# 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:** 2
**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, 1:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-really-no-rats-in-alberta/532813/21 "2010-03-18T13:40:00Z")
Second rule of Force Field at the Border is you do NOT talk about Force Field at the Border. ---
**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, 1:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-really-no-rats-in-alberta/532813/22 "2010-03-18T13:57:13Z")
> [@RickJay](#): > > 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. From what I gather (living in Toronto), it’s more of a problem with restaurants or food stores. Rat spotted in Chinatown restaurant: [http://www.cp24.com/servlet/an/local/CTVNews/20081009/081009\_ratrestaurant](http://www.cp24.com/servlet/an/local/CTVNews/20081009/081009_ratrestaurant) ---
**Author:** ![Raygun99](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/6f9a4e/32.png) [@Raygun99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Raygun99)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2010, 3:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-really-no-rats-in-alberta/532813/23 "2010-03-18T15:55:28Z")
> [@Hypnagogic\_Jerk](#): > > **Mikemike2** says pet rats aren’t permitted in Alberta. Not permitted and not existing are two different things. There was something of a province-wide “panic” a couple of years ago when someone dumped a box full of rats in an alley in Calgary. The vicious lawbreakers were apprehended and dealt with -\* or so they’d have us believe!\* ---
**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, 4:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-really-no-rats-in-alberta/532813/24 "2010-03-18T16:06:34Z")
> [@Raygun99](#): > > Not permitted and not existing are two different things. There was something of a province-wide “panic” a couple of years ago when someone dumped a box full of rats in an alley in Calgary. Heh. So this fact about Alberta not having any rats seems to be quite well-known among Albertans, for sightings to cause such a stir. I must say I’d never heard about it before. ---
**Author:** ![Sparky812](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/eb9ed0/32.png) [@Sparky812](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sparky812)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2010, 4:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-really-no-rats-in-alberta/532813/25 "2010-03-18T16:19:55Z")
It’s quite remarkable they are able to eliminate them since almost all urban centers are infested with them. They’re everywhere you don’t see; sewers, restaurants, grocery stores, dumps and storage bins. Secondly, they feed on mice which Alberta has in adundance. Amazing! ---
**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, 5:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-really-no-rats-in-alberta/532813/26 "2010-03-18T17:08:34Z")
I was in Calgary when somebody evidently let rats onto the street. People were upset, and destroying the rats was a huge priority. It was major news for at least a week and most people would still remember it. About 15 to 20 rats come to Alberta per year in trailers and shipping containers and animal control is there to deal with them. Saskatchewan has also had a rat eradication program since the 1970s and are close to being rat free. That helps us as we share a border that looks like this - | ---
**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, 7:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-really-no-rats-in-alberta/532813/27 "2010-03-18T19:22:00Z")
> [@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. Man, how are we supposed to keep Force Field on the Border quiet when they post pictures like that? :mad: ---
**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, 9:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-really-no-rats-in-alberta/532813/28 "2010-03-18T21:53:37Z")
> [@Mikemike2](#): > > I was in Calgary when somebody evidently let rats onto the street. People were upset, and destroying the rats was a huge priority. It was major news for at least a week You mean curling season was over? ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2010, 11:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-really-no-rats-in-alberta/532813/29 "2010-03-18T23:09:15Z")
Good luck on this one, Alberta. If I had to bet, I’d bet on the rats. Your time will come! ---
**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 19, 2010, 12:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-really-no-rats-in-alberta/532813/30 "2010-03-19T00:14:20Z")
> [@Jackmannii](#): > > You mean curling season was over? Ouch. ---
**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 19, 2010, 1:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-really-no-rats-in-alberta/532813/31 "2010-03-19T01:05:12Z")
> [@Jackmannii](#): > > You mean curling season was over? Shows how much you know; it should have been, “You mean hockey season was over?” Honest-to-God news story here mid-summer - “Hockey season starts in two months!” ---
**Author:** ![An\_Gadai](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/d6d6ee/32.png) [@An\_Gadai](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/An_Gadai)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2010, 2:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-really-no-rats-in-alberta/532813/32 "2010-03-19T02:19:21Z")
I’ve only seen rats twice in my long ugly life. ---
**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 19, 2010, 11:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-really-no-rats-in-alberta/532813/33 "2010-03-19T11:28:08Z")
> [@John\_Mace](#): > > Good luck on this one, Alberta. If I had to bet, I’d bet on the rats. Your time will come! Did you read the article linked to above? Norway rats either live in damp environments or are coexistent with humans. So if the borders of your province are dry and sparsely populated (as is generally the case with Alberta and Saskatchewan), you have a good head start on being rat-free. ---
**Author:** ![FoieGrasIsEvil](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/foiegrasisevil/32/16638_2.png) [@FoieGrasIsEvil](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FoieGrasIsEvil)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2010, 12:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-really-no-rats-in-alberta/532813/34 "2010-03-19T12:24:08Z")
OK…why can’t the US get something like this started? I don’t want to live amongst the rats! ☹ ---
**Author:** ![si\_blakely](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d9b06d/32.png) [@si\_blakely](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/si_blakely)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2010, 2:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-really-no-rats-in-alberta/532813/35 "2010-03-19T14:27:39Z")
I’m impressed. The NZ Department of Conservation has run several successful rat eradication programs on small offshore islands/isolated valleys (for use as bird/tuatara sanctuaries), but maintaining an area like Alberta must be a massive job. The conditions obviously help, as well as the fact that Norwegian Rats don’t survive too well outside of human habitation areas in colder climates. Si ---
**Author:** ![jmdiggs](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e68b1a/32.png) [@jmdiggs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jmdiggs)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2012, 5:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-really-no-rats-in-alberta/532813/36 "2012-03-22T17:44:16Z")
I have lived In Calgary, Edmonton, Spruce Grove and stony plain Alberta for the last 30 years and have never seen a Rat. But we do have quite a few mice ---
**Author:** ![chrisk](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/6de8d8/32.png) [@chrisk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chrisk)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2012, 7:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-really-no-rats-in-alberta/532813/37 "2012-03-22T19:33:11Z")
But do you have prairie zombies? (Sorry, I couldn’t resist.) 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![johnpost](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f17d59/32.png) [@johnpost](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/johnpost)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2012, 8:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-really-no-rats-in-alberta/532813/38 "2012-03-22T20:12:35Z")
zombie or no the unofficial motto of the rcmp given in the media is ‘we always get our rat’ they are still working on the other provinces. ---
**Author:** ![Manduck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/manduck/32/256_2.png) [@Manduck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Manduck)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2012, 8:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-really-no-rats-in-alberta/532813/39 "2012-03-22T20:17:31Z")
> [@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. That map looks a bit different now - I guess the rats finally won. ---
**Author:** ![Ludovic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ab992/32.png) [@Ludovic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ludovic)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2012, 8:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-really-no-rats-in-alberta/532813/40 "2012-03-22T20:30:35Z")
I for one welcome our new zombie rat overlords. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-really-no-rats-in-alberta/532813.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-really-no-rats-in-alberta/532813.md?page=3)