Staff at Stettler County are breathing a tentative sigh of relief after days of observation at the landfill site has resulted in nary a sign of rat activity.
Quinton Beaumont, director of agricultural services for the county, had the unenviable task of breaking the news that a Norway rat had been caught in a trap at the site. The traps were laid after attentive staff had spotted a rodent they believed was too large to be one of the resident mice.
“Norway rats are a very aggressive, destructive rodent,” Beaumont said. “They’re worse than their pack rat and sewer rat cousins. They can carry diseases – plague, hepatitis, and contaminate food.”
The site where the rat, a juvenile too young to breed, was caught has been aggressively baited and observed by the county since the rat’s capture.
As of yet, there’s been no further signs of rat activity, leading Beaumont to believe the rodent was a transient hitchhiker who was left behind by a truck.
“It’s not uncommon for municipalities to find a single rat, or even two rats, at their landfills,” he said. “We can’t stop them from hitching rides in.”
When the problem goes beyond a few easily trapped rats, the municipality calls in the province, which takes its “rat free” status very seriously.
This is the first time a Norway rat has been caught in Stettler, Beaumont said.
While there’s been no further signs of rat activity, Beaumont and his staff will continue to aggressively monitor the site and adjacent properties for unusual rodent activity.
“If there had been more rats, I think we would have seen more signs by now, but we’re staying on top of it,” Beaumont said.