial government showing no interest in engaging taxpayer dollars for a mass extermination effort, local residents have been left largely on their own to deal with rat infestations.
On a municipal level, the Regional District of South Okanagan-Similkameen (RDSOS) has gone the furthest in supporting rat extermination campaigns, focusing on rat infestations that originated in Naramata and the West Bench three years ago, working in tandem with Orkin Canada pest control.
Zoe Kirk, with the RDSOS pest and mosquito control branch, said Orkin provided a rat inspection property assessment to homeowners in those two specific areas, and if a trap program was called for over a 90-day period at a $250 cost, the regional district reimbursed residents for half that amount.
害羞草研究所淭he uptake results were most effective for Naramata, which went initially from 40 people in the program three years ago when we started it, to now about one or two,害羞草研究所� Kirk said.
Recent: West Kelowna looks for help with rat outbreak
Kirk said the regional district has invested in a public education program to inform local residents how to ward off rat infestations on their property.
害羞草研究所淲e have done a lot of public education about rats, and we give talks to continually remind folks this is about extermination. It害羞草研究所檚 not a catch and release situation,害羞草研究所� she said.
害羞草研究所淲e have had people live-trapping and letting them go in the woods but that is a disastrous option. Rats are not meant to live in the woods so they usually end up just becoming someone else害羞草研究所檚 problem if they can find a safe haven.
害羞草研究所淎nd that generally means an urban setting. Rats tend to follow humans because we are good sources of food and shelter.害羞草研究所�
In the Kelowna-West Kelowna corridor, rat concerns have been expressed numerous times in recent years. Even West Kelowna Mayor Doug Findlater had to engage in rat extermination mode after finding the rodents showing up on his property.
害羞草研究所淚 had them in my shed害羞草研究所nd a problem under by hot tub, where they lived the heat, and I went trapping,害羞草研究所� he said at a council meeting last year. 害羞草研究所淎nd successfully resolved it害羞草研究所擨 hope.害羞草研究所�
Rats were enough of a widespread concern in the Kelowna South-Central Association of Neighbourhoods that it prompted a visit last year from Don Stolz, integrated pest management gardener with the Kelowna害羞草研究所檚 parks division, to explain to association members how to deal with them.
Stolz told the 害羞草研究所 this week that rat sightings have become common in Kelowna害羞草研究所檚 Mission, downtown core, Glenmore and Rutland areas in the last three or four years.
害羞草研究所淚n the Raymer-Richter area where I live, I just caught one the other night. I have lived there for 23 years and I never saw any rats, not one, until just in the last three or four years,害羞草研究所� Stolz said.
| This destroyed golf ball reflects the chewing veracity of rats. Photo: Barry Gerding/Black Press |
害羞草研究所淩ats don害羞草研究所檛 understand property lines. They go where they can find food, water and warmth. And they can really travel and cover a lot of ground.害羞草研究所�
Stolz said reports from Toovey Heights residents of rats being spotted in various yards this winter was a surprise for him to hear, something which both he and long-time Toovey residents say has never occurred previously.
害羞草研究所淭hey can fit into some amazing places. If they can get their nose, face and and an ear inside an opening, they will get through even if their body is twice the size of the hole. If you think a hole might be too small for them to fit through, think again,害羞草研究所� Stolz said.
Frank Ritcey, provincial coordinator with WildSafe BC, tends to focus on bear, deer and coyote complaint issues, but the exploding rat population issue has gained the public害羞草研究所檚 interest.
害羞草研究所淚f you take all our education materials and substitute rat for bear, it pretty much amounts to the same thing in terms of wildlife proofing your property,害羞草研究所� Ritcey said.
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He said the reason rats are suddenly showing up in Interior communities is a bit of a mystery, one he says that Thompson Rivers University students have begun doing preliminary research on.
害羞草研究所淭hey are able to get around by transferring themselves in or on trucks or other shipped goods from the Lower Mainland and if they find an urban setting, they can thrive,害羞草研究所� he said.
害羞草研究所淲e have cameras along lots of trails in the region but we never see any rats. We see lots of other wildlife and rodents but never any rats. They don害羞草研究所檛 survive well in the wild.害羞草研究所�
| Nolan Newman, with Orkin Canada, holds up modified rat catcher using a PCV tube as a runway drawing rats into the trap set up in the middle of the tubing. Photo: Barry Gerding/Black Press |
害羞草研究所淎fter that strike, we began to see rats showing up in areas never seen before throughout the Okanagan, Kamloops, Salmon Arm, Creston, Cache Creek, Castlegar and Nelson,害羞草研究所� Newman said, adding rats set up home in cars, semi-trucks and truck transport loads, essentially hitchhiking their way to Interior communities.
害羞草研究所淢y daughter came back from Vancouver one time and she had three rats hiding in her vehicle. With transport trucks, you often see pallets of something stored outside waiting to be loaded, and rats will nestle in among them traveling with the shipment wherever it is going.害羞草研究所�
And if they arrive in your community unhindered, rats multiply quickly at a far greater level than even rabbits.
害羞草研究所淩ats have a shorter gestation period. They become sexually mature very early in life, six weeks of age, and they can have a large litter of 10 to 12 babies at a time. Females can give birth to one batch of babies and at the same time be pregnant with the next batch,害羞草研究所� Ritcey said.
害羞草研究所淭he gestation period is only about three weeks. It害羞草研究所檚 very short.害羞草研究所�
Ritcey is working with Kirk in Penticton to expand the rat control brochure initiative for the South Okanagan for distribution to the Central and North Okanagan regions. The City of Kelowna also has information on the city website about how to address a rat problem on your property.
Rats are a pest for two key reasons害羞草研究所攖hey are poisonous and destructive to vegetation and property.
They like to hide around house soffits or vents, underneath sheds and woodpiles, or in compost. Rats are seeking warmth, food and water. And they have a peculiar sweet tooth for electrical wiring, which can cause headaches for vehicle and house owners.
害羞草研究所淭here is something in the plastic cover of the wiring they can smell and love to chew on, which is not uncommon for other rodents as well like marmots,害羞草研究所� Ritcey said.
Another dining favourite for rats is bird seed, to the point where bird feeders are not recommended where rats are present.
害羞草研究所淒eer can get into bird feeders and make a mess on the ground, and rats come along and feed off the leftovers on the ground. Bird seed is high in calories so for rats it害羞草研究所檚 big caloric hit and provides a food source during the winter,害羞草研究所� Ritcey said.
Kirk said they discourage bird feeder use, instead advising residents consider other natural foliage which birds can feed on but takes rats out of equation, such as sunflowers, millet and oat grasses and fruit berries.
害羞草研究所淵ou can害羞草研究所檛 hang bird feeders high enough, either,害羞草研究所� she added. 害羞草研究所淚 have seen rats scale up wires that I wouldn害羞草研究所檛 think was possible to get at a bird feeder. There is no safe place to put them. The best thing you can do is stop using bird seed.害羞草研究所�
Stolz noted that any potential food that drops on the ground, from bird seed to fruit and nuts, should be raked up daily.
害羞草研究所淲e treat rats like any other pest in the city. We have rats on our city properties, such as parks, that we have to deal with. And the expectation is for local residents to do the same.
Environmental and moral ways to trap rats
害羞草研究所� Don害羞草研究所檛 use sticky traps because such devices can accidentally trap other animals
害羞草研究所� Chemicals are discouraged because other wildlife can feed off disoriented rats and pass on the chemical into the wildlife eco-system
害羞草研究所� Rat traps should be cover proofed to prevent the killed rodent害羞草研究所檚 exposure; a cut-out milk crate secured by a rock works and covered rat traps are sold in hardware departments
害羞草研究所� Rat trap bait suggestions include peanut butter, Nutella, marshmallows, dates, raisins, baking grease, WowButter, Provoke gel, dark chocolate
害羞草研究所� Rats are very intelligent as all bait options don害羞草研究所檛 work for all rats
害羞草研究所� Dead rats should be put in plastic bag for the landfill
害羞草研究所� Rat traps can be re-used multiple times as the scent left behind by captured rats can be an attractant for others to follow
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