Chicago Declared 'Rattiest City' In America
By Chuck Sudo in News on Oct 15, 2014 2:45PM
A Chicago rite of passage is ridding your apartment or house of mice and rats, once you discover them infesting your home. (And if you haven’t had this pleasure, you’re lucky.) Pest-control giant Orkin released its list of the rattiest cities in America earlier this week and Chicago tops this ignominious list. The list, which coincides with the time of year when rodents seek food, water and shelter from the oncoming cold, was based solely on treatments performed by Orkin in the past 12 months.
"Each city on this list is a major urban area that provides ideal conditions for rats and mice to thrive,” said entomologist and Orkin Technical Services Director Ron Harrison, PhD in the release. Harrison added that rodents depend on humans and their resources to survive, “so unless residents and city officials take proactive steps to prevent rodents, infestations can easily get out of hand.”
Rats can squeeze through holes the size of a quarter, while mice can fit through openings the size of a dime. This makes us shudder and planning a trip to the hardware store for steel wool and traps. Here is the full list.
1. Chicago
2. Los Angeles
3. Washington, D.C.-Hagerstown
4. New York
5. San Francisco-Oak-San Jose
6. Seattle-Tacoma
7. Detroit
8. Cleveland-Akron-Canton
9. Baltimore
10. Miami-Ft. Lauderdale
11. Dallas-Ft. Worth
12. Denver
13. Houston
14. Atlanta
15. Boston-Manchester
16. Minneapolis-St. Paul
17. Sacramento-Stockton-Modesto
18. Syracuse
19. Indianapolis
20. Charlotte