{"id":371604,"date":"2026-10-13T03:18:10","date_gmt":"2026-10-13T03:18:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/371604\/"},"modified":"2026-10-13T03:18:10","modified_gmt":"2026-10-13T03:18:10","slug":"americas-most-rat-infested-cities-ranked-as-midwest-surprise-cracks-top-10","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/371604\/","title":{"rendered":"America\u2019s most rat-infested cities ranked as Midwest surprise cracks top 10"},"content":{"rendered":"

A national pest control company has released its annual list of the top 10 most rodent-infested cities <\/a>in the US \u2014 and one Midwest city has now joined the list for the first time.<\/p>\n

The list is based on rodent control service data from more than 300 Terminix branches nationwide in 2025, ranking cities where residents most frequently used the company\u2019s services.<\/p>\n

While New York and Los Angeles held onto the top two spots, Philadelphia moved up one spot to No. 3.<\/p>\n

The top 10 list included returning cities like Houston, Chicago and Washington, D.C. \u2014 as well as Boston and Dallas.<\/p>\n

There was also a new entrant in the top 10 this year.<\/p>\n

For the first time, Detroit cracked the top 10, moving up one spot from No. 11.<\/p>\n

Rodent infestations have previously raised concerns<\/a> among Detroit residents.<\/p>\n

In a 2023 memorandum obtained by Fox News Digital, Detroit Mayor Mary Sheffield, who was then serving as the city council president, said residents complained about rodent infestations during a community meeting.<\/p>\n

Rats are seen in Tarr-Coyne Tots Playground in New York City. Leonardo Munoz for NY Post<\/p>\n

\u201cIn a recent community meeting that I held, rodent infestations <\/a>were a main complaint among our residents,\u201d Sheffield said at the time.<\/p>\n

\u201c[Residents] shared that many demolition properties become homes for rat infestation.\u201d<\/p>\n

Fox News Digital reached out to Sheffield\u2019s office for comment.<\/p>\n

Following Detroit on the list were Hartford, Atlanta, Baltimore, Tampa and Sacramento, rounding out the top 15.<\/p>\n

While NYC and LA held their grim crowns, Philadelphia scurried up to No. 3, and Detroit jumped from No. 11 to crack the top 10. Christopher Sadowski for NY Post<\/p>\n

Terminix said all the cities on the list share three common factors: large populations<\/a>, abundant food sources and plenty of places for rodents to hide.<\/p>\n

\u201cTogether, these conditions give rats and mice the resources they need to survive and reproduce,\u201d said Terminix in a release. The Rentokil Terminix company is headquartered in Memphis, Tennessee.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cLarge populations generate significant amounts of food waste, while dumpsters, alleys, parks, and other urban spaces can give rodents easy access to food,\u201d the company added.<\/p>\n

Detroit Mayor Mary Sheffield previously flagged rodent issues in 2023, noting demolition sites were rat havens. Christopher Sadowski for NY Post<\/p>\n

\u201cOlder buildings, subway systems, and sewer networks provide additional places to travel, hide, and nest.\u201d<\/p>\n

Terminix also urged residents to take steps to prevent rodent infestations.\u00a0<\/a><\/p>\n

That includes sealing cracks and openings around doors, windows and foundations, storing food in airtight containers and keeping living spaces clean and free of crumbs and food residue.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf you live in one of the most rat-infested cities, these steps can significantly help lower the risk of a rodent infestation,\u201d the company added.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"A national pest control company has released its annual list of the top 10 most rodent-infested cities in…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":371605,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[1457,1016,9,24,55,54,56,339,6389,58],"class_list":["post-371604","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-new-york-city","tag-animals","tag-los-angeles","tag-new-york","tag-new-york-city","tag-new-york-city-headlines","tag-new-york-city-news","tag-ny","tag-philadelphia","tag-rats","tag-us-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/371604","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=371604"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/371604\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/371605"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=371604"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=371604"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=371604"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}