By Spencer Sterritt

Nanaimo exterminators seeing rising rat rates

Jan 20, 2017 | 12:55 PM

Nanaimo residents should be concerned about an influx of rats.

According to Don Woodard of Champion Pest Control, they’ve seen between a 40 and 60 per cent increase of rat calls compared to last year.

He said the relatively deep winter the city just endured is the cause of the rat problem.

“If the rats don’t get out of the ground they die, so they’ve been coming into people’s barbecues, engine mounts, sheds and up into their houses.”

He said rats will also seek warmth in businesses such as restaurants.

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The increase in rat calls is expected to continue into the new year as the ground remains frozen solid.

“Once they’re in a residence and they’ve got food, shelter (and) water, they don’t really have to leave it,” Woodard said. “If you’re not doing anything about it, or you don’t even know about it…your house or cottage can be the incubator for lots of rodents and it’s a really big problem.”

A telltale sign of rodents in your house is droppings scattered everywhere, since rats don’t stick to one area for their toiletry business, or chewed upholstery.

“They need to chew things, that’s their dentistry, so they can ruin a lot of things. And some of the coating on wires is made of food products like soy, so if a rat chews into those…they may cause a fire,” Woodard said.

“People need to be prudent and not take it lightly.”

For those choosing to exterminate the rats themselves, they’re urged to wear respiratory protection and formulate a plan before moving in to remove the pests.

Woodard also advised against using poison since it can possibly lead to secondary poisonings.