RATS!  Literally....

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Orkin Pest Control has put out their ranking of the 'rattiest' cities, and low and behold TWO cities in the Lone Star State have made the Top 20!

As the weather starts to change and the colder months arrive, rodents will be searching for warm places for food and water. Due to COVID-19 with businesses shutting down, rodents are forced to search for new places to get food.

Ben Hottel, Orkin entomologist gave a more detailed description on how this came to be.

Rodents are experts at sniffing out food and shelter, and they’re resilient in their ways to obtain both.  Residential properties offer the ideal habitat for rodents, and once they’ve settled in, they’re capable of reproducing rapidly and in large quantities.

This ranking was determined by metro regions and new rodent treatment conducted on September 1st 2019 until August 31st 2020, and the results were not surprising. Two Texas cities made the 'Top 20' -  Dallas-Fort Worth at (16), and Houston at (17).

What really surprised me is that my hometown of Chicago came in at number one for the sixth time which is crazy because it's a much cleaner city, but I digress.

Coming in at number two is the city of Los Angeles and New York City coming behind at number three.

Now before you go boarding up your homes, there is good news as there are solutions to make your home "rat proof" to prevent any uninvited guest by doing the following:

  • Don't leave food out!  Small crumbs and garbage, and dry grains and cereal are typical food sources. Make sure they are packed in glass or metal containers.
  • Keep your home free from cluttered spaces!  Keep your home clean and organized to prevent a possible infestation.
  • Inspect both inside and outside your residence for rodent droppings, burrows and rub marks along the baseboards and walls.

For more details on rodent prevention click here.

WATCH OUT: These are the deadliest animals in the world

 

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