# Are There Really No Rats In Alberta? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [March 17, 2010, 11:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-really-no-rats-in-alberta/532813 "2010-03-17T23:57:05Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Markxxx](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/5daacb/32.png) [@Markxxx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Markxxx)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2010, 11:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-really-no-rats-in-alberta/532813/1 "2010-03-17T23:57:05Z")
I was reading [this from National Geographic](http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2003/03/0331_030331_rats_2.html). I find it hard to believe there’s anywhere on Earth, without rats. I figured if there was such a place it’d have to be an island or something. So I’m asking people who live in Alberta or been there. Is it REALLY rat free? Or is this just an advertising gimick? Seems to be true. And you know how it is when something seems to good to be true 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Simplicio](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c37758/32.png) [@Simplicio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Simplicio)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2010, 12:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-really-no-rats-in-alberta/532813/2 "2010-03-18T00:07:15Z")
Here’s an [image](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Brown_rat_distribution.png) of the range of the Norway rat. Alberta seems to not only be rat free, but basically be the only sizable part of the world that is rat free that isn’t at extreme latitudes. Pretty incredible a pair haven’t managed to sneak aboard a truck or train yet. ---
**Author:** ![EmAnJ](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/d2c977/32.png) [@EmAnJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EmAnJ)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2010, 1:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-really-no-rats-in-alberta/532813/3 "2010-03-18T01:20:22Z")
Calgary here. Nope, no rats. In fact, last summer it was all over the news that two rats had been spotted in a neighborhood in the NE part of the city and people were all concerned about it. Turned out it wasn’t rats (can’t remember what they were). Still rat free. ---
**Author:** ![Spoons](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spoons/32/3141_2.png) [@Spoons](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spoons)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2010, 1:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-really-no-rats-in-alberta/532813/4 "2010-03-18T01:22:09Z")
It’s true. There are no rats in Alberta, thanks to a program that eradicated them over time. [Here’s a link](http://www1.agric.gov.ab.ca/$department/deptdocs.nsf/all/agdex3441) to a Government of Alberta page explaining the history of the rat’s introduction to Alberta, the eradication program, and why the program was (and continues to be) successful. ---
**Author:** ![SteveG1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/bb73d2/32.png) [@SteveG1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SteveG1)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2010, 1:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-really-no-rats-in-alberta/532813/5 "2010-03-18T01:22:13Z")
How is it possible??? ---
**Author:** ![Spoons](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spoons/32/3141_2.png) [@Spoons](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spoons)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2010, 1:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-really-no-rats-in-alberta/532813/6 "2010-03-18T01:26:48Z")
> [@SteveG1](#): > > How is it possible??? In a nutshell, a sparsely-populated province with consequently fewer places for rats to live, the rats generally coming from one direction (east) owing to mountains in the west and forest in the north (don’t know about the south), climate, and the cooperation of locals who didn’t want rats around. ---
**Author:** ![Cat\_Whisperer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cat_whisperer/32/4839_2.png) [@Cat\_Whisperer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cat_Whisperer)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2010, 4:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-really-no-rats-in-alberta/532813/7 "2010-03-18T04:14:42Z")
Well, I wouldn’t bet my life on there being no rats here whatsoever, but the levels are so low as to be not a concern at all. I’ve lived here for 20 years, and I have yet to see a rat here. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2010, 4:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-really-no-rats-in-alberta/532813/8 "2010-03-18T04:15:57Z")
That doesn’t mean that there are no \*mice. \* ---
**Author:** ![Mikemike2](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mikemike2/32/305_2.png) [@Mikemike2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mikemike2)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2010, 4:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-really-no-rats-in-alberta/532813/9 "2010-03-18T04:35:48Z")
> [@SteveG1](#): > > How is it possible??? There has been a government program for 50 years to eradicate rats, and because they are an introduced species, they never got a large foothold. The borders of Alberta are constantly monitored, and bait traps are maintained along the borders in areas where rats are most likely to cross. People are not allowed to keep rats as pets, only certified institutions. ---
**Author:** ![Spoons](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spoons/32/3141_2.png) [@Spoons](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spoons)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2010, 4:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-really-no-rats-in-alberta/532813/10 "2010-03-18T04:53:54Z")
> [@DrDeth](#): > > That doesn’t mean that there are no \*mice. \* There are mice, and other small mammals. Yes, I have seen them. ---
**Author:** ![Fastidiots](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/51bf81/32.png) [@Fastidiots](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fastidiots)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2010, 5:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-really-no-rats-in-alberta/532813/11 "2010-03-18T05:31:00Z")
My highschool physics teacher had a hipster Alberta Rat Hunter T-shirt that he’d wear on casual Fridays. I’m a lifetime resident - zero rats. ---
**Author:** ![Shamozzle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9f8e36/32.png) [@Shamozzle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shamozzle)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2010, 6:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-really-no-rats-in-alberta/532813/12 "2010-03-18T06:50:09Z")
I find that map amusing in that it suggests that the rats smack up against a force field at the border. ---
**Author:** ![Sam\_Stone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Sam\_Stone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sam_Stone)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2010, 8:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-really-no-rats-in-alberta/532813/13 "2010-03-18T08:16:05Z")
Just one more reason why Alberta is the best place on the planet in which to live. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Shamozzle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9f8e36/32.png) [@Shamozzle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shamozzle)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2010, 8:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-really-no-rats-in-alberta/532813/14 "2010-03-18T08:47:09Z")
> [@Sam\_Stone](#): > > Just one more reason why Alberta is the best place on the planet in which to live. 🙂 Sorry, but you misspelled “British Columbia”. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![njtt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/ecd19e/32.png) [@njtt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/njtt)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2010, 8:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-really-no-rats-in-alberta/532813/15 "2010-03-18T08:49:11Z")
> [@Shamozzle](#): > > I find that map amusing in that it suggests that the rats smack up against a force field at the border. What makes you think they don’t? 😉 ---
**Author:** ![hogarth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hogarth/32/1773_2.png) [@hogarth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hogarth)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2010, 11:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-really-no-rats-in-alberta/532813/16 "2010-03-18T11:07:31Z")
> [@Simplicio](#): > > Here’s an [image](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Brown_rat_distribution.png) of the range of the Norway rat. Alberta seems to not only be rat free, but basically be the only sizable part of the world that is rat free that isn’t at extreme latitudes. > > Pretty incredible a pair haven’t managed to sneak aboard a truck or train yet. As others have said, they do sneak across. But there’s a rat patrol that goes around killing them. ---
**Author:** ![Jackmannii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackmannii/32/311_2.png) [@Jackmannii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackmannii)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2010, 12:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-really-no-rats-in-alberta/532813/17 "2010-03-18T12:36:17Z")
_Are there really no rats in Alberta? We have-a no large rodents today Just try those cockroaches Those mice and lice approaches There ain’t many pests like they We’ve got two kinds of red herring, Dark brown, and ball-bearing But yes, we have no rats in Alberta We have no rats in Alberta today_ ---
**Author:** ![RickJay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bb73d2/32.png) [@RickJay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickJay)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2010, 1:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-really-no-rats-in-alberta/532813/18 "2010-03-18T13:24:23Z")
> [@Cat\_Whisperer](#): > > Well, I wouldn’t bet my life on there being no rats here whatsoever, but the levels are so low as to be not a concern at all. I’ve lived here for 20 years, and I have yet to see a rat here. Thing is, I live in Ontario, and I’ve never seen a rat, either. I’ve never heard of someone with rats in their house. Reading the information page, it’s clear that Alberta is not, technically, totally free of rats; there’s always a few here and there in the control zone, and I’m sure every now and then some idiot lets a domesticated rat get loose. They just do an excellent job of preventing rats from becoming a problem and are absolutely dedicated to the task. It’s a remarkable thing. ---
**Author:** ![Hypnagogic\_Jerk](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hypnagogic_jerk/32/4252_2.png) [@Hypnagogic\_Jerk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hypnagogic_Jerk)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2010, 1:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-really-no-rats-in-alberta/532813/19 "2010-03-18T13:28:07Z")
> [@RickJay](#): > > and I’m sure every now and then some idiot lets a domesticated rat get loose. **Mikemike2** says pet rats aren’t permitted in Alberta. ---
**Author:** ![Cat\_Whisperer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cat_whisperer/32/4839_2.png) [@Cat\_Whisperer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cat_Whisperer)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2010, 1:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-really-no-rats-in-alberta/532813/20 "2010-03-18T13:31:48Z")
> [@Shamozzle](#): > > I find that map amusing in that it suggests that the rats smack up against a force field at the border. First rule of Force Field at the Border is no one talks about Force Field at the Border. Sheesh. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-really-no-rats-in-alberta/532813.md?page=2)