Rat-related calls decreased in 2024, city says

The Rat Mitigation Working Group says that there were fewer rodent-related calls to 311 last year than in 2023.

According to a memo sent to councillors, it appears as if some of the ongoing solutions to curb Ottawa’s rat issue might be working.

Across all data points, the municipality saw a 40 per cent decrease in the number of rat calls to the city. This is 512 for last year compared to 845 in 2023.

The memo notes that the majority of rat sightings are reported to 311, but there are a few that go to Ottawa Public Health (OPH). Factoring those statistics in, the memo notes that there was a 70 per cent drop in calls to OPH, from 22 to six.

“The city has taken proactive steps to assist in controlling rat populations through enhanced public education and resolving Property Standards issues,” the memo reads.

Some of those steps include an online Rat Sightings Reporting Tool, proactive education, inspections for food premises (grocery stores, restaurants and warehouses), rental properties, increased sanitation of city buildings (like washrooms in parks) and other public sites.

Waste management with the implementation of green bins and baiting for rats near construction and in sewers was implemented.

Last year, Ottawa didn’t make the top 10 list of the “rattiest” cities in Canada, according to Orkin, a pest control company.

The nation’s capital was 12th, while Toronto remained first for the second year in a row.

Rat birth control

The city is also looking into less common solutions to the rat issue.

Last summer, council supported a motion from Laine Johnson that asks Health Canada to expedite the review of a product called ContraPest, which is already being deployed in Seattle.

ContraPest works by inducing early menopause in female rats while reducing sperm production in males.

Johnson called it a better solution than rat poison because rats have the ability to “learn” which food sources are bad for them and adjust their behaviour.