Albertan here. Never seen a rat outside of a research lab. We do have mice though.
How Alberta Eradicated Rats
121–130 of 146 posts
Re: How Alberta Eradicated Rats
#122> Author: Deena Mousa clearly an article sponsored by Big Mouse
Clever joke. FYI Mousa is the Arabic pronunciation of Moses.
Re: How Alberta Eradicated Rats
#123Earlier quoted context omitted.
The problem is they've grown accustomed to urban environments, are way more fearless than they used to be. I live rural (Ontario) and we hear but never see them. But if you go into town, they're a frequent occurrence. Grabbing people's pets and stuff. If it was just foxes... fine. But coyotes can be a problem.
Good. Outdoor cats are a bigger problem than a few native coyotes.
I’m definitely pro coyote but they’ve been known to snatch a leashed small dog while on a walk in Texas exurbs.
Re: How Alberta Eradicated Rats
#124The whole public buy-in is very much what is going on in Queensland, Australia right now that is attempting to eradicate fire ants. Even the funding fight to get the Commonwealth and neighbouring states to pitch in, as they have the potential to become endemic to the whole continent.
We also have a lot of "sovereign citizen" people pushing misinformation about the safety of the various chemicals used, attempting to deny inspectors onto properties, and general complaints about helicopter/drone dispersal in inaccessible areas and large farms/properties.
Re: How Alberta Eradicated Rats
#125Earlier quoted context omitted.
Warfarin is reversible with vitamin k. I suppose he was also getting a low dose per unit of body mass.
When we had mice in our house years ago, we tried for a few weeks setting poison bait in the garage to get rid of them. We could tell the mice were eating the bait, but there was still no end to the mice. We then had a thought... what if the mice were also eating the dog food in the garage? The container lid for the dog food was not very strong (weak and flexible enough that a mouse could possibly squeeze in and out)…
Just curious, you poisoned them once and no mice returned ever since?
In my house I had mice during the cold/wet season. Attempts to get rid of the population by killing them were futile. (House is now free of mice though. I secured every single possibility to get in during the summer. I read some mice can get through gaps that are 1 cm or .4 inches wide.)
Re: How Alberta Eradicated Rats
#126Every so often I'll mention online that Alberta has no rats, and inevitably there will be an American responding in absolute disbelief saying I'm full of shit. I may not live in Alberta, but luckily rats aren't really a thing in my neck of the woods. Travel an hour down the highway and it's a different story. Also, as an aside, people often don't believe me when I say I've never seen a cockroach before in my life. No…
I grew up in Florida, where you might come home and find a cockroach walking out of the bathroom with a towel around its head saying, "We need more toilet paper."
Okay, I kid, but it was almost that bad. We say there are no houses in Florida without cockroaches, just houses where they (mostly) aren't visible.
Now I live in Singapore, famous for being a clean city, and there are rats and cockroaches galore. Tropics, man....
Re: How Alberta Eradicated Rats
#127Re: How Alberta Eradicated Rats
#128Earlier quoted context omitted.
When we had mice in our house years ago, we tried for a few weeks setting poison bait in the garage to get rid of them. We could tell the mice were eating the bait, but there was still no end to the mice. We then had a thought... what if the mice were also eating the dog food in the garage? The container lid for the dog food was not very strong (weak and flexible enough that a mouse could possibly squeeze in and out)…
Just curious, you poisoned them once and no mice returned ever since? In my house I had mice during the cold/wet season. Attempts to get rid of the population by killing them were futile. (House is now free of mice though. I secured every single possibility to get in during the summer. I read some mice can get through gaps that are 1 cm or .4 inches wide.)
Yeah, without sealing entry points, they just keep coming. Not only can they can squeeze through tiny holes, they leave a trail of pheromones behind them letting other mice know where to come in. Mice infestations are awful. Hate the buggers.
Re: How Alberta Eradicated Rats
#129Earlier quoted context omitted.
Maybe I’m just lucky but I’ve lived in Ontario (in cities and the country) and have never seen a rat here. I know they exist but it’s not like we’re inundated by them. Maybe some specific businesses have problems with them, but it’s not something you see every day. I also lived in Montreal and did see them there sometimes. This was always early morning when I was out running - did not see them in Toronto, Ottawa, etc…
I live in Ottawa and I watched a crow rip a dead brown rat apart in my front street this week. I don’t see them often but they’re here. (I swear I live in a nice neighbourhood)
I never really saw them until I started working around Vanier. Seen some huge colonies near dumpsters.
Re: How Alberta Eradicated Rats
#130Earlier quoted context omitted.
I care about the Lyme more than the rats tbh. That is way more likely to fuck you up long term than anything a rat will bring in this day and age. We aren’t getting the black plague anymore.
Around 7 people the US get the plague each year. Yes that’s low, but it’s low specially because measures actively keeping it low. Which means understanding and maintaining these systems is still valuable as even if millions aren’t actively dying, that can change,
Whereas tens of thousands contract Lyme, often in life altering infections. Lyme is a big deal. But yes, I agree, we can both aim to reduce new disease without letting old vectors for disease back in.