The term "ah rats" has just taken on a whole new meaning. It seems southern Manitoba is being overrun with the pests.

Neil Reimer in the town of Rosenfeld has spotted a couple of them in his back yard, and they leave behind a lot of evidence.

"See them little tracks," he asks CTV News.

Reimer says he'd like to kill them, but hasn't taken any concrete steps to deal with the problem.

It seems his problem is a province-wide issue. The rat population has spiked across Manitoba especially in the south.

Poulin's Pest Control says it tends to happen in four year cycles.

"People get all involved in rat control, saying were going to clean out the yard make sure there is no shelter no food and then things go well, and then I'm not going to do this program, I'm not going to put this bait out," said Don Poulin of Poulin's Pest Control

But the problem is that the rats just move next door, making it the neighbour's problem.

Poulin says that is what has happened in Altona.

Since July there's been more rats roaming the town than locals can remember.

To get an idea of just how many rats are out there, Altona set up a phone tip-line where people could call in rodent sightings.

A couple hundred phone calls later, and everyone in Altona is talking about rats.

With a report from CTV's Stacey Ashley