The National Capital Commission is taking action to eliminate a rat problem in Confederation Park.
“The problem needs to be controlled and the rats need to be eliminated,” said Jasmine Leduc, a spokesperson for NCC.
In the spring, said Leduc, the NCC began receiving complaints from visitors about rats in the downtown park. She added they have now decided to solve the problem chemically.
She said the NCC recently hired a professional to set up bait stations around the park. The stations contain a poison that makes a rat ill once it crawls inside. The rodent then returns to its nest and dies, while poisoning other rats around it.
Leduc said the program began in September and will continue until the end of November. The problem will be monitored throughout the process, she said, but there will be no report showing significant changes until the initiative comes to an end.
“We’re aware of the problem,” Leduc said, “[and] we’re on the right track.”
The NCC hopes the bait stations will help solve the problem by the end of November but, if the issue continues, they are prepared to try again in the spring.
Leduc said the problem could’ve arisen because of the early, warm spring this year, and the continued construction downtown. She added that, while winter may not kill off the rats, the cold weather will mean they are less likely to reproduce.
In the meantime, the NCC asks that visitors to Confederation Park pick up after themselves and refrain from feeding any animals.