Rat sightings on Hamilton Road prompt call for tougher property rules

Within one month of opening an anime collectibles shop near the corner of Hamilton Road and Chelsey Avenue, Peter Fay noticed one of his displays had been broken into.

It wasn’t any of the cases holding rare figurines or pricey model kits, but the snack counter, where a tiny culprit got into a bag of Pocky biscuits. 

“We’ve not so much seen, but definitely heard and have had evidence of some rodent creatures,” said Fay, who is the sales clerk at Neo Tokyo. “The little packs were eaten into.”

Fay said he has not seen evidence of rodents since he stopped selling food, and he's put rat traps around the perimeter of the building, but he is still concerned about them coming back this spring. 

Rat woes in the city’s east end are the reason why Ward 1 Coun. Hadleigh McAlister is requesting a review of the city’s property standards bylaw at a city committee meeting next week.

“I’m getting videos and pictures of essentially infestations,” McAlister said. “When you have the conditions that are right for rats – very unclean areas, garbage, refuse, tall grass, properties that are in disrepair – all of that leads to the infestation.”

McAlister said he hears “horror stories” across the ward, including from others living and working near Hamilton Road, in the Pond Mills area, and just off Clark Road. 

“The last one I got was pretty graphic, where somebody woke up with a rat in their bed,” he said. “I’m getting people who are essentially living with rats who are in very desperate situations.”

McAlister first spoke to the Community and Protective Service Committee about rats in November 2025, after receiving complaints about dumpsters at townhouse complexes and apartment buildings. 

He initially requested a review of residential dumpsters that attract rats, but is now expanding his request to include reviews of home garbage storage, illegal dumping and buildings in disrepair. 

“I’m hoping we can catch these things earlier, have a better understanding of where the problems are and perhaps try to enhance the measures to enforce this in a way where people will actually take action.”

He also wants the city to create a more streamlined system to report rat infestations so that it’s easier to track and tackle.

Vancor Pest Control owner Cory Liegghio says he has removed rats from homes in the Hamilton Road area, and has noticed a general increase in residential infestations.

“They’ve spiked since Covid due to the lack of food sources. Back in the day, they’d be dumpster diving. Then, when Covid came, we shut down those local mom and pop shops and restaurants, so the dumpsters weren’t getting any food so they had to search into the residential areas,” Liegghio explained.