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Fruit, vegetables scrapped
Beamsville resident not letting rats win By Mike Williscraft NewsNow With rats taking over his backyard, Beamsville’s Mark Gadula decided to get proactive. Gadula said rats are overrunning his Greenlane property necessitated him going out and buying live-release and kill traps to attempt
to curb the problem. “It was getting so bad, they were climbing into our trees and eating the peaches and pears,” said Gadula. It was not just peaches and pears. Previously, the rats had snacked on grapes, tomatoes, strawberries and more. He said he called
Town of Lincoln to see if the municipality could help with the situation. “I got passed over to bylaw which oversees this kind of thing I guess, but that did not prove helpful at all,” said Gadula. “I was told I would have to take it up with my town councilllor.”
As yet, he has not made that call to either Coun. Dianne Rintjema or Coun. Adam Russell. Because of that, he knew he had to take action, so he went out and bought a series of liverelease and kill traps. To remove anything of interest to the rats, he also cleared his yard
Greenlane Road resident Mark Gadula was forced to clear his back and front yards of all fruits and vetegables as rats have taken to his trees eating peaches and pears in their search for food. Williscraft - Photo
of remaining grapes, peaches, pears and more to eliminate any food source. “I just had to throw it all out,” he said sadly. Gadula was told, though, the municipality has a $200 grant program in place to reimburse residents who require an exterminator for mice/rats. “The person I spoke to didn’t know if I qualified though,” he said. Paul Di Ianni, Lincoln’s director of communications, said the program is still in place after being implemented about five years ago. The program helps residents cover the cost of removing mice and rats from outside their homes, he said. It gives residents 50 per cent (up to a maximum of $200) towards hiring a licensed, Ontario exterminator to assist with the removal of mice/rats from the exterior of the property. There is a series of steps which need to be taken before applying for the grant, including, ensuring your property is free from: • Bird feeders
• Vegetable gardens • Dog feces • Waste (debris, rubbish, refuse, sewage, garbage) Then there is a form to complete and arranging an inspection from Lincoln’s bylaw enforcement officer. Once all measures have been completed, an approved contractor can be contracted to do the work. Di Ianni said he would check with the bylaw department to see if traps could be covered retroactively. “My wife has been in this home for 30 years and never seen anything like it,” said Gadula, who noted he had already caught several rats in the first few days, some over four lbs and one in the 6-7 lb-range. Lincoln CAO Mike Kirkopoulos said the grant program was implemented when work along the Konkle Creek multi-use trail was done. While there is no way to tell if this latest issue stems from that work, specifically, he believes this issue could be related.