New York Is Only the 2nd Most Rat-Infested City in the U.S.

NEW YORK, NY — New York may be home to Pizza Rat, but it cannot claim the title of the most rat-infested city in the country. Orkin, the pest-control company, released its annual Top 50 "Most Rattiest" cities list on Monday and New York City claimed only the second spot on the list. Chicago took top honors.

The rankings were determined by the number of rodent treatments the company carried out from October 2015 to September 2016. (It may be worth noting there are hundreds of rodent control firms in New York City, though.)

New York has tried to fight the scourge of rats forever, but has had limited success. The city invested $2.9 million into rat-control efforts this summer, including hiring dozens of new inspectors and exterminators. Numbers are on the decline, according to the city, with 9 percent of Manhattan properties showing signs of active rat infestation in 2010 and a decline to about 7 percent in 2014.

But State Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli released the results of a four-year study to decrease the rat population on subways in September 2015 and found "no evidence" the MTA's plan to remove trash cans from stations had any effect on the population.

"The City is committed to using a comprehensive strategy to proactively reduce the rat population and address an important quality of life issue for many New Yorkers," Health Commissioner Mary Bassett said in a statement. "We look forward to continuing our collaboration with communities and residents to decrease the number of rat sightings in our neighborhoods."

The city indexes its entire rat inspection work on the Rat Information Portal, available to anyone who wants to search their own residence and never go in the basement again. The city even has a three-day Rodent Academy designed to train exterminators and pest experts.

Orkin's Top 10 "Rattiest" Cities for 2016:

1. Chicago
2. New York City
3. Washington D.C.
4. Los Angeles
5. San Francisco-Oakland-San Jose
6. Baltimore
7. Philadelphia
8. Minneapolis-St. Paul
9. Detroit
10. Denver

New York may not be No. 1, but at least we'll always have Pizza Rat.

Photo Credit: Kai Schreiber via Flickr/Creative Commons