Not exactly the title the city is proud of, but Richmond has been ranked the fifth "rattiest" city in B.C.
According to Orkin Canada, the country's largest pest control company, the annual ranking is based on "the number of commercial and residential rodent (rats and mice) treatments" the company has carried out from Aug. 1, 2021 through July 31, 2022.
Vancouver placed first, with Burnaby in second, Kelowna in third, Victoria in fourth and then Richmond.
Richmond ranks eighth "rattiest" city across Canada with Toronto taking first place in the country.
In 2019, the city ranked fourth and has slightly improved in the past three years by dropping one spot lower in the ranking.
More rodent activity and migration to residential neighbourhoods were observed during the pandemic when multiple lockdowns occurred, according to Orkin Canada in a media release.
"With more available food, there will be exponential population growth. Food availability favours population growth since there will be less competition for food, which also will result in high reproductive potential, high survival and healthy thriving populations," said Alice Sinia, Ph.D. entomologist with Orkin Canada.
The Vancouver Coastal Health, which managed the rodents in Richmond, cancelled its contract in 2021. Since then, the City of Richmond took over the role of rodent management. This includes actions such as banning rodenticides on city-owned properties.
The city has a specific line for rodent management on their website.
