America’s 10 Most Pest-Infested Cities

By Paul Ausick Updated Jan 12, 3:10PM EST · Published Feb 4, 8:50AM EST

This post may contain links from our sponsors and affiliates, and Flywheel Publishing may receive compensation for actions taken through them.

America’s 10 Most Pest-Infested Cities — © Thinkstock

[cnxvideo id=”655426″ placement=”ros”]There is no such thing as a single cockroach. If you spot one, its friends and family are not far away and will soon be paying you a visit. Bedbugs and fleas are included in that same category: if you’ve seen one, you’ve not seen ’em all.

The U.S. Census Bureau recently released its latest American Housing Survey, and researchers at Realtor.com took a look at the percentage of U.S. households reporting close encounters with a variety of pests.

In addition to roaches, bedbugs and fleas, the Census Bureau also collected data on rats, mosquitoes, termites and scorpions (scorpions!). According to the survey, 11% of U.S. households in 2015 had encounters with mice or rats and 12% encountered roaches. Complaints about rats rose 7% in New York and 16% in Boston.

And don’t even ask about bedbugs. According to one expert, more U.S. citizens are affected by bedbugs than ever before. He noted that 10 years ago bedbugs were virtually unheard of in this country.

[nativounit]

Armed with a sufficient supply of repellent and pages of data, Realtor.com researchers identified the 10 U.S. cities with the worst pest infestations. Of the 10, six are located in the South or Southwest where warmer temperatures allow the creepy-crawlies to live longer. We’ve included the percentage of households in each city that reported mice/rats and cockroach sightings. For details and anecdotes, visit Realtor.com.

Houston, Texas: 8% reported mice or rats and 38% reported cockroaches
New York City: 15% reported mice or rats and 16% reported cockroaches
Washington, D.C.: 13% reported mice or rats and 9% reported cockroaches
Atlanta, Georgia: 5% reported mice or rats and 25% reported cockroaches
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania: 18% reported mice or rats and 7% reported cockroaches
Miami, Florida: 4% reported mice or rats and 32% reported cockroaches
Tampa, Florida: 3% reported mice or rats and 38% reported cockroaches
Nashville, Tennessee: 11% reported mice or rats and 9% reported cockroaches
Phoenix, Arizona: 3% reported mice or rats and 20% reported cockroaches
Boston, Massachusetts: 17% reported mice or rats and 2% reported cockroaches

[wallst_email_signup]

DISCLOSURE:

Customer must fund their Active Invest account with at least $50 within 45 days of opening the account. Receive a minimum of $15. Probability of member receiving $3,000 is a probability of 0.026% If you don’t make a selection in 45 days, you’ll no longer qualify for the promo. Percentages for the $3,000 are subject to decrease. See full terms and conditions.

INVESTMENTS ARE NOT FDIC INSURED • ARE NOT BANK GUARANTEED • MAY LOSE VALUE Brokerage and Active investing products offered through SoFi Securities LLC, member FINRA(www.finra.org)/SIPC(www.sipc.org). Advisory services are offered by SoFi Wealth LLC, an SEC-registered investment adviser. Information about SoFi Wealth’s advisory operations, services, and fees is set forth in SoFi Wealth’s current Form ADV Part 2 (Brochure), a copy of which is available upon request and at www.adviserinfo.sec.gov. Probability of Member receiving $1,000 is a probability of 0.026%; If you don’t make a selection in 30 days, you’ll no longer qualify for the promo. Customer must fund their account with a minimum of $50.00 to qualify. Other fees, such as exchange fees, may apply. Please view our fee disclosure to view a full listing of fees. Investing in alternative investments and/or strategies may not be suitable for all investors and involves unique risks, including the risk of loss. An investor should consider their individual circumstances and any investment information, such as a prospectus, prior to investing. Interval Funds are illiquid instruments, the ability to trade on your timeline may be restricted. Brokerage and Active investing products offered through SoFi Securities LLC, Member FINRA(www.finra.org) /SIPC(www.sipc.org). There are limitations with fractional shares to consider before investing. During market hours fractional share orders are transmitted immediately in the order received. There may be system delays from receipt of your order until execution and market conditions may adversely impact execution prices. Outside of market hours orders are received on a not held basis and will be aggregated for each security then executed in the morning trade window of the next business day at market open. Share will be delivered at an average price received for executing the securities through a single batched order. Fractional shares may not be transferred to another firm. Fractional shares will be sold when a transfer or closure request is initiated. Please consider that selling securities is a taxable event. Options involve risks, including substantial risk of loss and the possibility an investor may lose the entire investment Before trading options please review the Characteristics and Risks of Standardized Options Investing in an Initial Public Offering (IPO) involves substantial risk, including the risk of loss. Further, there are a variety of risk factors to consider when investing in an IPO, including but not limited to, unproven management, significant debt, and lack of operating history. For a comprehensive discussion of these risks please refer to SoFi Securities’ IPO Risk Disclosure Statement This should not be considered a recommendation to participate in IPOs and investors should carefully read the offering prospectus to determine whether an offering is consistent with their investment objectives, risk tolerance, and financial situation. New offerings generally have high demand and there are a limited number of shares available for distribution to participants. Many customers may not be allocated shares and share allocations may be significantly smaller than the shares requested in the customer’s initial offer (Indication of Interest). For more information on the allocation process please visit IPO Allocation.

Follow 24/7 Wall St. on Google

About the Author Paul Ausick →

Paul Ausick has been writing for 247Wallst.com for more than a decade. He has written extensively on investing in the energy, defense, and technology sectors. In a previous life, he wrote technical documentation and managed a marketing communications group in Silicon Valley.

He has a bachelor's degree in English from the University of Chicago and now lives in Montana, where he fishes for trout in the summer and stays inside during the winter.