Firm Stirs Controversy With Chicago America’s Rattiest City Poll

A pest control company has crowned Chicago America’s Rattiest city for the 10th consecutive year, stirring controversy.

In tagging Chicago Americas rattiest city, Orkin, a pest control company said:

“The streets of Chicago are a playground for rats. They chew constantly to explore new resources, contaminate food, and damage property,”

John Kane, Orkin’s national accounts entomologist and quality manager, who stated these in a news release, added, “If we don’t act, they’ll keep growing in numbers, causing bigger problems”

In the ranking, Chicago beat out Los Angeles (second place) and New York (third place), even as it adds that all three cities have faced “consistent rodent problems,” and all have ranked in the top three since 2017, the company said

According to USA Today as colder weather approaches, Orkin warns that rodents will search to find warm places to take shelter.

However, the verdict of Chicago America’s rattiest city is facing opposition and criticisms.

Mimi Simon, spokesperson for Chicago’s Department of Streets and Sanitation, is skeptical about the city’s ranking saying “there’s just no way that Orkin can measure or rank a rat infestation.”

“What we basically see is that it’s a form of advertising highlighting where they have the most customers,” Simon said.

“It’s based on where they’re marketed and where their customers are”, he said.

With rats reproducing so quickly and being hidden, there is no way to quantify how many rats are in a city, according to Simon.

“How can (Orkin) say anyone is the ‘rattiest city,” Simon said.

In a statement to USA TODAY, the Department of Streets and Sanitation said it is “dedicated to keeping Chicago clean and healthy, and we continue to proactively address rodent abatement as a free service to residents through the Bureau of Rodent Control.”

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The medium, citing documents, said, Chicago budgeted $14.8 million for its “Bureau of Rodent Control,” which “eliminates rodents, educates residents on how to reduce the risk of rodents on their property, and removes dead animals”.

The city documents show that Chicago’s 2024 rat “mitigation and abatement” budget is $1.5 million more than the amount allocated in 2023.