Chicago crowned ‘rattiest’ city by pest control company for 9th straight year

Chicago has been ranked the “rattiest” city in America for the ninth consecutive year.

Los Angeles and New York took second and third, respectively, according to the Top 50 Rattiest Cities List released by Orkin, a pest control company.

The ranking represents the number of residential and commercial rodent treatments the company performed in the last year, and does not directly correlate to an approximate count of the rat population in each city.

As of Oct. 12, the Chicago Department of Streets and Sanitation had received 38,742 rodent-related service requests compared with 40,173 requests for the same period in 2022, according to Mimi Simon, director of public affairs for the department.

To better handle these calls, Mayor Brandon Johnson’s recommended 2024 budget seeks to increase the Bureau of Rodent Control’s budget by about $1.5 million to about $15 million.

The additional money will go toward three more rodent control crews; with the bureau also reallocating labor to two more crews, five extra crews will start in 2024, according to Simon.

“Our job is to work with residents and advise how to remove the food source, such as picking up after their dogs and bird feeders, harvesting their vegetables, cutting down weeds, and picking up garbage in their yard,” Simon said in an email.

Anthony Vazquez/Sun-Times

The city’s primary approach to reducing the rat population is properly containing garbage and using rodenticide, according to the city’s website.

Some Chicagoans took to X, the social media platform formerly known as Twitter, to express surprise that Chicago topped New York for rats.

“Ain’t no way Chicago got more rats than NYC,” wrote X user @nae_exclusive.

Others questioned the validity of the ranking.

“The problem with this report is that it isn’t adjusted for population. Of course New York, Los Angeles, and Chicago have the most rats because those are the biggest cities,” wrote X user @ClintWSabin.

Norway rats, the species found in Chicago, can squeeze through holes the size of quarters, land unharmed after a five-story fall and chew through any material softer than their teeth. They prefer to live in colonies underground, and while they prefer fresh food, they will eat garbage, pet food, dog feces and many other things. As the weather gets colder, they are more likely to enter homes.

Rats often carry diseases that can spread to people or pets. Interior or exterior problems can be reported to the city’s call center at 311.

City of Chicago