In the rat race for “most rodent-infested city,” Chicago has taken the top spot for its 9th year in a row, beating Los Angeles and New York. Pest control company Orkin looked at the number of rodent treatments performed on both residential and commercial buildings in the last 12 months and declared the windy city the most rodent-infested city for 2023. Los Angeles came in second and, most surprisingly, New York City trailed closely behind in third place. Chicago has been the rattiest city in the country for 8 years, despite the city’s efforts to tame the rat population for nearly a decade. Residents in Chicago made more than 50,000 rat complaints in 2022, a slight decline from the more than 65,000 complaints made in 2021. Chicago’s Bureau of Rat Control said it investigates every reported rat sighting and rodenticide is placed in rat burrows to eradicate the nest. An investigation found that the bureau failed to meet its goals to handle each rat complaint within 5 days for the last 2 years.
