Ontario and BC Lead Canada With Nine of the Top 10 ‘Rattiest’ Cities

Rodents gather outside of the Burrard SkyTrain Station in Vancouver on Feb. 7, 2024. The Canadian Press/Ethan Cairns

Ontario and British Columbia are home to nine of the 10 “rattiest” cities in Canada with the highest populations of rodents, according to an annual ranking of the country’s largest urban centres.

Toronto continues to hold the No. 1 spot on pest control company Orkin Canada’s list of the 25 rattiest cities, but B.C. cities make up the remainder of the top five. Vancouver takes second place followed by Kelowna, Burnaby, and Victoria.

Other B.C. cities to make the top-10 list are Richmond in seventh place and Surrey in eigth. Mississauga and Scarborough were the only other Ontario cities to make the list, sitting at sixth and ninth respectively. St. John’s in Newfoundland and Labrador took 10th place.

Also making the pest control company’s list are:

• Moncton, N.B.—11th
• Ottawa, Ont.—12th
• Winnipeg, Man.—13th
• Vernon, B.C.—14th
• Langley, B.C.—15th
• Coquitlam, B.C.—16th
• Sudbury, Ont.—17th
• Abbotsford, B.C.—18th
• Delta, B.C.—19th
• Brampton, Ont.—20th
• Hamilton, Ont.—21st
• Port Coquitlam, B.C.—22nd
• Etobicoke, Ont.—23rd
• Montreal, Que.—24th
• Halifax, N.S.—25th

Orkin also identified the “rattiest” cities and boroughs in Ontario. The greater Toronto area (GTA) is home to the most rodents with Toronto, Mississauga, Scarborough topping the list.

Ottawa took the fourth spot and No. 5 Sudbury was the lone northern Ontario city to make the list. Next up were Brampton, Hamilton, Etobicoke, North York, and London.

In 11th place was Markham, followed by Oshawa, Oakville, Cambridge, and Richmond Hill. Barrie was in 16th followed by Burlington, Niagara Falls, Kitchener, and Windsor. Rounding out the list were Sarnia, Guelph, Ajax, St. Catharines, and Whitby.

Rodent Prevention Tips

As Canada’s population grows, so too does its rodent population. To keep rodents away from your home, Ottawa Public Health suggests going on the offensive by keeping houses and yards clean and free of clutter, containing garbage, and rat-proofing the property.

“To control rats, you have to remove everything they need to survive: food, water, shelter and ways to get around,” Ottawa Public Health said on its website.

To do that, start by identifying where the rats are living on your property. Once you’ve found evidence of their presence, it’s time to erase droppings and track marks that will attract more rats.

Sweep up the area and wash it down with bleach and then clear clutter for your yard, basement, and garage, public health suggests. Instead, store items away from walls and off the ground.

Keeping weeds and bushes in check and at least six inches away from the walls of your home also helps eliminate hiding places for the rodents, the agency said.

Next, store garbage in hard plastic or metal cans with tight lids and keep pet food indoors, also stored in a tightly sealed container.

It’s also wise to check your home for holes and cracks, public health said. Rats can squeeze through holes and cracks as small as 1.27 cm (half an inch).

“To keep rats out for good, seal all holes and cracks in foundations, walls, floors, underneath doors and around windows,” the agency said.

The last step, public health said, is hiring a pest control company to get rid of existing rats.