Okanagan rat problem here to stay

Rats! Just the mere mention of them can send shivers down a homeowner’s spine.

The rodents arrived to the Okanagan about eight years ago, according to a pest control expert who says the problem is not going to disappear on its own.

Expert Don Stolz says in order to survive, a rat needs three things.

“They need water, they need food and they need some habitat,” he said.

Stolz says rats first began appearing in the Okanagan about eight years ago.

“I was born and raised in Kelowna – only up until the last eight years that I even hear of rats,” he said.

Stolz believes they got here by hitching a ride.

“Freight trucks coming in, bringing feed from different locations on the coast,” he said.