St. Catharines - Not so Ratty After All

Hmmm... for some reason, we thought St. Catharines was one of the rattiest cities in Ontario.

Perhaps it stemmed back from an old 2016 article we read about a former GM property on Ontario Street in St. Catharines that was infested with rats (see more near end of post!)... and then later, our own experience with them outside an old townhouse we used to live in.

So needless to say, we were quite surprised when Orkin came out with their Top 25 'Rattiest' Cities in Ontario and discovered St. Catharines barely made the list. Yay for St. Catharines!

Image: Orkin

According to their website, Orkin ranked the cities by the number of rodents (rat & mice) treatments the company performed from August 1, 2020 through July 31, 2021. The ranking included both residential and commercial treatments.

Fascinating Rodent & Rat Facts You Didn't Know

While St. Catharines enjoys a relatively low rodent ranking compared to places like Toronto or Mississauga, urban rats remain a highly adaptable part of the Niagara wildlife ecosystem. Here are some incredible biological facts about these persistent critters:

• Superpowered Teeth: A rat's teeth never stop growing. They can exert a biting pressure of up to 24,000 pounds per square inch, allowing them to chew through wood, drywall, plastic, and even soft metals like copper pipe.
• Excellent Swimmers: Rats can hold their breath underwater for up to three minutes and can tread water continuously for up to three days. This is how they occasionally navigate city sewer systems.
• High-Speed Breeders: A single female rat can mate up to 500 times in just six hours, and a single pair of rats can theoretically produce up to 1,250 descendants in a single year under perfect conditions.
• Memory Masters: Rats have incredible spatial memory. Once they navigate a path or a maze to find food in a household or garden, they will remember the exact route for the rest of their lives.

Local Update: The Current St. Catharines Rodent Situation

How does our city stack up today? According to the newly released annual data from Orkin Canada Ontario Rankings, St. Catharines sits comfortably at the very bottom of the provincial list, placing 25th overall. While cities like Toronto, Mississauga, and Ottawa continue to dominate the top tiers, the Garden City has maintained a highly controlled environment against major rodent surges.

Interestingly, this creates a fascinating local pest control rivalry in the Niagara region. Our neighboring city, Niagara Falls, launched a successful residential "Rat Rebate Program" that covered 50% of professional extermination bills for backyards, successfully keeping them entirely off the top 25 list this year. St. Catharines introduced a matching municipal rebate option but ultimately ended the pilot program due to the intense administrative strain and processing overhead placed on city staff resources—leaving local property owners to manage residential pest upkeep through standard prevention rules.

Official Orkin Rodent Prevention Standards

To help maintain our low local numbers, wildlife control specialists advise keeping up with standard residential deterrent strategies:

• Trim the Trees: Keep backyard landscaping and dense shrubbery cut back at least one meter away from exterior structural walls to remove potential climbing launch points onto your roof.
• Cut Off Water Sources: Prevent moisture pooling by clearing out clogged roof gutters and dumping any stagnant rainwater collecting inside trash bins.
• Seal Structural Gaps: Routinely inspect foundations and close off any gaps or exterior cracks larger than 1/4 of an inch with weather stripping or wire meshes.

The GM Plant Context: Why the Neighborhood Was Under Siege

While municipal data paints a stable picture for the city overall, local history tells a vastly different story for the residents living near Ontario Street. When the 55-acre former General Motors plant shut its doors and subsequent demolition stalled, it triggered a full-scale neighborhood crisis:

• The Great Migration: Halting decades of deep industrial operations displaced massive underground colonies of rats, forcing them into nearby residential yards, porches, and home crawlspaces.
• Severe Property Destruction: Impacted neighbors have reported localized property damage ranging from destroyed structural siding to completely chewed automotive wiring.
• Environmental Hazards: Beyond the rodent explosion, recent environmental site assessments uncovered deep-rooted chemical hazards, revealing soil and groundwater contamination scaling up to 1,100 times safe health limits, combined with structural asbestos risks.

This history explains why community advocates continue to lobby intensely for localized property standard enforcement, proving that even a "low ranking" city can host intense, isolated hotspots.

The Regulatory Standby: Why Progress Has Stalled

While community members demand swift action, a complex web of legal, financial, and regulatory battles has kept the Ontario Street site at a standstill. The City of St. Catharines has historically faced immense jurisdictional hurdles because the 55-acre property is privately owned, making direct municipal intervention legally difficult. Demolition permits were officially revoked following severe safety violations, leaving the property stuck in a legal limbo between private ownership groups, provincial environmental ministries, and local enforcement.

Community Action & The Fight for Clean Air

In response to the city's hands being tied, grassroots community advocacy groups and local MPPs have stepped up to lead the charge. Groups like Coalition for a Better St. Catharines have consistently organized town halls, launched public petitions, and lobbied the Ministry of the Environment to force a comprehensive provincial cleanup. Their ongoing fight focuses not just on pest control, but on securing the perimeter to protect neighborhood children from structural collapse hazards and stopping airborne asbestos from drifting into nearby school zones.

Source(s): 610 CKTB Local Niagara News, Orkin Canada Regional Diagnostics Reports