Yes, Alberta does have native rats — and one man can't get rid of them
CBC
Crowsnest Pass resident Vern Emard said pack rats, also known as bushy-tailed woodrats, have been scurrying around inside the walls of his homes and wreaking havoc on his property for more than two decades.
The rodents have caused thousands of dollars in damage by nesting in and under his homes, leaving behind a skunky trail of destruction.
"They like your bedding," he said. "They'll go right for your beds and they will [urinate] and [defecate], making a nest in your beds."
Emard says the pack rats destroyed a mobile home on his property in a remote mountain valley north of Blairmore, Alta.
"They chewed it so bad we couldn't salvage it," he said. "And because of the smell and the deprecation in the walls, we didn't want to."
Alberta has been defending its borders against invasive rats for more than 70 years. Even pet rats are strictly forbidden.
However, bushy-tailed woodrats occur naturally in the Rocky Mountains and southern parts of the province, according to Alberta's rat control program.
Ord's kangaroo rats, an endangered species, are also found in the province, in a small area near Medicine Hat, according to Environment Canada.
Emard built his next mobile home on cement to block the invading woodrats from tunnelling in. But eventually, they found a way to dig underneath the structure.
He thinks the critters are attracted to the heat, and says they're smarter and harder to kill than many household pests.
"A mousetrap or rat trap rarely can catch a pack rat," he said. "They'll take the bait, they'll spring the trap, and then they'll just laugh at you."
Scottie Potter, with the Alberta Institute for Wildlife Conservation, says pack rats create overwhelming odours by peeing on their nests to make them more durable.
"They are famously quite smelly," she said. "From personal experience,… you [can] smell them from a good three metres away. More than that really."
Pack rat nests, or middens, offer important research opportunities, said Potter, for those who brave the stench.
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