Karen Barry had to dismantle her shed and throw away hundreds of dollars in tools after her property became overrun with rats.

The Stoney Creek homeowner is one of many in the Randall Avenue and Galbraith Drive area who say they have been inundated with rats since the city began road projects on King Street, Queenston Road and Centennial Parkway.

The inside of Barry's shed was coated with rat droppings, forcing her to dispose of nearly everything, except for a lawnmower and bicycles.

"It was horrific. You couldn't clean it. It was bad," said Barry.

The rats also chewed holes through a deck in search of shelter. Barry signed up for a six-month trapping program with a licensed pest control company and expects to pay thousands of dollars to replace her shed and combat the rat problem.

Area residents say the city should be doing more to curtail the rat problem.

John Behie, who has lived on Galbraith Drive for 19 years, has only noticed a rat problem during the last two weeks.While he appreciates the new roads and a new outdoor pool at Green Acres Park, he believes the work has displaced the rat population, forcing the rodents onto nearby properties.

"I believe what's caused this influx is the displacement of their environment, not to mention all of the sewer work," said Behie.

Miriah Gervais has trapped five rats herself over the last two weeks, using traditional snap traps.

She's cleaned out and sealed her shed three times, thrown out lawn chairs and excess lumber, and removed all outdoor clutter, but is still experiencing problems.

Bryce Mesley, a 12-year-resident of Galbraith Drive, has also dealt with rats. He discovered holes under his shed he initially thought were from rabbits, but now believes they were caused by rats.

Susan Harding-Cruz, city manager of the vector borne diseases program, said Hamilton staff noticed a big rise in rat complaints last year.

Complaints are continuing to spike this year, with more than 200 calls, up from 121 in 2014.

The city's public health services is continuing to investigate the reasons for the increase. Harding-Cruz said rats use sewers for transportation and factors such as road construction and flooding can cause displacement.

Last year city staff polled about 15 other Ontario municipalities and didn't see significant rat increases in those areas. But Harding-Cruz said several U.S. cities have seen dramatic increases this year, which could point to a bigger problem.

"There might be something bigger happening," she said. "We're trying to, as a city, determine whether there is an upward trend."

Residents should call the city at 905-546-2489 to lodge a rat complaint. City staff will respond within two to five business days and help property owners to discourage the rats from sticking around.

If city staff determines the sewer system could be a contributing factor, the health department can arrange with the public works department to place poisoned bait below the manhole covers. The city does not conduct on-ground pest control for rats.

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Harding-Cruz said the city will collect dead rats and have them tested to reveal the type of species and whether the rodents were carrying any diseases.

Pest control contractors say they are also seeing more rodent problems across the city.

Corey Lewis, director of technical operations at Skedaddle Humane Wildlife Control, said it's "very likely" the rats in lower Stoney Creek could be migrating from the nearby road projects to quieter residential side streets.

"Rats are creatures of habit," said Lewis. "They like consistency within their environment. Whenever there are changes to their environment, it gets them all excited and it tends to get them not only to be seen in more places, but show up in new places because they are trying to move into areas that are experiencing less disturbance."

Lewis said rats are posing problems in both older, established neighbourhoods and newer subdivisions, where urban sprawl is encroaching upon areas that were previously agricultural.

He said that while rats can be controlled, they will never be fully eliminated.

"You're never going to get rid of the rats, no matter how many you have or how much you invest," said Lewis.

When a rat problem is identified, Skedaddle typically tries to rat-proof homes and buildings by sealing off areas the rodents could enter.

If an exclusion program isn't effective, Skedaddle offers a humane trapping program that can also gather information about the rodents, including their age and gender.

Lewis said the company doesn't recommend poisoning rats or using traditional rat traps due to the potential impact on pets, other animals and children.

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