New York is known as the rat-infested city in America, but do you know which other parts of the US are the worst hit?
These harmful pests are a part of city life, but some urban areas have a greater rat problem than others.
San Francisco Bay and Los Angeles in California rank second and third, followed by Philadelphia.
Rats carry a number of diseases that can infect humans, including deadly infections such as Leptospirosis, hantavirus and rat bite fever. When they infest buildings, they can also cause significant structural damage.
A new survey by a national pest control company has revealed the top 15 cities in America with the most rats
Terminix, a national pest control company, studied which of its 300 locations provided the most pest control services in 2023 and then ranked the cities needing the most services.
New Yorkers won’t be surprised to see their city at the top of this list. The rat problem in the Big Apple is almost as old as the city itself – and it’s been getting worse in recent years.
New York City is once again the rat-infested city in America after Chicago dethroned it in 2022, according to a study by national pest control company Orkin.
The list also includes some cities less known for their rat problems, including Denver, Dallas and Sacramento.
According to a 2023 estimate by MMPC, a Long Island pest control company, there are currently about 3 million rats living in New York City.
That is 1 million more than estimated in 2010.
The rat infestation has become so bad that Mayor Eric Adams has declared them “enemy number one” and appointed the city’s first “Rat Czar,” or director of rodent control, in 2023.
For New Yorkers, these pests are more than just a nuisance — they pose a health hazard. In April, the city issued a health alert due to increased cases of leptospirosis, a deadly rat-borne disease.
New York City ranks number one on the list, as the city is plagued by a population of approximately 3 million rats
In 2023, there were 24 cases of leptospirosis in New York City. That is eight times higher than the total number of cases in the previous two decades. By April 2024, there were six additional cases reported.
This is partly why Mayor Adams and his administration have taken a more aggressive approach to rat control, investing $3.5 million in rat control in Harlem.
The cities on the list with the next highest rat infestation are the West Coast, where the area around San Francisco, Oakland and San Jose had the second highest need for rat control in 2023.
The Greater San Francisco area has seen several high-profile cases of rat infestations this year.
In Oakland, a family’s apartment was overrun with vermin, forcing the residents to move because neither the landlord nor the city solved the problem.
And in June, a supermarket in San Francisco temporarily closed after an inspection found rodent feces and gnawed food packaging, including wrappers of tortillas, bread, cookies and chips.
The San Francisco Department of Public Health declared the store in “serious violation of rodent regulations” and ordered it to close immediately on June 27. The store reopened the next day after a mandatory cleaning and sanitizing process.
California’s rat problem isn’t limited to the San Francisco area. Los Angeles comes in third on Terminix’s list. Rats are ubiquitous in LA, especially in the trash-filled areas near the city center.
The city’s rat population has caused health problems in recent years. In 2018, 124 LA residents were sickened by an outbreak of typhus, a bacterial infection transmitted to humans by fleas that bite infected rodents.
In 2023, merchants along Los Angeles’s famed Olvera Street complained that a rat infestation was threatening their livelihood. Video shared with local news channel KTLA showed rodents crawling across streets, sidewalks and under vendor stalls in search of food.
Rats thrive in urban areas where they have plenty of garbage to feed on
When rat populations get out of control, they can cause significant property damage and serious public health problems.
Philadelphia ranks fourth on the list for the most rats. City officials say this probably comes as no surprise to Philadelphians, whose complaints about rat sightings have increased in recent years.
But this latest ranking could signal some improvement in the city’s rat problem. A 2021 American Housing survey previously ranked Philly as the second-most rat-infested city in the U.S., with nearly 20 percent of households reporting rodents.
In some parts of the city, residents have banded together to address the problem directly. In South Philly, for example, neighbors met with city officials to call attention to
Due to the rat problem in South Philly, residents have been talking to the city to raise awareness about local businesses that are not properly storing their trash, which they say is contributing to the local rat problem.
The meeting, which took place in June, gave residents “cautious optimism” that the city will intervene.
The fifth most rat-infested city in the US is Washington DC. Even the wealthiest neighborhoods of the city are not safe from these pests.
In July, the city’s ‘Rat Czar’ Gerard Brown confirmed the existence of ‘active rat holes’ outside of an expensive apartment building in Dupont Circle.
The plague affects the more than 100 residents who live there, who complain about rats entering their apartments, eating their food and leaving feces all over the floor.
In 2023, the D.C. Department of Health received more than 16,000 complaints about rodent sightings and pests — a sign that the city’s rat problem was getting worse. Officials have cited excess trash and the pandemic as major contributors to the problem.
“We were shut down, the city was shut down and restaurants were closed, the rats migrated into the residential areas,” Brown told local news station 7News in 2023.
Even if your city isn’t on the list, it’s important to be aware of the signs of a rodent infestation in your home. These include droppings, a urine odor, gnawed holes and stains, and running sounds.
You should also watch for rodent nests and strange behavior from your pets. When rats invade, dogs or cats may become more alert and start scratching at places where the rodents can hide, such as under your refrigerator, stove, or furniture.