There are two million rats in New York, about one for every human. Many carry pathogens that can cause serious disease and symptoms in humans. The problem goes back well over a century, and perhaps much longer. Most scientists believe that, while the problem can be controlled, it cannot be eliminated.
A well-known study of rat infestation by ranked by city is the Orkin “rattiest city” study. It has a major weakness, but that does no mean it is entirely inaccurate. “Orkin ranked metro regions by the number of new rodent treatments performed from September 15, 2020 to September 15, 2021. This ranking includes both residential and commercial treatments”, the study’s authors write. It is hard to imagine “treatments” reveal figures that are close to real ones. The number of these treatments is bound to be much too small to be statistically significant.
In terms of rat infestation, the Orkin study is the only yardstick that can offer data about the problem. One of the observations of its researchers is almost certainly true. As people return to restaurants and do more food shopping with lower COVID-19 infections, the rat population will rise. Ben Hottel, an Orkin entomologist, said: “As people resume normal activities, food availability will rise”.
The city with the highest rat infection problem is Chicago, the third-largest city in America based on population. The No.2 city based on population. Los Angeles ranks second according to Orkin. New York, the largest city in America ranks third in rat infestation.
The relationship between city population and rat infestation disappears after the three largest cities. The huge cities in Texas are not in the top 10. Neither is Phoenix. However, several old industrial cities do make the top 10–Detroit, Cleveland, and Baltimore.
Geography does not seem to matter based on the Orkin data. Among the 50 rat-infested cities, Tampa ranks at the bottom, followed by Albuquerque, and Dayton.
The city that moved up the list the most in 2021 compared to the year-earlier is Portland, which rose 26 places.
Click here to read The Worst City To Live In Every State
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