According to Chek News, City of Victoria is hit with a massive vermin infestation. When Chek New interviewed Christopher Day of Orkin Pest Control, he said, "With our weather typically being a bit warmer, we have a population that grows and grows."

This is likely a side effect of the composting programs that see Food concentrated into dedicated containers. It means that mice and Rats don't have to paw through general garbage to find left over food. All of the food is in a state of decay ranging from nearly fresh to nearly compost.

Local home owners are hitting up hardware stores for pest control solutions leading to a 15-20% spike in those product sales over last year. Those products are curtailed as well: tighter government restrictions on poisons for non-commercial use, experts fear the population explosion will continue to grow.

According to The Spruce:

Finding rats or evidence of the pests in and around your compost bin can be more than a bit unsettling. These persistent rodents have been known to chew through wood, wire, plastic and just about anything else that gets in their way.

Some ways to keep rats at bay:
Lockdown Food Scraps to Keep Rats Out of Compost: Rats are drawn to compost piles because they are easy sources of food.

Use Bokashi to Make Food Completely Unappealing: If you use Bokashi to deal with your kitchen waste, you are familiar with the odor fermented kitchen waste has.

Keep the Contents Moist: One of the two things rats are looking for when they invade your compost is shelter. A dried-out compost pile not only is inefficient in terms of making compost, but rats love it.

Plant Mint Nearby:This is one of those tips that seems to work for some people and not for others, but it's worth a try. Mice and rats are reputed to hate the scent of mint. Give it a try!

Flickr: the source for rats