Sudbury’s Rat Infestation: Residents Demand Action as the Problem Spreads

Hello everyone. It's Eric here from love the north. There's been a rat infestation that's been happening in and started, seem to have started in middle Lake sometime over the summer in with the studio with us today is bill a Duke ward 11 counselor for Sudbury. Bill, good to see you. Thanks for having me back. We're going to ask you some pretty off the cuff questions, but, um,(...) what can you tell us about your meeting that happened not too long ago at the Weller street Legion?

(...)

So, uh, actually it starts before that. Oh, okay. So back in June and July, uh, residents started contacting me,(...) uh, regarding the rat infestation.(...) So(...) automatically I contacted our by law department of the city of the city. And because people were pinpointing the areas and I didn't have the solution.

(...)

So I had asked staff to go out and check these hotspots within the middle Lake area(...) and report back. And I hadn't received anything(...) from our staff.(...) Uh, and then mrs. McBride contacted me and came up with a brilliant idea. Who's miss McBride? Uh, she's a, uh, an area resident to board 11. Okay. Yeah. Okay. So we had a meeting that was at the, uh, the, uh, the, uh, the, uh, the Um, and she came up with a brilliant idea though to hold a meeting. Uh, that we could all get educated from. So was that the meeting that was at, uh, the Legion? That was the meeting that we recently had at, uh, the roughing in the region branch 76 up on Waller street.

(...)

Then before the meeting, actually, uh,(...) I brought this to council,

(...)

regarding the right investigation(...) and our seal, uh, basically dismissed,(...) um, what was going on with the routes. Uh, and then once we organized the meeting, uh, the mayor came forward with a motion(...) and from there, uh, at the meeting is when I met this pest control company that I actually thought was going to be doing a presentation for us at the council meeting. Um, and they introduced themselves to me afterwards, um, at the meeting.

(...)

So then I contacted Mr. McBride again and I said,(...) you know, love the north, great program that you put on by the way. And I said, it's a great opportunity now(...) to educate(...) the residents of the lake(...) with what can be done. And I thought, well, let's bring the experts and let's bring this Mr. McBride to talk about what transpired at the meeting. Before we go any further, I'm going to put the car in reverse manual like the olden days. What was the motion that the mayor brought forward(...) that you mentioned? So the motion, uh, basically was to direct staff,(...) um, to move forward with, um,

(...)

different things, uh, and to report back to us. The original motion said in the Q2,(...) I amended the motion to come back in Q1.

(...)

Uh, so for the report to come back to council because there are some budget obligations in that motion that we can't(...) move forward with(...) until we put forward until we come back to the report. And if I know how much of a financial obligation this would take. Are you talking about Q2 and Q1 in 2027? Yes, sorry. Okay. So yeah, because the rat infestation happened in say Q2 slash Q3. And then,(...) okay. So that would be a long time in the future. Right. But right at the present time.(...) So we do have our parks and we do have, uh, connecting trails, pathways, uh, throat, middle lake that our city staff can go out and start brushing the, the brush back and cutting the grass, um, and monitoring our parks. Uh,(...) and if need be with a pest control company, uh, and we can start addressing those areas, uh, again, our green boxes, uh, which, um, you know, the middle lake residents according to our stats, it's between 40, 45% usage. Participation. Participation. Uh, so we can, uh, educate, uh, the residents, uh, try and encourage them to start using the green box, uh, or green bin,(...) which would eventually help, uh, with our rat infestation moving forward.(...) So it seems like that, that, um,(...) staff are moving forward with currently. Uh, we do have a website, uh, for the rats. Okay. That's same, uh, almost along the same lines of our, of our bear, uh,(...) reporting. Uh, so now we have a rat reporting,(...) uh, website. Uh, so people can go on there and they can identify, uh, the hotspots in, in where they live(...) and, uh,(...) see what happens. Okay. So where do we go from here as for the rats?

(...)

What, what, what would be the next? So you've had the meet, you've had the meeting at the, at the Legion. Right. Uh, the problem has been identified. There's an issue and, uh, they are expanding their coverage within the city. Yes.

(...)

Um,(...) where do we go from here?(...) Oh, that's a good question. I think right now is that, uh, we all have to educate ourselves. Uh, we all have to, uh, protect our properties. Okay. Uh, and take, uh, the proper measures, uh, in prac, protecting them. Um, and I would, I would strongly recommend, okay. Uh, again, calling 311, uh, and public health. Okay.

(...)

And a local pest control company(...) to get yourself educated.(...) Okay. On what to do for your own properties in order to keep that rat population from(...) exponentially growing because, uh, they can reproduce, uh, what was it once? Every,(...) they can produce every 24 days, every three weeks,

(...)

every(...) three weeks, 12 to 15.

(...)

So one female can reproduce 12 to 15 every three weeks in the litter.

(...)

Um, mature three, four months. Produce as well. So she has a hundred offspring and her females.

(...)

That's a, that's more than cats.

(...)

That's a lot. Okay.(...) Um, councilor Leduc, anything else before we wrap up with you and bring in the experts? Uh, you know what? Also I'm going to say is I encouraged every resident in this city, uh, to educate themselves. Uh, use your green bins, uh, try and store your garbage in a safe location. Um,(...) and if you have questions or concerns, please reach out to 311(...) or public health or a local pest control company, uh, to get more education.

(...)

And I think working together,(...) uh, we will resolve this problem.

(...)

So, uh, well, it's good. It's a good start. We've got to work together in order to solve the problem. Thanks for coming in. Thank you very much for having me. Okay. Thank you.

We have a continuation to the episode where we had counselor Bill the Duke from Ward 11 in Middle Lake and Area. And we have with us in studio(...) Sasha who was a Middle Lake resident who actually set up the meeting at the Legion up on Weller Street. And also with us in the studio is Rhonda and Manal. And they are from E2 Pest Control owned and operated under Environmental Ecosystems Solutions Incorporated. Good. Glad to see you all. Good to see you. Thanks so much.(...) So to start,(...) Sasha, what prompted you to actually put this meeting together?

(...)

It was probably seeing nine rats in my backyard at the same time having a heyday.(...) Yeah.

(...)

It was just...

(...)

I guess I was just mad and furious and I called the city and the city told me to call public health and instead of calling and complaining, I called and said, "Would somebody come and speak and educate the residents of Middle Lake and just kind of educate us on the whole rat infestation?" And then they agreed and then I called Bill(...) and left kind of a nasty message saying I was a Middle Lake resident and I was really sick and tired of it and that I was going to host a community and that I was going to get a pest control company and public health to come and that I needed his contacts for the venue.

(...)

Okay.

(...)

When did the first... When did you first see those rats? What month? It was in March. March?(...) Okay. So there was still snow on the ground? No, not at that point. There was no snow.(...) My husband went to grab the garbage out of the garbage bin and he got scared by three of them and they had literally eaten a hole in our garbage bin. The plastic bin? Yeah. Okay.(...) So when you went to that meeting at the Legion, what was the outcome? What outcome did you get as a resident? Well, I'm just going to jump back a little bit. I put a post on Facebook(...) and got 206 comments and then I was reading all the comments and figuring that this just wasn't Middle Lake. Then I put a form together and based on me putting that form out, 158 people filled it out. Then I took all the information from that form and I mapped it. I met with(...) the city and showed them my results.(...) That's when the CAO said, "I'd like to come to this meeting."(...) There's about(...) maybe a little more than 100 people at the meeting. It was a good turnout.(...) The end results are pretty much... I mean, I'm not going to speak on the city's behalf and what they're going to do, but for residents(...) to declutter,(...) use the green bins. They were a savior for us this summer.(...) Make sure that if you see a neighbor that's not doing their part, to call 311.(...) I know that(...) if somebody doesn't follow the laws, they'll end up getting fined.(...) How about before calling 311? How about just talking to the neighbor? You could. I mean, that might cause problems too. Every neighbor's... Yeah, I know not all neighbors get along, but you can always talk to your neighbor first before picking up the phone. That's always...(...) It's just a better way to go. If it's possible. Yep, absolutely. You can try that too. Yeah.(...) Mano and Rhonda, you were at the meeting at(...) the Legion? Yeah, at the Legion? No. We were not. However, we have a team member that was, and she is also a local resident in Mano Lake, and she attended, but didn't make herself public because she's there taking notes, and she has a similar problem. I did attend the council meeting the following night, and I got to hear the motion that was read by the mayor, and that's when I connected with Bill Dink from Ward 11,(...) and we had a great chat, and here we are today.(...) Since that, we've been... We put together a rat alert(...) program for the community that will be uploaded to various websites that help with the rat infestation, and we educate people as well. So, if we(...) back up a little bit, so people have a misunderstanding of rats. They think they didn't exist in the community. They always have, correct, Rhonda? Rots. Rodents, period, rats, and mice. And so, with the proper environment and the habitat, we have a surplus now of rats. A rat can deliver up to 200 plus young a year. Every three weeks, delivers anywhere from 12 to 15 little ones in their litter,(...) and females mature anywhere from three to four months, and then the same process is happening. A rat's life is two years expectancy. If it's sheltered indoors(...) throughout the winter, it can last two years. If not, they usually last a year. They carry disease. They're a nuisance animal, and the only way you can really mitigate rats and drop this infestation is as a community, and you look at measures. Like, for instance, here in the north, if you have a bear problem, you're not going to leave your feeders out. You're not going to leave your garbage out. So, we've come up with an education program on what rats lay and gives you a bit of history, and what can you do as a community or as an individual to rectify the issue. You see, it's, you know, where the city comes in is where they're going to, of course, bylaw and educate people, and when the chief(...) medical officer, and that's what they've been mandated to do, educate people too, and a lot of that is managing their food sources, which we give you a number of tips not to do. If you have a fruit tree falling fruit on the ground, both enhance feeding for them, feeders, garbage, eliminate shelter, and water, shelter. You would think just a pile of wood on the ground is nothing, but to them is shelter. So, we recommend that you lift the wood up and at least a half a foot from the ground in that, you know, you eliminate any piles of debris, lawn grass,(...) standing water, of course, hoses that leak, entry points for your house. You know, if your shed has a hole in it, they're going to go in there, they're going to shelter. Your house cracks in the foundation. They'll eat through anything just to get it, anything. So, sealing your cracks,(...) coordinate and reporting when you see them. If you see a bunch coming out of your neighbor's yard and, you know,(...) fooling around in their yard or in your yard, you might have something that's attracting them. Obviously, wood piles, debris, garbage, feeders, something so minimal that during good conditions, you wouldn't see this, but because there's an infestation now, you're prone to see more of the activity, and how to manage your pest problems, right? How you manage it, educate yourself, you know, we go out, we'll educate you as number one.(...) Then we'll look for deficiencies and what you have going on around your house that you as a homeowner may not know or understand. We'll tell you how to seal your cracks. We're not carpenters, but we do help. And then if alternative is also pesticides, you know, we do use them, but not every case.(...) We rather do best management and integrate other solutions than pesticides. So we need to do that first and we need to put a bit of rest.(...) Did I miss anything, Rhonda?(...) No, I think that's pretty good.(...) Education is number one. You know, like Minow had said that just those little things of your tall grass, your water leaking, things like that is number one.

(...)

So what's the current state? Is the city doing anything? I know it's good for every individual citizen to do something, but on a large broader scale is like have the ditches been cleaned up or the walkways wherever it's city property? I'm not aware of anything. The chief officer(...) was on the news last week and they did say that they're going to(...) educate people. And I'm not sure what their program is going to be. They're going to be cutting ditches and doing stuff like that. But it's a big community effort. The city, I see, will be doing their part. Homeowners will as well. And bylaw will be enforcing a lot of the restrictions during this time as well. They'll be checking things out more regularly. That's okay. I was under the impression parks and walkways and,(...) you know, areas that are just full of bush that there's nothing going on, abandoned kind of lots, you know.(...) But I did have a question for you,

Public health said that these rats don't carry any diseases.

(...)

False. Okay. I have two little chihuahuas at home. And(...) when they're not feeling well, they eat grass. And then the rats are running around and urinating on the grass. And then my dog is essentially eating it. He could get sick, right? And then he could probably pass that on to us, correct? Well, my belief is that anything that urinates anywhere, right? You have bird feces. You have raccoons and squirrels and chipmunks, right? So(...) especially at this time of year, you have the dew that is diluting any kind of outside urine, things like that. But if you're keeping your lawn maintained and specifically around fences, that's where dogs like to eat the grass and stuff like that, then, you know, I think you'll be fine. I really do. I would be more prone to(...) if you're going into a shed with your little pups and you're finding feces, or you're finding a saturated cardboard box. Concentrated amounts. Okay.(...) That's good too. And a bite, obviously. Yeah, correct. They're scared of you, right? They're like anything else. They're scared. But(...) I do know that the city has been on top. A personal(...) scenario that I've encountered is a neighbor hasn't been keeping his backyard maintained. And I didn't have a rodent. I had a hermit in my backyard and the city was called. It took a couple of times, but by law was out and to clean his backyard. That's good. So I do believe that the city is(...) doing the best of their ability right now.(...) So go ahead. Yeah, I think the community as a whole has to do their part in their yards to make this a successful outcome(...) for Q1 2027 next year in the spring. Yeah. Getting to the source of the rats, do we have any idea on(...) why? Has(...) there ever been rat infestation in Sudbury before? I don't think to this extent. No, but it's habitat and environment. Absolutely. All these conditions are favorable. So when things are favorable, animals reproduce. Everything is there. Food, water, shelter, everything they need. So they're going to reproduce. There's no environmental stresses for them not to reproduce. So this is what we're seeing. And not only this ward, we have a big arson now, and it's up to the rest of the city and the wards to be proactive. Know what the animals all about and know what the community action plan is. So show your own due diligence. So everyone keep your yard really maintained, get rid of excess garbage, use the green(...) composting bins, and just get rid of any extra debris where they can

(...)

get in or make a home.(...) But(...) that's not also a beneficial for rodents. It's beneficial for all pests, right? Ants and earwigs and spiders.(...) It's a whole big circle that it will help keeping your house maintained.(...) Now, our job as a pest control company is to protect your home. I can't go and protect the forest. That's not my job, right? My job is to protect your home and to(...) keep you and your family safe. But that's through education. We start with education as(...) number one.(...) Then we use alternative methods,(...) depending on each individual circumstances situation.(...) Sasha, any last words that you want to...(...) I'm(...) happy we're at this point and something's getting done.(...) It takes everybody, like you said, not just the city, not just us, but everybody.(...) I(...) hope that(...) those little things that the city are saying they're going to do, that they're able to do them on a regular basis before snowfalls. Because I worry what's going to happen next spring.(...) Absolutely. So the time to act from what I'm hearing is now, get everything tidied up, cleaned up, make sure you're diligent in how you go about doing it. Then that should really help to curb things from a residential point of view. Yeah. With the weather changing, the mice are looking for warmer... Mice and mice and rats, rodents are looking for warmer habitats. So at the chances of them finding a crack, crevice and making their way into a heated environment, chances are pretty good. So I would suggest taking care of all those cracks and crevices as number one and then(...) doing your regular due diligence, blue boxes, green boxes, garbage, that kind of thing. Try and eliminate as much habitat. Because once the winter comes and everything's froze over, it's not the time to start decluttering and restocking and piling wood and taking it from debris. It's not going to happen. So come the spring, guess what? It's not the same problem.(...) But on another(...) note, there's been an increase on birds of prey eating a lot of the rats, flying away with rats. So we had documented visual.

(...)

I noticed where I live, I saw an eagle. And the eagles...(...) No, I don't live in Lakeland. I know there's a ton of them at the dump. That's the only time that I've ever seen them. But I've now seen one where I live in(...) the south part of town. And I was surprised because he just flew by. And(...) it's the first time that I had ever seen one in that part of town. So they're everywhere. Yeah, you're going to have an increase with an infestation like this. It's a lot of food. Winter's coming around. They're going to have an increase in all kinds of canines,(...) coyotes, foxes, anything that would eat a rat.(...) Birds, prey,(...) they're hungry. So the more food availability, the more you're going to see(...) more population of different species. So this is the time of year we actually want to see the coyotes and the foxes.(...) Because now they're actually our friends.(...) Yeah, and help too.

(...)

Any last words, Rhonda? Mano? Before we wrap this one up. Do your due diligence. Give us a call if you have any questions. We're more than welcome to help you out. And you could visit our website and we have our action plan on our website that's downloadable. Yeah, and we'll(...) provide a link to that on our site as well. So that it's just, it's easier. And a link to your site and just help to get the word out there.(...) Yeah, and the fact that we're local, we understand a lot of the environment and habitat that we're dealing with(...) actually helps a lot.(...) It actually does. Yeah. All right, everyone. Thanks for coming

(Music)

(...)