If Toronto truly wants to be rat-free, Alberta has the answer
Drastic measures to combat rats across Alberta have existed since the 1950s, like a 400-kilometre buffer zone and a pet rat ban.

metronews.ca
By Gilbert Ngabo
June 7, 2017

If Toronto wants to stop the recent surge in the rat population, it won’t have to look too far for an effective model. But not everyone thinks aggressive extermination is the right approach.

The entire province of Alberta has declared itself rat-free for the past 60-plus years and takes drastic measures to ensure it lives up to its slogan.

“We do get two or three rats a month and we always make sure they get destroyed,” said Phil Merrill, who’s worked as a rat controller for the Alberta government for more than 15 years. He’s one of eight who collaborate with more than 70 agricultural fieldmen and about 100 pest-control officers across the province to help to ensure total eradication.

In addition to relentless public-awareness campaigns urging people to kill or report any rats they see, the government has established a buffer zone - a 400-kilometre corridor along the border with Saskatchewan that’s monitored for rodents.

Pet rats are also banned in Alberta That’s especially concerning for Sydney Dallas, owner of Toronto’s Rat Emporium.

“It’s disappointing and unfair,” she said. “Wild rats and pet rats are very different creatures and must be treated as such.”

Merrill estimates rat control costs Alberta about $500,000 a year, far less than the cost of damage the rodents could cause if they were allowed to roam free.

“We save about four to five million dollars a year by not having rats,” he said, noting wild rats consume grains on farms, chew on pipes and wires in households and businesses and can carry harmful diseases.

A city spokesperson did not respond to a question about whether such a plan would work in Toronto.

Toronto doesn’t have any such radical strategies but does have a number of tips posted online telling residents how they can reduce contact with rats.