Reddit surprised to learn that Alberta, Canada doesn’t have any rats

If you live in a major city like New York or somewhere else across the globe, you may have encountered a rat or two.

But, there is one place in the world that doesn’t seem to have rats—Alberta, Canada.

In the Reddit thread r/todayilearned, someone posted that they found out that rats live pretty much everywhere in the world” except in Alberta.

Why aren’t there any rats in Alberta?

According to Poulin’s Pest Control website, they played a crucial role in the elimination of rats in the area.

The rat infestation started in the 1700s when Norway rats were introduced to the country by ships that were coming in from Great Britain during America’s Revolutionary War.

“These rats multiplied and travelled west across Canada, infesting every province and spreading disease. Norway rats were first sighted at the Saskatchewan and Alberta border in 1950. If the Province of Alberta did not act quickly and aggressively, these rats would have taken over Alberta like they did everywhere else,” the site reads.

The government decided to put out a PSA for the people of Alberta with the intent to educate them on how to prevent rats from coming into their homes.

They even posted flyers that said things such as, “Keep ‘em [rats] out!”

The following year in 1951, rat sightings and infestations were starting to flood the province. Despite the warning signs of what to look for when encountering the rats, the people didn’t know how to handle the situation independently.

In one year, a pair of rats have the ability to create a colony of 15,000 rats.

Wow.

However, this all changed when the Alberta Government hired Napoleon Louis Poulin to get rid of all the rats. Poulin and his crew created an aggressive rat control program to get rid of most of the rats. A year and a half later, in 1953, Poulin’s program officially rid Alberta of all the rats, becoming “rat-free.”

Although it’s rare, people may occasionally see rats on farms in Alberta, and the pest control company notes that they don’t “last very long and is not part of an established breeding colony.”

Many people seemed to be happy with the revelation, making jokes about the findings of the “rat-free” province.

“To me, Alberta is now officially cowboys, beef, oil, and mob rat killing. The wild west,” someone wrote.

“I hate rodents with all my being. I never knew such a paradise existed!!” another added.

A third commenter lived in the province and confirmed the situation, saying: “I’ve lived here 30 years cumulatively in several places across the province, and I’ve never seen a rat here in Alberta.”

So, if you’re looking for a new place to live because you happen not to like rodents at all, Alberta seems to be the place to go!