Why rodents are taking over downtown Vancouver

Vancouver’s flurry of high-rise construction has had many unintended consequences–including a mass migration of angry rodents

As Vancouver’s real estate boom continues, concerns are being raised about the impact on displaced populations—including, increasingly, the rats unearthed by construction and looking for a home near you.

Chelsea Himsworth, lead researcher on the Vancouver Rat Project, has studied urban rats in the Downtown Eastside and has found they carry several human bacteria including MRSA (an antibiotic-resistant infection) and clostridium difficile, which causes intestinal infections. “Rats are almost like a sponge—basically they absorb these pathogens from their environment, propagate them and potentially spread them to humans.”

She advocates for a citywide strategy in dealing with what she calls a public health threat, pointing to a New York City model that uses both data collection and specific rodent-control bylaws. “The thing that confounds me is people thinking that if you just tweak garbage or tweak a bylaw then the rats will go away. They’re incredibly adaptive. When everything else is gone, I predict there will be rats.”

Herewith, three perspectives from professionals on the battle’s front lines: