KELOWNA – The City of Kelowna is asking residents and businesses to help control the growing population of rats in the city.
It says winter is the best time of year to track and trap the rodents.
“There’s not much food available as most of the vegetation is dead through the wintertime,” says Urban Forestry Supervisor Blair Stewart. “In the snow you can see tracks and evidence they might be around. It’s trying to take advantage of the season to really be active.”
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Stewart says using traps is better than using poison.
“The use of raticides is really not the best because it takes multiple returns to the bait before they will actually succumb. So it’s beneficial to use a snap trap so you can confirm they’re no longer there.”
Eliminating food sources, like bird feeders, is also a good idea.
The vast majority of rats in Kelowna are Black rats also known as Roof rats.
They’re not as problematic as the larger Brown or Norway rat.
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