Mice, pigeon infestations at Halifax-area hospitals lead to soaring pest-control costs

When Jordan Bonaparte went with a family member to the QEII Health Sciences Centre’s emergency department in Halifax on Saturday, he was initially shocked to see mice scurrying around the halls.

But a paramedic quickly set him straight.

“One of them said there are as many mice as there are patients here, if not more,” Bonaparte said. “My time in the Infirmary’s emergency room definitely made that clear.”

After watching mice for nearly six hours in the hall, he said his family member was moved to a room. Within minutes, he said, a mouse came out and started climbing on the bed with the patient.

“I’m pretty sure if I didn’t get up and stomp my feet, that thing was going right up on my bed to get up where the food was that they were serving her,” he said.

Jordan Bonaparte said this mouse was running around a family member’s room in the emergency department at the Halifax Infirmary. He said the mouse was so brazen, it tried to climb into the bed to get to food. (Submitted by Jordan Bonaparte)

Nova Scotia Health is acknowledging that the issue at the QEII complex is beyond what is expected in a port city, where rodents are a common sight.

Documents obtained by CBC News reveal that the health authority’s pest control bills at the QEII and Dartmouth General Hospital have soared in the last five years.

The QEII, which includes the Halifax Infirmary, Victoria General and Rehabilitation sites, saw its budget jump from $35,942 to $323,075. That’s an increase of 798 per cent.

Dartmouth General saw the biggest percentage increase in the province in the same timeframe, going from $9,545 to $120,012 last year, an increase of 1,157 per cent.

“The volume of those sightings has increased exponentially over the last couple of years,” said Chris Smith, the senior director for facilities operations at Nova Scotia Health.

“It’s easy to say that we live in a port city and it’s a thing, but it doesn’t change our opinion and approaches that they don’t belong in health-care settings and we’ve got to do whatever we can to keep them out and keep those environments clean, sanitary and safe.”

Construction on the acute care tower at the QEII Health Sciences Centre has contributed to the rodent infestation, says Nova Scotia Health. (Build Nova Scotia)

Both sites are surrounded by extensive construction projects. Smith said when ground was broken on the QEII expansion project, he knew it would stir up the pests.

“We did expect an increase, but I don’t think we expected quite the increase that we’re seeing.”

The health authority says in the last five years, it has caught 1,435 mice or other rodents in the QEII buildings, which cover 2.9 million square feet. A further 321 rodents have been nabbed at the Dartmouth hospital.

“We’re in aging buildings and it’s a complex environment. We’ve got hundreds of people, if not thousands, going in and out of the buildings every day for medical appointments, materials, supplies and equipment,” Smith said.

The IWK Health Centre said it had to do extensive work to clean up a pigeon infestation. (Paul Palmeter/CBC)

The IWK Health Centre, meanwhile, said mice aren’t its biggest issue, despite being next door to the QEII.

Last year, the women and children’s hospital had to spend $180,000 after discovering “unusual bird activity,” which was largely an issue with pigeons.

The IWK declined to do an interview, sending a statement instead.

“This included extensive cleanup of bird droppings and nesting areas, as well as applying netting and spiking in areas to deter birds in the future,” the statement read.

The IWK said it expects to monitor the issue for a while, meaning some costs will be ongoing.

While the IWK cleanup is largely done, Nova Scotia Health is still in the thick of its infestation.

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

Smith said his department has a three-pronged approach. It has hired professional exterminators who visit every day, it’s asking staff to report sightings so they know which areas to target with traps and they’ve started doing external inspections of the buildings, looking for small holes.

“Some of that effort resulted in 100 or 200 work orders for all of these little cracks and crevices that needed to be closed up,” he explained.

“If there’s any that are still open, we’re actively working on them. It’s not an overnight fix.”

Smith is asking staff and patients to keep an eye out and report all sightings.

Days after Bonaparte visited the hospital, he’s still shaken by his experience, and wants people to demand more of their facilities.

He posted a video of his experience to his podcast pages called The Canadian Gothic. The response included several comments of people saying it’s normal.

“If your bar for health care is set so low that you’re accepting there to be mice running around the emergency room where people are clinging to life, I think that’s an unreasonably low expectation to have,” he said.

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