Montreal must adopt a plan to fight against rats, believes the opposition to city hall, which is asking the administration to put in place several measures, including systematic rat extermination during sewer work, the establishment closed bins in public places and a review of the domestic and commercial waste collection system.
“With cleanliness issues, Montreal has become an all-you-can-eat buffet for the five to six million rats we currently have in the city,” Opposition Leader Aref Salem argued on Tuesday. “The time when they were only found in the sewers is over. Rats frequent our homes, universities, parks, businesses and offices. »
At the next city council meeting to be held on February 20, Ensemble Montreal will present a motion to ask the Plante administration to adopt a fight plan similar to those adopted by other cities such as New York. , Paris or Vancouver.
Montreal has already confirmed that it will lift the ban on the use of diphacinone, one of the poisons that was banned in January 2022. “But that’s not enough. We must not see rodenticides as a miracle recipe that will solve all the problems linked to the presence of rats”, underlined Aref Salem, recalling that several researchers and the World Health Organization (WHO) consider these products as a “point” solution only.
In its motion, the opposition asks that during work in the sewers, the City initiates a systematic rat extermination procedure. She suggests that eventually, all homes and businesses should be equipped with closed containers to store waste. Ensemble Montréal also believes that all garbage cans installed in public places, along streets or in parks, be replaced by closed garbage cans.
The patrol frequency of cleaning brigades should be increased in the 12 boroughs where they are already present. This service should be extended to the year, believe the elected representatives of the opposition. Finally, an awareness campaign will be necessary with traders in the food sector to ensure compliance with hygiene rules in public places.
A prolific animal
Present at the opposition press conference on Tuesday, Nathaniel Leavey, exterminator and owner of Entreprises Maheu, maintains that his company has noted a significant increase in calls for rat infestations, particularly in the fall of 2022, a few months after the prohibition of poisons.
The presence of rats can have health impacts and cause damage to buildings since these animals are able to gnaw cement, steel and plastic, underlined Mr. Leavey. “It is an animal that is not ordinary. It has a sexual maturity from the age of two months. The female can have about six litters per year and six to twelve babies per litter, so about 50 babies per year,” he explained. Thus, the fecundity of these beasts can mean that a couple of rats and their offspring could potentially generate 5000 individuals per year.
Nathaniel Leavey welcomed the city’s decision to allow the use of diphacinone again, because the use of traps was less effective. But according to him, it is important to attack the source of the problem, such as the waste scattered in the environment and the free movement of rats during construction sites.
Mr. Maheu admits that it is difficult to accurately assess the number of rats in the metropolis. But if we come to a number of 5 to 6 million individuals, it is because generally speaking, in large cities, there are two to three rats per inhabitant.
Mayor Plante’s office says it receives the opposition motion “with great openness”. “Although since 2020, there has been a decrease in complaints about the presence of rodents in the city center, we are not letting our guard down,” said press officer Marikym Gaudreault. “We also want to make sure that pest management companies have what they need in their toolbox, so we’re being flexible. This is why the use of a rodenticide has again been authorized. »
She specifies that a strategy is already in place with various measures such as the installation of closed garbage cans, the application of standards for construction sites and the improvement of cleanliness in the public domain. The motion will be discussed at the next council meeting.