Chicago Retains Title As Most Rat-Infested City In U.S. For The Ninth Year In A Row

Orkin, a nationwide pest control company, has named Chicago number one in its annual list of Top 50 Rattiest Cities.

Los Angeles “earned” the number two spot while New York has been labeled the third-most rat-infested city.

The cities on this list are measured by the amount of new rodent services requested by customers.

This list also discloses how far the citizens and businesses of the major cities have gone in order to deal with these issues.

Metropolitan areas were ranked by the company based on how many rodent treatments were conducted from September 21, 2022, to August 31, 2023. The ranking consists of residential and commercial pest control treatments.

Orkin has chosen to celebrate Chicago’s number one status by releasing a free t-shirt available only for a limited time.

Mice and other rodents infest an estimated 21 million houses in America. They usually enter these houses from October to February in order to find food, water and shelter from the cold weather.

“Rodents multiply swiftly and when an infestation is left unattended, they can cause extensive damage to homes and yards,” Orkin entomologist Ben Hottel said in a statement. “Rats are capable of squeezing into spaces through holes as small as a quarter, which makes it especially important to seal cracks from the outside.”

Additionally, rodents have been known to cause health problems and massive structural damage just by using their powerful jaws and tunneling abilities. Their large front teeth can be used for gnawing, and teeth adapted for chewing things like electrical wires, water pipes and gas lines.

Orkin made suggestions for homeowners and business owners regarding how they should spot a rodent infestation so as to motivate them to eliminate such an infestation.

For instance, the first three suggestions that they made were to look out for any droppings often left behind in areas of food storage, bite marks on walls, wood or wires, and nests made of debris found in dark and private areas.

They also suggested looking out for trails of dark grease and dirt marks along the walls and floorboards, and scurrying noises in walls or attics.

Two methods that they offered were to store food in sealed metal or glass containers so as to keep them de-contaminated, and get rid of any clutter that they can chew up and use to make nests.

Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson‘s 2024 budget has allocated $14.8 million to the Bureau of Rodent Control, which exterminates rodents, teaches citizens how to decrease the risk of rodents on their premises and disposes of dead animals.

Chicago’s 2024 rat abatement budget is roughly $1.5 million higher than it was this year.