Pest-control costs at two Halifax-area hospital complexes have climbed sharply over five years as Nova Scotia Health confronts a rodent problem it says could take several more years to control, CBC News reports.

Documents obtained by CBC show the QEII Health Sciences Centre’s pest-control budget rose from $35,942 to $323,075, an increase of 798 per cent. At Dartmouth General Hospital, it increased from $9,545 to $120,012 last year — a jump of 1,157 per cent, the largest percentage increase in the province over that period.

The QEII figures cover the Halifax Infirmary, Victoria General and Rehabilitation sites.

CBC’s Carolyn Ray reported that Jordan Bonaparte saw mice repeatedly while accompanying a family member to the Halifax Infirmary emergency department on Saturday. After nearly six hours in a hallway, his relative was moved into a room, where he said a mouse began climbing on the patient’s bed.

Chris Smith, Nova Scotia Health’s senior director for facilities operations, acknowledged that sightings have increased substantially and that the problem exceeds what the authority would expect in a port city.

Both hospital sites are surrounded by extensive construction. Smith said the authority anticipated that work on the QEII expansion would disturb rodents, but not to the extent it has seen.

Over five years, Nova Scotia Health says it has caught 1,435 mice or other rodents in QEII buildings, which cover 2.9 million square feet, and another 321 at Dartmouth General. Smith also cited aging buildings and the constant movement of people, supplies and equipment as challenges.

The response includes daily visits by professional exterminators, staff reporting sightings to help target traps, and exterior inspections to identify entry points. Smith said inspections generated 100 to 200 work orders to seal cracks and crevices, with outstanding openings still being addressed.

“It’s a problem years in the making. It’ll most likely take several years to fully get it under control,” Smith told CBC.

Nearby, the IWK Health Centre reported a different pest problem. In a statement to CBC, the women and children’s hospital said it spent $180,000 last year after discovering unusual bird activity, largely involving pigeons.

That work included removing droppings and nesting material and installing netting and spikes to deter birds. The IWK said the cleanup is largely complete, but monitoring will continue and some costs will be ongoing.

Sources