The exterminator company Orkin says that, for the first time, Los Angeles tops its list of Top 50 Rattiest Cities, a dubious distinction based on U.S. locales with the most calls for new rodent services.<\/p>\n
Orkin\u2019s recent list was compiled by tracking new rodent services in owner-occupied residences from Aug. 20, 2024, to Aug. 21, 2025. Chicago was second, New York third and San Francisco fourth.<\/p>\n
The company cites \u201cyear-round warm weather, a booming culinary scene and dense neighborhoods that offer ample access to food and shelter\u201d as factors for the ascension of Los Angeles to the top spot.<\/p>\n
Orkin said rats pose the following risks for property owners:<\/p>\n
\u2014 structural damage: Rodents gnaw through walls, wiring and even pipes;<\/p>\n
\u2014 health concerns: Rodents are known carriers of illnesses to humans, including Leptospirosis, Salmonellosis, LCM, plague and typhus, posing serious potential health risks;<\/p>\n
\u2014 fast reproduction: Rodent populations can multiply rapidly, causing expensive problems for homeowners;<\/p>\n
The following measures were recommended:<\/p>\n
\u2014 guard entry points by sealing cracks, holes and gaps;<\/p>\n
\u2014 don\u2019t leave food unattended outside for pets or wildlife;<\/p>\n
\u2014 avoid clutter that could create nesting spots;<\/p>\n
\u2014 watch for signs such as droppings, gnaw marks or rub marks, burrows or scampering noises;<\/p>\n
\u2014 watch for small openings \u2014 rats need an opening no bigger than the size of a quarter to access a building, and mice need even less space;<\/p>\n
\u2014 eliminate water sources by fixing leaky faucets, pipes or standing water;<\/p>\n
\u2014 check for holes or damage in outdoor trash bins \u2014 especially along the bottom, lid or sides. If bins are broken or chewed through, contact your local sanitation provider to request a replacement.<\/p>\n
A representative from Raptors are the Solution, a Northern California-based group that educates the public about the dangers of rat and rodent poisons, took issue with Orkin\u2019s methodology.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis is not a scientifically defensible way of tracking rodent populations,\u201d the group told CNS, adding that rodent fertility control is an approach being used successfully in many locations.<\/p>\n
Orkin also recommends calling an exterminator if problems persist, but others argue for a more preventive approach.<\/p>\n
\u201cRats in general, domestic or wild, are opportunistic creatures. They will look for food, and they will leave when there\u2019s no more if it,\u201d South Bay Rodent Rescue told City News Service.<\/p>\n
Jakob Shaw, manager of strategic initiatives for PETA, echoed that message, telling CNS that one of the reasons New York is no longer atop the list is because the city recently passed an ordinance requiring trash to be placed in closed containers. He said the amount of food thrown away by Angelenos was fueling any rat problems in the city.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re building a buffet for rats, then blaming them when they show up to check it out,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
He called extermination methods \u201cnot only cruel but ineffective, because it doesn\u2019t do anything to address the root cause of the problem.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The exterminator company Orkin says that, for the first time, Los Angeles tops its list of Top 50…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":28494,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[27],"tags":[25625,683,1409,48,52,51,47,50,49,25626,25627,20537,16644],"class_list":{"0":"post-36916","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-los-angeles","8":"tag-rattiest","9":"tag-angeles","10":"tag-city","11":"tag-la","12":"tag-la-headlines","13":"tag-la-news","14":"tag-los-angeles","15":"tag-los-angeles-headlines","16":"tag-los-angeles-news","17":"tag-orkin","18":"tag-says","19":"tag-states","20":"tag-united"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/36916","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=36916"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/36916\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/28494"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=36916"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=36916"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=36916"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}