As springtime gradually moves into summer, Weyburn is so far fairly clean for rats or other rodents, says the city's pest control officer John Sidloski.

There have been instances when a pest has to be dealt with, but so far they seem to be isolated incidents, not signs of a bigger problem in the city.

"The rats are very few and far between. I don't know what to attribute that to, other than the bait stations are out, and the reporting of rats has been very good," said Sidloski.

There have been two or three instances of rats being sighted, usually when they come in on a transport truck, and have been quickly taken care of. Sidloski said he also sets out bait at the city landfill twice a year, and so far this year has not seen any signs of rats.

Mice are a constant problem in larger, older buildings, but are being controlled, and the numbers are not any larger than other years, he added.

One rodent Sidloski had to deal with last fall were gophers, and so far this spring he has not seen a return of the numbers they formerly had.

"Last year we used a horrendous amount of bait, and got them in all areas of the city, so there are vast areas of the city that are clean," said Sidloski, adding one of the most active areas right now for gophers is where there are new homes being built near Assiniboia Park School.

Skunks are another recurring pest, as Sidloski notes he traps an average of six skunks a year, mostly on the perimeter of the city.

"We trap them at the distillery and on the edge of the city. We haven't had any indications of rabies in the last three years. For West Nile virus, we're not testing dead birds, but the caution is not to expose yourself or children to insect bites or mosquito bites," said Sidloski.

As far as pigeons go, a new problem has arisen with these birds that Sidloski said he hasn't seen before.

"We can't shoot them or poison them. We can trap them, but it's labour intensive. What they're doing is going down air vents in buildings with flat roof tops. We've had two situations where pigeons got into buildings. I've never had pigeons inside of ceiling structures before," he said, noting he is preventing this problem by putting screens on the air vents that can be lifted when the birds leave the vents, but prevents them from re-entering the vents.

Squirrels are also a recurring problem in that they have caused three power outages in the last three years. As they live wild in the city's trees, Sidloski does not generally trap them unless they get into someone's home.

"Overall, we have a very clean town. Pets should still be vaccinated for rabies, and food should not be left outside in a year, as it attracts mice, rats and skunks. It's not a healthy practice. We also caution people not to fool around with bats, and do not try to tame them," said Sidloski.

One animal that occasionally shows up inside buildings where a door is left open are muskrats.

"Muskrats are protected and we don't kill them. They're not a rat we worry about. I take them out and return them to the river," said Sidloski.