Residents frustrated by rats, blame biweekly trash pickup in Montreal east end borough

Hénia Ould-Hammou · CBC News

· Posted: May 15, 2025 4:00 AM EDT | Last Updated: 11 minutes ago

Residents of Montreal's Mercier–Hochelaga-Maisonneuve borough accidental rat sightings are connected the rise in their neighbourhoods — and they judge the borough's every-other-week garbage postulation is to blame.

Janique Leblanc, who's lived successful the borough for 15 years, says this is the archetypal clip she's seen rats successful her neighbourhood.

"We person a lot. I ne'er saw rats earlier April," she said. "I don't want to spell extracurricular connected my balcony due to the fact that I'm frightened that they're coming," she said.

Leblanc said astatine night, she hears the rats fighting. And each morning, she finds 2 trapped rats connected her property.

"I utilized to emotion Montreal a lot, but close now, I'm worried," she said. "I cannot unrecorded with rats." 

She's besides acrophobic astir the children attending a schoolhouse adjacent to her place. Although Leblanc says she's called the City of Montreal 3 times, she says she's seen nary enactment taken.

Residents person besides expressed their vexation astir the beingness of rats in a section Facebook group.

"There are a batch much these days," wrote 1 person.

"There are more. I've lived present for implicit 15 years and I ne'er saw 1 frolicking successful the alley before!!" wrote different person.

WATCH | Residents say they were near retired of determination to alteration postulation system: 

Lise Legault, different resident, believes the contented stems from the borough's caller power to biweekly trash postulation — a alteration aimed astatine encouraging recycling and composting.

She says she contacts the City of Montreal astatine slightest doubly a week to study radical who instrumentality their trash retired excessively early — agelong earlier the garbage motortruck arrives.

"Let's accidental that, connected Monday, the garbage motortruck comes by, and the adjacent day, it's full, afloat of garbage bags lying around," said Legault. 

"We utilized to person mice, past we got escaped of them, but present we don't privation rats ... astatine the terms we wage for rent," she said. 

The caller trash postulation schedule, tested since 2022, came into effect crossed the full borough arsenic of mid-November 2024.

Borough notes diminution successful complaints astir rats

Michael Sabourin, a pest power technician with Extermina-mic, points to respective contributing factors similar the discarded postulation system, the prohibition connected galore rodenticides and construction.

"The rat, he's hungry, helium goes out, helium has a buffet for 13 days and past helium has a time erstwhile helium has thing to devour [during garbage collection]," he said.

Since the displacement to biweekly trash collection, Sabourin says request for his services has astir doubled.

"You walk done the alleyways [where determination are restaurants], the containers overflow. You tin spot a twelve garbage bags. You've got five, six rats connected the ceramic wall, chilling and waiting for supper. It's crazy," said Sabourin. 

In a connection to CBC, the borough says it has noted a "significant decrease" successful complaints related to rodents sightings.

"Citizens are amended astatine sorting discarded and truthful compost more, which contributes to the sanitary authorities of the borough," work the statement.

"The borough carries retired regular operations to guarantee compliance with postulation schedules, the due retention of residual materials connected backstage property, and the attraction of cleanliness." 

Mercier–Hochelaga-Maisonneuve adds that immoderate residents whitethorn spot rats but take not to record ceremonial complaints, which could explicate the discrepancy betwixt reports and authoritative numbers.

Legault is calling connected the borough to instrumentality to a play garbage pickup schedule.