CHICAGO (WBBM NEWSRADIO) -- Where rats are concerned, Chicago is No. 1. again.
Pest control service Orkin this week released its list of "rattiest" U.S. cities, based on the number of new rodent treatments over the past year.
For the sixth consecutive year, the Second City was at the top of the list, following by Los Angeles, New York, Washington, D.C. and San Francisco.
According to the pest control company, as restaurants closed down due to the coronavirus pandemic, rats were forced to find new food sources. They started scavenging in new areas and roaming around during the daytime looking for a meal, sometimes exhibiting unusual or aggressive behavior.
"Rodents are experts at sniffing out food and shelter, and they're resilient in their ways to obtain both," said Ben Hottel, an Orkin entomologist. "Residential properties offer the ideal habitat for rodents, and once they've settled in, they're capable of reproducing rapidly and in large quantities."
Rats can cause structural damage with their ability to chew through items such as electrical wires, water pipes and gas lines. They also pose a health risk by spreading disease.
To prevent a rat infestation at your home, Orkin recommends that people:
— Do not leave out food.
— Avoid clutter.
— Do not let landscaping run wild.
— Inspect both inside and outside your home for rodent droppings, burrows and rub marks along baseboards and walls.
— Look for possible entry points outside your home and seal cracks and holes if any are found.
Champaign, Illinois was no. 39. Here's the complete list.
(Contributing: WCBS880)
