Rats! Cleveland Among Most Rodent-Infested Cities

CLEVELAND — Cleveland has again moved up Orkin's rankings of the most rat-infested cities in the U.S.

The gem of Northeast Ohio moved up one slot to No. 10. The rankings are based on the extermination company's number of new residential and commercial rodent treatments between September 2020 and September 2021. The coronavirus outbreak is the culprit as to why treatments are on the rise in several major urban areas.

The pandemic prompted the long-term and permanent closure of many restaurants, forcing rodents to find new food sources.

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"Rodents are experts at sniffing out food and shelter, and they're resilient in their ways to obtain both," said Ben Hottel, an Orkin entomologist. "After a year of depleted resources, residential properties offer the ideal habitat for rodents, and once they've settled in, they're capable of reproducing rapidly and in large quantities."

To help prevent rats and mice in and around the home, Orkin recommends storing food in sealed metal or glass containers; removing clutter in a home's crowded spaces the rodents could use as nests; keep the property well-landscaped, as tall grass and woodpiles can be ideal habitats for rodents; check inside and outside the home for rodent droppings, burrows and rub marks along baseboards and walls; look for possible entry points and seal and cracks and holes found outside the home.

Here are 2021's top 20 "rattiest cities," according to Orkin. Any changes in ranking from 2020 are noted parenthetically.

1. Chicago
2. Los Angeles
3. New York
4. Washington, D.C.
5. San Francisco
6. Baltimore (+2)
7. Philadelphia
8. Detroit (-2)
9. Denver
10. Cleveland, Oh. (+1)
11. Seattle (+1)
12. Minneapolis (-2)
13. Boston
14. Indianapolis (+1)
15. Atlanta (-1)
16. Pittsburgh (+2)
17. San Diego (+2)
18. Houston (-1)
19. Cincinnati (+3)
20. Dallas (-4)

See the entire rankings here.