Neighbourhood besieged by rats, says Sydney man
John Sullivan asking for government assistance in war against rodents
A Sydney man fighting a rat infestation is looking for help in his war against the unwanted rodent.
John Sullivan, whose upper Cabot Street neighbourhood has seen a dramatic increase in rat activity over the past year, is looking for some government intervention in his battle with the gnawing mammal.
“I’ve lived here for 25 years and for the first 18 years I never saw a rat around here — then the odd one would show up, but ever since
the floods last year there’s been dozens, hundreds of them, who knows how many,” said Sullivan, who added that the rats he has come across are very aggressive in nature.
“They’re not scared of human beings, they’re not scared of dogs, they’re not scared of cats, they’re not scared of nothing — they will challenge you.”
But the 57-year-old Sullivan hasn’t backed down and, in fact, he’s taken up arms against the vilified rodents who have terrified his daughter, frightened his wife, attacked a neighbour’s dog and blinded his cat.
Back when he thought that rats were just an occasional problem, he found that one had taken up residence under his back step, so he hooked up a hose to the exhaust pipe of his car, started the ignition and pumped poisonous fumes under the porch. The rat eventually evacuated its temporary residence, ran out and was effectively dealt with by one of Sullivan’s friends.
His arsenal has also included poisons, rat traps and a shovel, but all to no avail — the rats keep coming.
But where they come from is a matter of speculation. While it’s been suggested that the rats may have migrated from a nearby former harness-racing track, Sullivan doubts it.
“They have some 80 cats over there and they keep things under control — no, it’s not the track, the rats started coming after the floods last year (October 2016), so we think they were displaced and found their way up here and they live over there,” he said, pointing to an overgrown and neglected former municipal playground that lies on the other side of his
backyard fence.
“They come from over there and they’re in my garage and the baby barn over there and under steps — they’re everywhere.”
Sullivan said while he has exterminated about 25 rats so far, he’s more interested in finding a permanent solution. And he said wants it taken care of before someone is hurt.
“That animal is toxic, that animal can kill you — they’re full of disease and if they bite you it’s in your blood system,” he said, adding that because he believes the rat infestation is a municipal problem, it should be dealt with by CBRM councillor
Ray Paruch, the community’s longtime municipal representative.
“I want to deal with our councillors and our mayor in my hometown, where the problem needs rectifying,” said Sullivan. “This problem is not in Ottawa or in Halifax, this problem is here on Cabot Street in Sydney and I expect Ray Paruch to step up to the plate”
But Paruch said the municipality doesn’t have jurisdiction over the issue.
“There’s no bylaws, there’s no departmental responsibility for, say, racoons, rats, mice, bumblebees, any of those things that are problems to
people, it’s not under the purview of the CBRM,” said Paruch, who added that the matter is a provincial responsibility.
“I’ve had a few calls on it and I told them to call the (Nova Scotia) departments of health or environment and if they need assistance they should contact their MLA, and if there is anything the MLA wants from me I am here to help, but it’s not in the purview of the CBRM.”
The local MLA is Municipal Affairs Minister Derek Mombourquette, who said he is looking into the matter.
“It doesn’t matter whose responsibility this is, I’m not going to pass this off, I’ve reached out to the constituents, and Mr. Sullivan in particular, and I’m going to do whatever I can to support them, whether it’s through the provincial government, the municipal government or a partnership of both,” said Mombourquette.
While the rat problem is relatively recent to Sullivan’s Ashby neighbourhood, it’s nothing new to Stephen McLaughlin, owner-operator of Sydney-based Cape Breton Pest Control.
McLaughlin recently said that when it comes to rats, the past couple of years have been the busiest he can remember.
“We’ve been full out, we get calls on them every day, people are saying they’re seeing them run through their yard, I can’t keep up — we’ve been steady with them and it’s not just Sydney — it’s all over (Cape Breton),” said McLaughlin, in an October interview with the Cape Breton Post.
“No one likes a rat — people can handle the word ‘mouse’, but they can’t handle the word ‘rat’, maybe because they are bigger and scarier.”
According to the exterminator, rats always seek safe and warm places close to food sources, such as green bins. McLaughlin said that once the rodents discover an ideal location, they utilize their cleverness and resourcefulness to get into houses, garages, barns, sheds, and under decks.