It might officially be the year of the dragon but in Montreal, as La Presse reports, it’s the year of the rat.

After reaching out to a number of exterminators as well as the city, La Presse reporter Karim Benessaieh concluded that in 2011, more rats than ever were spotted on the streets of Montreal. From his report:

“In 2011, there were 173 calls from citizens (in the Ville-Marie borough) who saw a rat in the public domain, versus 119 from the previous year – an increase of 54 per cent.”

Steve Bilodeau, the operations manager at ABC Pest Management, spoke to Steve Rukavina of CBC Montreal’s Radio Noon yesterday to talk about why there may be an increase in rat sightings.

“99.9 per cent of the time that there is rat issues, it is directly related to the sewer system… The safest area for a rat to live is the sewer system. It’s big, it’s huge, it’s full of food, water and it’s a nice shelter for them. So that's a place where they can live, have their babies, food availability, and there is not much human presence.”

Exterminators estimate the rat population in Montreal is between three to four million and remains relatively stable from year to year. It is the city’s repair work in the sewage system that has brought them out from underground.

In December, the city announced that they were investing $1.5 billion over the next ten years in the antiquated sewage system – 150 kilometres of which was constructed 120 years ago.

Have you seen a rat in Montreal?

Photo: celesteh via Flickr (http://opnfil.es/wBEIH1)