Rats are not the friendliest type of animal you'd want hanging out around your house. Canadian pest removal and exterminator company Orkin just released their annual ranking of the most rat and mouse infested cities in each Canadian province and you'll be disgusted by the results.
If you live in Vancouver, you probably won't be happy with the results of British Columbia. Vancouver tops the list for the most rat-infested city in the province, and many other Greater Vancouver Area neighbourhoods also made the list.
The rankings are compiled by Orkin Canada and are determined by the number of rodent treatments the company handled in each B.C. city for the year of 2017, from January to December.
The vast majority of the cities in B.C. with the most rats are in the Greater Vancouver Area or on Vancouver Island. Check out the full list, ranked in order of most to least rats:
1. Vancouver
2. Victoria
3. Burnaby
4. Richmond
5. Surrey
6. Kelowna
7. Langley
8. Coquitlam
9. Duncan
10. Nanaimo
11. Abbotsford
12. Delta
13. New Westminister
14. Sidney
15. Port Moody
16. Maple Ridge
17. Port Alberni
18. Vernon
19. North Saanich
20. Kamloops
Orkin Canada also provided some tips to prevent rats from infesting your place. They suggested sealing any gaps and cracks in walls, windows or doors. Rodents are attracted to landscaping, so trimming the shrubs that are close to the property can help.
Orkin Canada also recommends making sure there aren't any sources of moisture, such as clogged gutters or water retained in garbage cans, because moisture is necessary for their survival.
For more information on the list and rat infestations in British Columbia, you can visit Orkin Canada's website here.