Where the Wild Things Are: five creepy critters on the rise in the GTA

  SPECIES
Rattus norvegicus

HABITAT Nest anywhere food and shelter may be found, including garbage dumps, composters, sewers, open fields, parks, ravines and basements.

DIET Survive mainly on discarded food.

LIFESPAN One year.

BIRTHRATE An average female is able to produce 70 pups a year.

HOW TO DEAL WITH THEM Strategically place snap traps, live traps and anti-coagulant poisons, repair broken bricks and holes, tidy cupboards and remove nesting material, and eliminate access to food and water.

ICK FACTOR Have been known to attack sleeping infants.

  SPECIES
Didelphis virginiana

HABITAT Prefer treed areas but will happily crawl through a hole in your eaves (an adult can squeeze through a seven-centimetre gap) and set up home in your attic. Enjoy gardens with exotic plants, pasture grasses, vegetables and native plants.

DIET Consume plant matter, especially ferns, leaf stems, fruits, seeds, bark, buds, flowers and leaves. Will also eat carrion, garbage and small frogs and mammals.

LIFESPAN One to two years.

BIRTHRATE One to three litters of approximately eight joeys a year.

HOW TO DEAL WITH THEM Repair any holes in your roof; remove branches that provide roof access. If you decide to live and let live, encourage a possum to stay in your garden rather than your roof with a nesting box or hollow log blocked at one end.

ICK FACTOR Come winter, they often experience frostbite, leaving their long hairless extremities covered in sores.

  SPECIES
Blatta orientalis

HABITAT Fans of warm, damp and shady areas near the ground, or any area containing natural debris. Most often found in basements, crawl spaces, areas between the soil and foundation, in sewer pipes, floor drains and under sinks.

DIET Feed on decaying organic matter and sewage, but will eat almost anything, including wiring.

LIFESPAN 18 months.

BIRTHRATE Every month, an adult female produces one red-brown egg case containing an average of 14 eggs.

HOW TO DEAL WITH THEM Spray or dust insecticides outside of doors, windows, pipe openings and dryer vents, fix plumbing leaks and cracks, remove decaying leaves and organic matter, and cover drain pipes with a fine mesh. Run a dehumidifier in your basement.

ICK FACTOR Often travel through sewer pipes, spreading bacteria and filth to your kitchen (potentially causing dysentery and diarrhea).

  SPECIES
Canus latrans

HABITAT Because of its adaptability and survival skills, the coyote’s range has spread from rural areas into the city proper. Spotted as far south as the lakefront, in High Park and Riverdale Park, and all over Toronto’s ravine system.

DIET Opportunistic feeders who will consume rabbits, rodents and domestic pets, plus insects, berries and garbage.

LIFESPAN 10 years.

BIRTHRATE Between one and 19 pups a year. January to March is mating season.

HOW TO DEAL WITH THEM Make sure all food and waste are properly disposed of, carry an audible alarm and bright flashlight during walks in ravines or parks, and walk dogs in areas of high pedestrian traffic and away from high- vegetation areas. Male coyotes are especially attracted to unspayed female dogs.

ICK FACTOR Spotted on Ward’s Island, where they’re blamed for the disappearance of residents’ cats.

  SPECIES
Peromyscus leucopus

HABITAT Nest in old logs, tree stumps and abandoned chipmunk burrows, as well as attics, chimneys and basements.

DIET Scavenge in your kitchen pantry and compost waste, and feed on insects like beetles, snails, grasshoppers, caterpillars, crickets and flies.

LIFESPAN One year.

BIRTHRATE Two to nine young per litter, three to four litters per year.

HOW TO DEAL WITH THEM Use a combination of traps and poisons. Clean up food sources and store food in sealed ­containers, remove nesting sites, repair holes ­behind sinks, stoves and dishwashers.

ICK FACTOR Often carry deer ticks, which are a cause of Lyme disease.

All images courtesy of iStock