'It's a safety issue': Nanaimo store owner uses 'Baby Shark' to deter homeless from sleeping outside shop

The one-and-a-half-minute "Baby Shark" song plays on repeat on an outdoor speaker outside NYLA Fresh Thread in Nanaimo, B.C., when the shop is closed. (Google Maps)

The catchy but often annoying children’s song "Baby Shark" is being used as a deterrent against loitering in front of a Nanaimo, B.C., business after the owner says there has been a dramatic increase in unhoused people sleeping on his doorstep.

"It's one of those songs – it's fun, you want to dance to it and it gets stuck in your head,” says Leon Drzewiecki, owner of NYLA Fresh Thread.

“But you don't want to be listening to it over and over and over again."

The one-and-a-half-minute song plays on repeat on an outdoor speaker in the storefront's alcove, from the time the store closes at 6 p.m. to when it opens again at 10 a.m.

"It's a cheap, fun way to deter people away without being abrasive towards anyone else," says Drzewiecki.

In the past month, the men's clothing store on Commercial Street has seen a 200 per cent increase in thefts, the owner says.

Drzewiecki is also dealing with damage from people camping in the alcove, leaving garbage behind and even starting fires.

"It’s concerning. It’s a safety issue when [employees] show up in the morning and some of them haven't moved along yet," adds Drzewiecki. "We can’t even open our storefront because they’re still camping there."

Overnight camping in front of the clothing store became an issue just before Christmas. That’s when a daytime warming centre opened up at a church down the street from the store.

"It’s a wonderful program but at the same time it’s allowed some of the unhoused people to migrate this way and wait for the centre to open in the morning," says Drzewiecki.

"Baby Shark" has been playing on repeat since Saturday and Drzewiecki has noticed a huge improvement, he says, with no campers, no garbage to clean up and no overnight fires.

"I've only seen positivity from this," the owner says. "We’ve had lots of really great conversations all week and people are really loving the vibe and what’s happening here."