Walk around your property at night with a flashlight. Look for places where rats live, or for rat droppings. Check for holes or bite marks on garbage cans. Check walls and grass for runways: rats typically run the same path several times a day, leaving dark greasy track marks.

If you're a tenant, document your findings to share with your landlord. If you're an owner, your findings may help a pest control company.

Rats have babies often, so it's important to find and get rid of them quickly.

Here are your options for wiping out rats:

1. Traps: used dried fruit, peanut butter and oats, or cheese to bait your traps. Don't touch a trapped rat with your bare hands. Wear gloves and double-bag the rat before throwing it in the trash. The trap can be reset if gloves are worn.
2. Rodent baiting: if you choose to use a pesticide, please read the label to make sure you're using the right product. Be careful: poisoned rats can crawl away and die, resulting in unpleasant odours. Poisons can harm pets, wildlife, and children.
3. Pest control company: if you choose to hire a professional, ask friends and family for referrals. Ask for references and a price quote. A good pest control company will work with you until rats are gone and visit often until the job is done.

Cleaning up and getting rid of clutter is an easy and effective way to prevent rats. When you remove garbage and debris from your home and property, you take away rats' places to hide, sleep, and reproduce.

Work with your neighbours to clean up so that rats don't move from one place to another.

Control weeds and shrubs:

• cut down tall grass,
• keep the ground around your foundation clear,
• remove trash from your gardens, and
• make space between plants.

Don't feed the rats! Keep your trash in garbage cans with tight-fitting lids. Keep all food in tightly sealed containers. Don't put out food for stray cats, pigeons, or squirrels.

Shut out rats: seal holes and cracks in foundations, walls, floors, underneath doors, and around windows.