> Barbara McNay wrote to James Bradley, "Hello!?" on
 > 05-29-05 16:21

 >> 05-17-05  07:13, Wayne Chirnside told Cindy Haglund

 >> Fleas are non-existent here, and our dogs scratch from
 >> dry skin. If Spanky only occasionally gives a rub,
 >> maybe it's just like us scratching an ingrown hair?

 >  BM> Well, I'd heard that there are no rats in Alberta, and how
 >  BM> the Rat Patrol works, but I hadn't heard about the lack of
 >  BM> fleas.  I guess it would be easier to keep them at bay,
 >  BM> too, in that climate.  What else do you poor, deprived
 >  BM> people lack? :D

 > We just go around looking for rats to kill all day and
 > night. 

 > Tell me, how *does* the rat patrol work? It must be
 > working rather well, as
 > I've never seen one. One day, the reports on the local
 > news had someone
 > breading his own to feed his snakes, and they were
 > making a break for freedom.
 > As best as I can recall, that was the lead story!

As I understand it, the Arctic and the Rocky Mountains provide a natural
barrier that deters rats from migrating from those directions.  On the
Saskatchewan and U.S. borders, they are very vigilant about keeping
Warfarin around places where rats can thrive, like barns.  If any sign of a
rat is detected, such as droppings, footprints, or chewed items, they call
for help from civil rat patrols.  People working in the area drop
everything immediately--perhaps at a cost of tens of thousands of dollars,
and go rooting through hay and grain storage and other likely areas,
looking for nests; they put out more bait, and don't stop looking until
they have the dead rats in hand.  They spend a lot of money on this effort,
and take it very seriously, since the cost of destruction by rats is much
greater.  Pet rats are illegal there, and many people can not identify a
rat.

The rats in question are Norway rats, which are gray and pear-shaped,
having large abdomens, and long, hairless tails.  We have them down here,
aplenty.  I also saw one black rat here, outdoors, climbing up a bush in
front of my window.  They are a different variety of rat, being black and
slender, not pot-bellied; I thought it was a black squirrel, until, as it
climbed, I saw its very long hairless black tail.  I think it was probably
a pet let loose.  We have gray squirrels here, and I have only seen black
squirrels in Michigan.

I just now did some Googling under "Alberta rat patrol", and
found a very interesting history.  Apparently, rats were introduced from
the east coast of the continent, and first reached Alberta in *1950*.  It
was therefore a matter of prevention, not of eradication of an established
pest.  The article states that this variety of rat can not survive except
in the presence of humans. Early on, in the 1950's, a mayor refused to
believe that rats were in the area--thought it was political baloney, until
presented with a bushel of rats from the local abbatoir.

http://www1.agric.gov.ab.ca/$department/deptdocs.nsf/all/agdex3441?opendocument

(piece together without spaces if it comes through separated.)

 > The reason we have no pet fleas, is because of our
 > lack of moisture. It took me
 > thirty-five years here before I saw my first wood tick
 > in the city. That was in
 > a very wet year.

My good man, we don't have pet fleas here, either.  You can't pat them, and
they aren't especially companionable! 

I don't know where Calgary is in relation to the border, but I understand
it usually has subfreezing weather for a long enough time in the winter
which might also discourage these pests.

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