Residents of Vancouver called thousands of times to complain to the city placing thousands of rodent-related calls through its 311 line, not only related to rats and mice, but also other types of rodents.
In recent years these figures have experienced fluctuations, for example in 2022, 1,249 related calls came in, in 2021, 1,175 calls and in 2018 there were 854, which means an increase of 46% between 2018 and 2022. Although the exact reasons for this increase cannot be explicitly identified, it is possible that the growth of urban areas, that is, city expansion, an increase in population, as well as climate change, may contribute to receiving higher levels of rodent-related calls.
On top of all this, the restriction on the use of SGAR (second generation anticoagulant rodenticides) that began in 2020 has undoubtedly generated many new problems that did not previously exist. According to John Weideman, pest control manager at 1st Pest Control, the motivation for the restriction is due to the need to protect birds of prey whose diets are based partly on rodents. When rodents consume very lethal rodent poison, it is possible that that poison is indirectly ingested by birds of prey, possibly causing their death. Solving this problem has undoubtedly generated others, since the increase in rodents brings with it many health risks. The ideal would be to find a balance between not causing indirect death of birds of prey and keeping the rodent population under control.
If you need assistance with controlling rodents, click here or call our office at 1.844.737.8226
