In the rat race for the “most rodent-infested city,” Chicago has taken first place for the ninth year in a row, beating Los Angeles and New York.
Pest control company Orkin looked at the number of rodent treatments performed on both residential and commercial buildings over the past 12 months and named the Illinois city the most rodent-infested city for 2023.
Los Angeles came in second, and most surprisingly, New York City remained in third place.
Meanwhile, Washington DC and San Francisco remained where they were last year in the top five.
Orkin entomologist Ben Hottel said: ‘Rodents multiply quickly and when an infestation is left unattended they can cause extensive damage to homes and gardens.’
“They are capable of squeezing holes as small as one-quarter in spaces, making it especially important to seal cracks from the outside,” he added.
Orkin looked at the number of rodent treatments performed on both residential and commercial buildings over the past 12 months and on Monday named Chicago the most rodent-infested city for 2023.
Chicago, pictured, continues its first place ranking, topping Orkin’s list of most rodent-infested cities for the ninth year in a row
Los Angeles, pictured, swapped positions with New York to regain second place
New York, pictured, appears to be improving in the fight against rodents, as the city dropped from second to third on the list.
Chicago has been the rattiest city in the country for eight years, despite the city’s efforts to tame its rat population for nearly a decade.
Chicago residents filed more than 50,000 rat complaints in 2022. The number is a slight decrease from the previous year, when more than 65,000 complaints were filed, according to the city’s 311 call data.
But the number is significantly higher than rat complaints before the pandemic.
Chicago’s Bureau of Rodent Control said it is “investigating every reported sighting of rats.” Alley conditions are being investigated and damaged carts are being replaced. Rodenticide is placed in rat holes to eradicate the nest.”
The agency said it responded to the rat infestation “by conducting a systematic attack on the rat problem through a very aggressive rodent control program.”
Washington DC, pictured, ranks fourth on pest control company Orkin’s list of ‘Top 50 Rattiest’
After Chicago, Los Angeles, New York and Washington DC in the rat race, San Francisco, in the photo, follows the same top five as last year
Chicago is ill-prepared to handle the skyrocketing complaints, with the city agency understaffed and often responding late, according to a research by Illinois Answers and Block Club.
The investigation found that the agency had failed to resolve every rat complaint within five days over the past two years.
“Rat responses were slowest in some neighborhoods on the west and south sides,” the report said.
The Office of Inspector General said it would audit the agency for its failure to address the wave of complaints and effectively eradicate rodents.
Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson planned to allocate $14.85 million to the rodent control agency in 2024, an increase of $1.5 million from last year.
The additional funding will provide three new vehicles and six additional staff members, according to a spokesperson Streets and sanitary facilities .
The rat population in Los Angeles has increased dramatically in recent years due to increased homelessness and the lack of effective rodent control methods.
Last week, California passed a new state law banning first-generation rat poison that is harmful to wildlife.
Los Angeles County passed the motion earlier this year asking the state of California to ban first-generation anticoagulants.
New York appears to be improving in its battle against rodents, having fallen from second to third on the list.
Earlier this year, Mayor Eric Adams hired a rat catcher for $155,000 a year to tackle the critical rat problem after rat sightings doubled in the past year.
In fact, in June, the mayor’s office reported a 15 percent drop in rat sightings compared to 2022.
Chicago’s Bureau of Rodent Control is understaffed and often late in responding to rat complaints, an investigation by Illinois Answers and Block Club shows
New York City Mayor Eric Adams hired Pied Piper Kathleen Corradi (pictured right) in April for $155,000 a year
A rat searches for food on a sidewalk on 23rd Street near 6th Avenue in New York in August
Harlem is one of four so-called “mitigation zones” that receive additional money from the city to combat rats.
New York City leaders have been trying to control the rodent population for generations, with mixed results, but sightings of rats in parks, sidewalks and other places around the city have increased and things have only gotten worse since the pandemic.
Under former Mayor Bill de Blasio, rats survived a multimillion-dollar effort aimed at reducing their numbers through increased trash collection and better housing inspections in targeted neighborhoods.
The city even launched a program to use dry ice to suffocate rats in their shelters, but the rats still persist.
City officials insist they are winning in the war against rats: “New York City used to be known for our mean streets, but in the future we will be known for our clean streets,” Adams promised at the start of the summer .