Oh, rats, Tecumseh council weighs its options after complaints of rodent infestation

Tecumseh is dealing with a rat problem as residents are calling on the city council to take urgent steps to address it.

Mayor Gary McNamara said there has been an uptick in complaints about rodents in residential areas. 

"Over the course of probably the last couple of years in particular, we've seen an uptick in terms of folks calling in and having issues of rodents on property," McNamara said.

Tecumseh council has been presented with three options for getting rid of rodents: They are:

• Maintaining an enhanced education campaign for residents, which began in 2018.

• Launching a pilot project under which the town would pay up to 50 per cent of the cost of getting rid of rodents once a year per property. 

• Focusing the pilot project on defined neighbourhoods where rodents have been a problem.

The council will decide during 2022 budget deliberations whether to spend at least $10,000 on a pilot project to subsidize residents who want to eliminate rodents.

Meanwhile, McNamara said all residents have a responsibility to do things to help eliminate the rodent population.

"It's important that we all take a bit of responsibility and basically do a little bit of inspection on your property," he said.

McNamara listed the following as contributors to the growing rodent population:

• Bird feeders.
• Leaving food out for strays and pets
• Composting.
• Large wood piles. 

"So we all have to kind of take a real look at our properties and to see if we're adding measures for rodents to populate," McNamara said.