Victoria’s rat population is breathing a collective sigh of relief as BC bans lethal rodenticide.
The province has officially moved forward with its permanent ban of second-generation rodenticides.
Second-generation anticoagulant rodenticides (SGARs) are commonly used on rats and mice by pest-control companies and farmers.
SGARs are lethal when ingested by rodents, but they can also be detrimental to animals that eat the rodents further down the food chain.
To reduce the effects of this, the Ministry of Environment and Climate Change Strategy imposed an 18-month ban on SGARs in June, 2021.
During those 18 months, the ministry said they spoke with technical experts, held a public consultation and reviewed the science behind the SGAR ban.
After over 1,600 responses they ultimately decided to implement the new, permanent ban to coincide with the end of the temporary ban on January 21st, 2023.
The new ban will effectively end the sale and use of SGARs for all members of the public and most commercial operations.
Only some sectors that have been deemed ‘essential services,’ such as hospitals and food production facilities will be allowed to use SGARs. They will have to hire a licensed pest-control company to do this work.
The aim of the ban will be to reduce unnecessary pesticide use by making people have to look into other methods of pest control that are less harmful to the environment.
This October, Orkin Canada released its list of ‘rattiest cities in Canada’ and Victoria was seventh on that list. Vancouver came in second, Burnaby was third and Kelowna was fourth.
