No rodents? City records show much different tale

Ruth McCrea has mistaken rats for squirrels scurrying up a Manitoba maple tree outside her home.

That’s how big the rodents can get in Centretown.

McCrea, who lives with her husband and their two young children on Cooper Street, said the rat problem in her community peaked in the spring and summer this year before finally tapering off over the past two weeks. It’s been a job just to keep them away from getting into their home.

“We had to work hard to make sure that didn’t happen because they were everywhere,” McCrea said Sunday.

She said she believes garbage has been attracting the rats. There are nearby apartments and restaurants with trash containers that are magnets for rodents, not to mention the regular residential garbage that accumulates in the two weeks between pickups.

While she credits Somerset Coun. Catherine McKenney for responding to her concerns, McCrea questions whether the city could be doing more to prevent rats from tearing through downtown.

Summertime is usually the best time for rodents in the capital.

Hot garbage oozing at bottom of dumpsters and festering in neighbourhood green bins makes for buffets for the rats and mice looking to pack on fat before the cold months.

Mayor Jim Watson said last February that he had never seen a rat in Ottawa, but the city’s own records show people are regularly spotting vermin and calling city hall.

The Citizen asked for two years of data on calls through an access-to-information request to get an idea of how often people were complaining about rodents.

People across Ottawa lodged 1,536 complaints about rodents between 2015 and 2016, with almost a quarter of calls coming from the central-east ward of Rideau-Vanier.

The city didn’t break down the calls by the type of rodent reported.

Somerset Street between the Trillium Line and Rideau Canal had the highest number of calls for a single street. There were 30 over the two-year period in that stretch of Somerset ward.

The city also provided calls received by the health unit over the two-year period. The 40 cases include complaints about rodents at restaurants, schools and grocery stores.

Rats have attracted the spotlight at city hall, with some councillors sniffing for more information about how staff control vermin.

Rideau-Vanier Coun. Mathieu Fleury said he constantly hears about rat problems in different parts of his ward, which is home to several restaurants, older buildings and construction sites.

“The (rat) population grows so quickly,” Fleury said. “It’s not just closing a hole. You’ll see them dig in the grass, they’ll hide in there.”

Fleury said the city doesn’t track the calls accurately since people report rats when the rodents are on the move, but the call centre usually needs a specific address.

A small city-run program that distributes rat traps and other equipment could be an answer, since residents often don’t know what to do about nuisance rodents, Fleury said. “Nothing too complicated, nothing too onerous or expensive,” he said.

Half the battle is in making sure residents are taking measures to reduce things that attract rats, such as uncovered garbage cans.

The bylaw department received 171 inquiries in 2016 about rats and rodents related to property standards, according to information shared with city council in the spring.

Three departments usually handle the bulk of the rodent-related calls: bylaw, public works and environmental services, and Ottawa Public Health.

The environmental services branch responds to complaints about rodents in sewers and runs a baiting program. The branch responded to 159 requests from residents for baiting services in 2016.

The city doesn’t track rodents, but rather leaves it up to the departments to handle calls related to their responsibilities.

One of the more comprehensive projects on rats has been happening in downtown Vancouver, where researchers have been tracking rat populations and diseases they carry.

The City of Ottawa hasn’t indicated interest in a similar research

project (it would require more resources and funding) but staff have mentioned they’ll continue education and enforcement while working with the planning department to flag potential rodent problems during pre-construction phases of developments.

Back in Centretown, Ruth McCrea suggested there could be more creative ideas for garbage storage.

McCrea makes sure recyclables are washed before placing them in recycling containers, but she questions whether the city could offer containers with lids that stop rats from rummaging through the contents.

“I think we owe it to the nation’s capital to maintain a clean and beautiful city,” McCrea said.