# 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:** 3
**Author:** ![the\_Lady](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/bb73d2/32.png) [@the\_Lady](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/the_Lady)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2012, 9:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-really-no-rats-in-alberta/532813/41 "2012-03-22T21:52:52Z")
It’s always good to talk about 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 23, 2012, 12:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-really-no-rats-in-alberta/532813/42 "2012-03-23T00:06:59Z")
[The story of rats in Alberta.](http://www1.agric.gov.ab.ca/$department/deptdocs.nsf/all/prm2579?opendocument) > [@](#): > > From the beginning, authorities and residents were determined to keep the province free of rats and have done it for over 45 years, in spite of the fact that several outbreaks occurred as far west as 150 miles from the RCZ.{Rat Control Zone} So, it looks like technically, Alberta is not completely rat-free, but awful damned close to it. ---
**Author:** ![Max\_the\_Immortal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/6de8d8/32.png) [@Max\_the\_Immortal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Max_the_Immortal)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2012, 1:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-really-no-rats-in-alberta/532813/43 "2012-03-23T01:16:07Z")
I remember this one time a few years ago when I was hanging out with a friend who had a pet snake at the time. We were in a pet store in West Ed, and they had a few dead frozen rats for sale as snake (etc.) food. No live rats were available, though. Does anyone know if pet stores in other areas carry live rats as snake (etc.) food? ---
**Author:** ![bare](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bare/32/471_2.png) [@bare](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bare)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2012, 2:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-really-no-rats-in-alberta/532813/44 "2012-03-23T02:46:41Z")
I’ve never seen or heard of any rats in Montana, N. Idaho, or E. Washington. Packrats galore, but no Norway rats. ---
**Author:** ![FluffyBob](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/ecb155/32.png) [@FluffyBob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FluffyBob)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2012, 4:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-really-no-rats-in-alberta/532813/45 "2012-03-23T04:00:34Z")
I have seen plenty of Pack Rats in the mountains. Musk rats are not unheard of and Chihuahua’s are even seen once and a while. Mice, voles and other similar little bastards by the zillions. No wild rats though. The ‘rat patrol’ used to be an on going joke, but there really was (is?) a team that basically worked with the farming community along the Saskatchewan border and comes in commando style on the first report of rats. I have never seen a cockroach here but supposedly some of the older buildings can have them. ---
**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 23, 2012, 4:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-really-no-rats-in-alberta/532813/46 "2012-03-23T04:53:49Z")
> [@FluffyBob](#): > > \ > > I have never seen a cockroach here but supposedly some of the older buildings can have them. I lived in a building with cockroaches in downtown Calgary years and years ago - that’s the only time I’ve ever seen a cockroach here. I got out of there awfully quickly - there are plenty of other rentals _without_ cockroaches. ---
**Author:** ![2sense](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/2/e47774/32.png) [@2sense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/2sense)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2012, 6:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-really-no-rats-in-alberta/532813/47 "2012-03-23T06:51:46Z")
Does the rat patrol ride around in Jeeps with machine guns mounted on the back? More importantly, are they In Full Color? ---
**Author:** ![naita](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/naita/32/5862_2.png) [@naita](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/naita)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2012, 7:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-really-no-rats-in-alberta/532813/48 "2012-03-23T07:19:41Z")
> [@Manduck](#): > > That map looks a bit different now - I guess the rats finally won. Nope, here’s the reason for the change: > [@](#): > > Although the reverter provided a source indicating Alberta is Norway rat-free, I think at the scale of this map it is inappropriate to reflect that. There are many regions which are, in fact, rat free, but it seems absurd to excise them from the map. We could, for example, remove large swaths of desert, all lakes, and other areas. But the intent of the map is not to show such fine detail, only to show the rough outline of features. In fact, I would go so far as to argue that including some fine-scale features argued to be rat free, while not including others, is misleading, since it implies a higher precision than can be provided. Thus, reverting to the plain outline map. --TeaDrinker (talk) 21:21, 3 September 2010 (UTC) (Annnnndd, I should be saying this on commons, not here… --TeaDrinker (talk) 21:22, 3 September 2010 (UTC)) ---
**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:** [December 12, 2016, 6:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-really-no-rats-in-alberta/532813/49 "2016-12-12T18:47:57Z")
As this thread has already been zombiefied, Check the map of [brown rats](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Brown_rat_distribution.png) again. There is a Alberta sized hole where they don’t exist. Yeah for us. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![cochrane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cochrane/32/10441_2.png) [@cochrane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cochrane)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2016, 7:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-really-no-rats-in-alberta/532813/50 "2016-12-12T19:49:59Z")
> [@FluffyBob](#): > > The ‘rat patrol’ used to be an on going joke, but there really was (is?) a team that basically worked with the farming community along the Saskatchewan border and comes in commando style on the first report of rats. What, you mean they don’t even take the time to put on their shorts? ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2016, 7:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-really-no-rats-in-alberta/532813/51 "2016-12-12T19:54:45Z")
Gary Raymond is 81 and Lawrence P. Casey is 76. How much longer can they stay on the job? ---
**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:** [December 12, 2016, 8:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-really-no-rats-in-alberta/532813/52 "2016-12-12T20:52:12Z")
ah, Rat Patrol, the TV show. Wooosh. ---
**Author:** ![snowthx](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowthx/32/10660_2.png) [@snowthx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/snowthx)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2016, 9:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-really-no-rats-in-alberta/532813/53 "2016-12-12T21:37:58Z")
> [@Mikemike2](#): > > As this thread has already been zombiefied, > > Check the map of [brown rats](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Brown_rat_distribution.png) again. There is a Alberta sized hole where they don’t exist. > > Yeah for us. 🙂 Not only that, it’s Alberta shaped as well. Straight lines and all. How perfect! ---
**Author:** ![aldiboronti](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9fc348/32.png) [@aldiboronti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aldiboronti)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2016, 9:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-really-no-rats-in-alberta/532813/54 "2016-12-12T21:40:05Z")
I am so moving to Alberta! The place I live (Portsmouth in England) is notorious for its rat population. You see them in the streets, running in and out of drains, etc, though God knows how they squeeze into the drains, some of them are the size of small cats or puppies. Really, the place is like Hamelin. The local authority cleared a city dump recently but didn’t think about where the rats would go. They promptly overran a nearby housing project forcing the tenants to flee until the pests were dealt with. Portsmouth is also renowned for its slug population. Such a wonderful place to live.🙂 ---
**Author:** ![markn\_1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f9ae1b/32.png) [@markn\_1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/markn_1)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2016, 11:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-really-no-rats-in-alberta/532813/55 "2016-12-12T23:42:27Z")
I guess my pet rats and I won’t be moving to Alberta. Sounds like it’s filled with a bunch of bigoted rodentophobes anyway. –Mark ---
**Author:** ![74westy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/74westy/32/3950_2.png) [@74westy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/74westy)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2016, 12:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-really-no-rats-in-alberta/532813/56 "2016-12-13T00:03:07Z")
Last fall I was driving to Calgary with a friend. He was driving and I wasn’t watching the road and didn’t see but he said, “just drove past a rat on the road.” I said n’uh-uh! no rats in Alberta. He said he was pretty sure and he had never heard that. Later I saw a rat infestation was found near where we were and was reported on the news. ---
**Author:** ![Boyo\_Jim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/87869e/32.png) [@Boyo\_Jim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Boyo_Jim)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2016, 5:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-really-no-rats-in-alberta/532813/57 "2016-12-13T17:23:02Z")
> [@Spoons](#): > > There are mice, and other small mammals. Yes, I have seen them. So the rats get on a strict diet, and they hide among the mouse population! ---
**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:** [December 13, 2016, 6:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-really-no-rats-in-alberta/532813/58 "2016-12-13T18:10:57Z")
> [@aldiboronti](#): > > Portsmouth is also renowned for its slug population. Yeah, [congratulations](http://www.seacoastonline.com/article/20150606/SPORTS/150609301) on that. ---
**Author:** ![robsawatsky](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/ed655f/32.png) [@robsawatsky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/robsawatsky)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2016, 10:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-really-no-rats-in-alberta/532813/59 "2016-12-14T22:50:04Z")
Alberta sends rats out of the Province by giving them one-way bus tickets to British Columbia, like former Premier Ralph Klein did. > **[Canada: Alberta Premier berates homeless in visit to shelter](https://www.wsws.org/en/articles/2001/12/can-d22.html)** > > Ralph Klein, the premier of Alberta and darling of Canada’s right, made a disgusting display of his contempt for the poor in a drunken, midnight visit to a homeless shelter in Edmonton last week. Saskatchewan was obviously following suit in their rat eradication program. > **[2 homeless men from Saskatchewan given one-way bus tickets to B.C. |...](https://globalnews.ca/news/2567494/reports-2-homeless-men-from-saskatchewan-given-one-way-bus-tickets-to-b-c/)** > > A number of questions are being raised following news about two homeless men from Saskatchewan. This is the sole reason the Vancouver area is infested with rats. > **[Vancouver rat problem keeps pest control companies busy - BC | Globalnews.ca](https://globalnews.ca/news/2441285/vancouver-rat-problem-keeps-pest-control-companies-busy/)** > > Metro Vancouver pest control companies say they’ve been seen a big jump in complaints about rats. ---
**Author:** ![swampspruce](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/swampspruce/32/261_2.png) [@swampspruce](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/swampspruce)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2016, 11:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-really-no-rats-in-alberta/532813/60 "2016-12-14T23:31:13Z")
> [@markn\_1](#): > > I guess my pet rats and I won’t be moving to Alberta. Sounds like it’s filled with a bunch of bigoted rodentophobes anyway. > > –Mark That’s quite hurtful. We love _most_ rodents, just not those dirty rats, See, we give them dirt naps… [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-really-no-rats-in-alberta/532813.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-really-no-rats-in-alberta/532813.md?page=4)