The list of the 50 rattiest cities is here, and two California cities are sitting in the top five.
In 2020, Chicago took the No. 1 spot for having the most rats, with Los Angeles in second place. The numbers are measured by how many new rodent treatments were performed from September 15, 2020, to September 15, 2021, including residential and commercial treatments.
Chicago is still in the No. 1 spot for its seventh year in a row, Los Angeles is second, New York is third, Washington, D.C. is fourth and San Francisco is in fifth place. Baltimore, Philadelphia, Detroit, Denver and Cleveland all come next.
“As people resume normal activities, food availability will rise,” says Ben Hottel, an Orkin entomologist, on the Orkin site. “Rodents are experts at sniffing out food and shelter, and they’re resilient in their ways to obtain both. After a year of depleted resources, residential properties offer the ideal habitat for rodents, and once they’ve settled in, they’re capable of reproducing rapidly and in large quantities.”
Experts say clear out clutter, inspect the outside and inside of your home, keep food stored away, and look for any openings in your home where small animals can get in.
