'I’ve been breached': Cambridge man at wit's end as rats invade his home

Darryl Little is losing the war.

I've been breached!" noted the Cambridge resident, as just last week he found the remnants of a piece of panelling in the drop ceiling of his basement apartment had been chewed through.

The rat, which he believes is the culprit, still hasn't been found.

The war he's been battling with the rodents has lasted for more than a year, but, until now, they haven't got by the inner walls of his Concession Road flat. That's not to say they haven't been close, as each night he's heard them scurrying through the walls.

The 53-year-old, on a fixed income, has, along with the other renter in his half of a duplex, invested in traps, steel cans for garbage, glue strips, moving recycling bins to a safer area and putting spray foam in any openings around the foundation of the home.

Nothing has worked.

Not everybody has money to throw at the problem," Little said.

People are living to just get through. How are they going to do it?"

Little has gone as far as polling neighbours and they have seen the same problem. He thinks with the issue that widespread it should go beyond the homeowner to fix the problem, especially when he's read stories that rats are being uprooted by construction, road projects and lack of food from restaurant closures during the pandemic.

They're not just cleaning out the peanut butter jars, they're eating the whole jar. These are next level rats," he said about their voracious appetite.

Darryl Little has found rats everywhere around the outside of his apartment, chewing into and through wood, plastic and even his ceiling. | Darryl Little photo

The city, however, does not become involved in issues with pests unless the owner is not in compliance with property standards.

Dan Smith, manager of bylaw compliance, noted if the city does issue a notice of compliance to the homeowner for contributing to the issue - leaving food available for the rats, for example - and if the property owner does not remedy it, the city will send a contractor to mitigate the issue at the property owner's expense.

Little, while admitting the rat problem has him highly stressed, doesn't want to upset the homeowner. His fear, based on landlords he has rented from in the past, is people who rock the boat get thrown overboard. With a decent rent and his income, he doesn't want to be forced out.

I'm afraid to stir the pot too much," he said.

Little doesn't seem to be the only one on the wrong end of a rodent roundup, as Smith said rat complaints have been received in all areas of the city, similar to other municipalities.

This year, we have seen a couple issues that have taken more time to resolve, mostly due to maintenance issues on the property. We are taking all necessary steps to work with property owners to resolve these concerns," Smith said.

The action on some of those complaints could be seen at local stores selling pest deterrents." While Bowman's Home Hardware in Preston hasn't seen a change in the sales of deterrents, according to sales associate Tami Mathers, both Canadian Tire stores in the city have sent traffic to that aisle.

Frank MacDougall, store manager at the Highland Shopping Cente Canadian Tire on Dundas Street North, maintains sales in that area have been pretty steady, but couldn't say for sure if there was an increase from last year as he wasn't the manager at the store.

Cameron Copping, store manager at the SmartCentres Canadian Tire on Pinebush Road, said while he hasn't looked at the numbers, it seems like they are directing more people to pest deterrents this year to battle not only rats, but mice and Lymantria Dispar Dispar (LDD) moths.

It looks like we're selling more over last year," Copping said of rat deterrents.

Little thinks it is time for big brother to help residents.

I feel the city should be doing something, but I don't know what that is. That's not in my wheel house," he said.

Story behind the story: The Times received an email from Darryl Little about his growing rat problem and how he had been searching for some relief from the issue.