Rodenticide: How Does the Ban Effect Your Rodent Problem?
The BC Ministry of Environment recently announced an eighteen month ban on the use of Second Generation Anticoagulated Rodenticides (SGARs). But what exactly does this ban mean to homeowners and business owners with rodent problems?
First off, let’s understand what SGARs are exactly. SGARs are the most widely used rodenticides in the pest technician’s toolbox. They have a quick knock down effect on rodents. The rodent only has to eat the bait once for the poison to work. The downside is the rodent’s natural predators like hawks and owls can die or suffer long-term effects from eating poisoned rodents.
The highlighted active ingredients in the grid below are what the BC government have banned. The BC pest control industry can still use First Generation and Non-Anticoagulant rodenticide. However, when using these types of rodenticide, the rodent must continue to feed on it multiple times over several days. It can be difficult to get the rodent to do this, especially during the summer months when there is an abundance of food for them outside.
Rodenticide Classification
It is the pest control industry’s duty to uphold the health and safety of the public and structures. The use of SGARs is the most effective way to keep down the mouse and rat population by far. So how will we treat rodent problems without the use of SGARs? We will be mixing it up with the use of snap traps inside the exterior bait stations and 1st generation rodenticide. We will also provide advice and recommendations on how to rodent proof your home or business.
There are exceptions to the ban which are listed here. The exceptions do not include residential homes, offices or non-food retail outlets, to mention a few.
Let’s now focus on the top rattiest cities in BC.
Rats. It’s not the most flattering list to be on. And to add insult to injury, if Coronavirus hasn’t been disheartening enough already, COVID-19 is being blamed for rodents moving from downtown areas into residential neighbourhoods. Believe it or not, this is a true fact and a phenomenon around the world for the pest control industry.
Orkin’s Top 20 Rattiest Cities in BC in 2020
TOP 10
- Vancouver
- Victoria
- Burnaby
- Richmond
- Surrey
- Kelowna
- Langley
- North Vancouver
- Coquitlam
- Abbotsford
THE REST
- Vernon
- Delta
- Port Coquitlam
- Duncan
- Chilliwack
- Sidney
- Nanaimo
- Maple Ridge
- Terrace
- Powell River
Vancouver topped the list as being the rattiest city in BC for a fourth straight year. Followed by Victoria, Burnaby, Richmond and Surrey. Lower Mainland communities took eight of the top 10 spots. The rankings are based on the number of commercial and residential rodent (rats and mice) treatments Orkin carried out in BC from July 1, 2019, to June 30, 2020.
After reading these statistics, we clearly have a rodent problem in the Lower Mainland.
If you’re in need of a professional to end your rodent problem, we service the following areas:
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