Pest Management

Rats and mice are common pests in the urban environment. Their presence can be determined by a number of signs including: 

• Droppings and urine
• Tracks including foot prints or tail marks)
• Burrows
• Damaged food packages
• Chewing noises and other sounds

Tips to Minimize Rodent Visitors

• Take away the places they like to hide, sleep and nest by removing any clutter or rubbish from your yard and garage. Keep your grass trimmed, don’t let vegetation overgrow and keep bushes and trees away from your house. Store firewood and lumber 30 cm (1 ft) off the ground and away from buildings.
• Rodent-proof your home by locating any points of entry that rodents can access, and sealing all holes and cracks larger than 6 mm (1/4 inch) that might provide access to your home or other buildings on your property. Regularly check your home and actively make repairs.
• Take away their food and water by: 
  • Storing garbage and food waste in a secure, indoor location until collection day. 
  • Keeping Garbage and Green Carts clean. 
  • Composting responsibly. Use a rodent resistant compost bin, or use your Green Cart for all food scraps. 
  • Removing fallen fruits or nuts from your yard. 
  • Harvesting your garden promptly and not leaving produce over the winter. 
  • Feeding pets indoors and cleaning up leftover food when your pet is finished eating. 
  • Not feeding stray animals and keeping all pet food inside. 
  • Removing bird feeders or only bird feeding responsibly. 
  • Removing any containers from your yard that might hold water and repairing leaky pipes or taps. Cover pools and hot tubs when not in use. 
  • Keeping your BBQ clean.

Rodent Control

If you have a rodent problem, you will need to combine prevention and control methods to get rid of the rodents. There are several options to consider.

Traps

Snap traps and electronic traps are recommended as an effective and humane way to get rid of rats and mice. Live traps and glue traps are alternatives that can be used, but not recommended as they can cause stress and suffering to the animals caught. 

Rodenticides (Rodent Poisons)

Rodenticides should only be considered as a last resort because they are highly toxic pesticides and pose a significant risk to people, children and pets. Rodenticides can also indirectly poison wild animals and birds such as hawks and owls if they prey on a rodent that has ingested rodenticides. 

The province has placed a ban on the sale and use of second-generation anticoagulant rodenticides (SGARs) that contain the active ingredients brodifacoum, bromadiolone or difethialone. Exceptions have been given for services deemed essential by the province and only when applied by a licensed pest control company.

For more information on the rodenticide ban, visit the Government of B.C. website.

If rodents or other pests persist, please call a licensed pest control company. Local pest control services can be found in the Yellow Pages or BC SPCA.

It is resident’s responsibility to not attract pests to their property. Doing so could result in a $150 fine as per the the Wildlife and Vector Control Bylaw Number 4284, 2012 (PDF) which was developed to protect public health by requiring property owners and tenants to prevent their property from becoming infested by pests that may spread disease (vectors).

For more information, please see our Rodents in Urban Environments brochure (PDF).