Residents living in a Sydney neighbourhood say rats are causing damage to homes, and they want something done before the problem gets worse.
Sydney homeowner Chantal Anderson says she first noticed the rats after homes were demolished as a result of the Thanksgiving Day flooding.
“They're very big,” Anderson says. “Like several inches long.”
Anderson has been seeing them in and around her house. It's so bad she's having a hard time sleeping at night.
“I’ve heard them in the walls, scratching. I've seen them down my basement and they've been around the perimeter of my home,” she says.
Anderson says her exterminator has captured dozens in her home so far, even saying they're aggressive in nature.
Next door, John Sullivan was able to catch the rodents on camera. They've eaten through woods in his garage, left holes in the green bins and continue to live under his barns.
Sullivan says some rats weigh more than four pounds.
“I'm scared for my children. I'm scared for my neighbours. I'm scared for the public walking down the sidewalks,” he says. “I've killed them on the road, I've killed them in front of my house, I've killed them by my garage.”
Sullivan says he has contacted his councillor, Ray Paruch, but there's nothing the municipality can do. Paruch says this situation falls under the province.
“Situations like this with rats or bats or bees or racoons or any of those items are under the Province of Nova Scotia, either through the Department of Environment or the provincial Department of Health,” says Paruch.
Sullivan and his neighbours say they don't care who's responsible. They just want the rats gone and need help to get rid of them.
With files from CTV Atlantic’s Kyle Moore.
