If the City of Welland can regulate the number of dogs permitted in a household, the municipality should also have authority over how many bird feeders people keep in their yards, says Leo Van Vliet.

The Ward 2 councillor tabled a notice of motion Tuesday night which if passed would have city staff prepare a bylaw to put a ceiling on bird feeders.

A residential rodent control program introduced recently by the city offers a maximum eligible rebate for the service of a licensed pest control expert of $200 per residential property per calendar year.

This isn't good enough, said the councillor, saying seeds spilled the ground are inherently connected.

He said one of his constituents complained a nearby home has 15 feeders in their yard.

"Every neighbour around them has a rat problem. I think the two are definitely related," said Van Vliet.

If approved, it is unknown how the bylaw would be enforced. Van Vliet also didn't recommend a number of bird feeders he would be comfortable with.

"I don't want to put a number on that. I think that's for staff to determine," he said.

Ward 4 Coun. Bryan Green told council he has communicated with a resident who said they live next to someone with 20 feeders.

Green said the people who came to him have an "immaculate" yard but had a garden ruined and have resorted to knocking down a shed due to rats infesting their property, which he said people in the neighbourhood are attributing to the feeders.

Ward 2 Coun. David McLeod agreed imposing a limit on bird feeders is worth squawking about.

He asked if staff could include direction to residents on what types of feeders might be appropriate - ones that don't lend themselves to "spilling food on the ground and whatnot."

The city's rat rebate is retroactive to pest control services dating back to May 1, 2018. A total of $25,000 has been set aside for the program in 2019.