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CHICAGO (CBS) — In Chicago, it’s not two, but three things that are certain — death, taxes and rats.
How may rats are in Chicago? A precise census is hard to calculate.
However, for the eighth consecutive year, the pest control company Orkin, picked Chicago as the worst place for rats in the United States.
Orkin ranked metro regions by the number of new rodent treatments performed from September 1, 2021, to August 31, 2022. This ranking includes both residential and commercial treatments.
New York and Los Angeles flipped positions from last year, but the Big Apple’s move wasn’t enough to overtake the Windy City.
The top 25 on Orkin’s list are:
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Chicago
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New York (+1)
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Los Angeles (-1)
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Washington, D.C.
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San Francisco
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Philadelphia (+1)
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Baltimore (-1)
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Cleveland, Oh. (+2)
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Detroit (-1)
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Denver (-1)
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Seattle
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Minneapolis
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Boston
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Atlanta (+1)
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Indianapolis (-1)
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Pittsburgh
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Cincinnati (+2)
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San Diego (-1)
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Hartford (+2)
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Miami
Chicago’s relationship with rats goes back decades, of course. Famously in 1994, after the city shut down several restaurants for health violations, Mayor Richard Daley famously said:
“I thought the health of people is very important. If a rat is on your sandwich, you hope to know it before. If a mouse is on your salad, it’s common sense.”
Last year, CBS 2 burrowed through public records and discovered a record-breaking 53,000 rat complaints through October. That set a record for rat complaints, with two months left in the year.
One expert blamed the COVID-19 pandemic.
“I think it all started back in the in the beginning of the pandemic,” said Janelle Iaccino, of Rose Pest Solutions.
Iaccino said restaurants shut down, people stayed in, and food piled up in residential trash cans; causing rats to move—and then settle.
“Now we’ve got rats’ exploded populations in residential neighborhoods that never had them before,” she said.
West Town, CBS 2 found, had the highest number of complaints by neighborhood.
Matthew Mertz’s street was among those that have some of the most rat complaints to 311. He and his family saw the same well-fed, cat-sized rat so many times here that they named it.
“Chubby,” Mertz said. “Chubby was a well-fed snacking machine.”
Mertz said Chubby finally met its fate, thanks to the city – and call after call to 311.
“Goodbye, Chubby,” Mertz said at the time. “Adios.”
