Let's be honest: we know that there are rats in most big cities around the country, but actually reading about how prevalent the rodents are has us shivering with a combination of fear and disgust. Now, Atlanta-based pest control service Orkin has gone a step further and actually come up with a list of the rattiest cities in the country, based on where they've been called on the most to perform new rodent treatments.
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"Rodents are experts at sniffing out food and shelter, and they’re resilient in their ways to obtain both," said Ben Hottel, an Orkin entomologist, in an official press release announcing the news. "Residential properties offer the ideal habitat for rodents, and once they’ve settled in, they’re capable of reproducing rapidly and in large quantities."
Most of the list entries won't surprise you—including Chicago, which earns the top stop—but others have got our heads rolling, including Los Angeles apparently being "rattier" than New York.
The company has been releasing an annual ranking for the past six years but it's important to note that, given nation-wide restaurant shutdowns, rats have been more visible throughout the past few months than ever before. They, indeed, have nowhere to shelter in place.
The ranking, which you can find below, includes both residential and commercial treatments that were performed between September 1, 2019 and August 31, 2020.
1. Chicago
2. Los Angeles
3. New York
4. Washington, D.C.
5. San Francisco
6. Detroit
7. Philadelphia
8. Baltimore
9. Denver
10. Minneapolis
11. Cleveland
12. Seattle
13. Boston
14. Atlanta
15. Indianapolis
16. Dallas-Fort Worth
17. Houston
18. Pittsburgh
19. San Diego
20. Miami
21. New Orleans
22. Cincinnati
23. Portland, Oregon
24. Milwaukee
25. Norfolk, Virginia
26. Raleigh, North Carolina
27. Hartford, Connecticut
28. Columbus, Ohio
29. Grand Rapids
30. Kansas City
31. Charlotte, North Carolina
32. Phoenix
33. Richmond, Virginian
34. Nashville
35. Greenville, South Carolina
36. Sacramento
37. St. Louis
38. Albany, New York
39. Champaign, Illinois
40. Green Bay
41. Tampa
42. Flint, Michigan
43. Buffalo, New York
44. Syracuse
45. Knoxville
46. Orlando
47. Burlington, Virginia
48. Albuquerque
49. Dayton
50. West Palm Beach
In addition to listing the most rat-heavy towns around the country, Orkin is offering some tips to help prevent the animals from coming into your home. These include: never leave food out, do not let your landscaping run wild, look for possible entry points outside your home and seal all noticed cracks and holes, avoid cluttered spaces, inspect both the inside and outside of your home for rodent droppings because the quicker you detect the rats, the easier it is to get rid of them.
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