Rat infestation strategy to focus on irresponsible behaviour by Londoners

New recommendations have been proposed regarding how the city can control its rat population. CTV’s Daryl Newcombe reports.

The growing number of rat infestations in core-area neighbourhoods and near the Thames River are primarily the result of the actions, or inactions, of Londoners.

City staff are proposing a new strategy to shrink rat populations by reducing access to resources rodents need to thrive including food, water and shelter.

A report to the Community and Protective Services (CAPS) Committee recommends, “stronger property standards, improved garbage control, coordinated municipal action, public education, and data-informed monitoring.”

Coun. Hadleigh McAlister, who called for a new strategy be developed, said he repeatedly sees activities that cause rat infestations in his ward.

“Garbage left sitting for too long, dumpster lids not properly secured. Essentially, the environments in which rats thrive is really generating a lot of this activity,” he explained.

He pointed to a townhouse complex’s parking lot on Shelborne Street where illegal dumping and unsecured dumpster lids have contributed to a large pile of refuse and stinking garbage bags that appear to have been torn open by animals.

Jesse Green lives only a few meters from the rotting mess that he said is attracting rats.

“We have to avoid that like the plague,” Green explained. “And you know, there’s children that play around here.”

He points to a large hole recently dug beneath the corner of his porch saying, “We just noticed that there’s been rodents getting in there.”

While speaking with CTV News, he spotted a vulture feeding around the garbage bin where he suspected it found a dead rat.

“Vultures are coming into the area, that’s completely unacceptable,” he added.

The city’s proposed rat strategy would be a graduated municipal response.

• Step 1: Update the Property Standards By-law, Yard and Lot Maintenance By-law, and Administrative Monetary Penalty System By-law to improve enforcement of garbage storage and lot maintenance related to rat-attracting conditions (no cost)
• Step 2: Develop a Residential Rat Remediation Support Program (RRRSP) to provide small amounts of financial assistance to homeowners protecting their residence from rat activity originating from nearby areas ($15,000 to $25,000 per year for pilot program)
• Step 3: Prepare a business case for the next multi-year budget recommending a Corporate Rat Management Plan (CRMP) that includes dedicated staffing, proactive hotspot identification, public education, inter-service coordination, improved data collection, and annual monitoring. ($90,000 capital plus $238,800 annual operational cost)

The CRMP would require hiring two municipal law enforcement officers (MLEO) dedicated to addressing conditions that lead to rat infestation plus one MLEO supervisor.

“The larger costs would be part of the multi-year budget discussion, so I think that’s an appropriate place for it,” explained McAlister.

The CAPS Committee will consider the proposed rat strategy on June 8.

The report identifies several risk factors for rat infestations including:

• Chronic refuse accumulation
• Repeated waste complaints
• Food-generating commercial uses
• Commercial-residential interface conditions
• Illegal dumping activity
• Exterior clutter and harbourage conditions
• Construction activity