Where Boston Ranks Among the ‘Rattiest’ Cities in the U.S.
Boston made the list of the “rattiest” cities in the United States.
This list comes via the popular pest control service Orkin. In its list of 50 cities, Boston came in at No. 12. Orkin created its ranking by “tracking new residential rodent treatments from September 1, 2023 to August 31, 2024.” The company noted, “This data helps Orkin better understand how likely homeowners in each city are to have a rodent problem.”
The top 10 “rattiest” cities in the country are:
1. Chicago, Ill.
2. Los Angeles, Calif.
3. New York, N.Y.
4. San Francisco, Calif.
5. Washington, D.C.
6. Denver, Colo.
7. Philadelphia, Pa.
8. Detroit, Mich.
9. Baltimore, Md.
10. Cleveland, Ohio
Some cities are resorting to interesting measures in order to curb their problems with rats. According to MassLive, a pilot program involving rat birth control was introduced to Jamaica Plain’s Hyde Square in 2023 after other programs that used rat poison led to disappointing results. After about eight months, reports showed there was a “50 to 60% reduction” in the neighborhood’s rat population, and there were 80% fewer rat sightings.
The use of rat birth control not only didn’t harm the rats, but it also didn’t impact any other animals that happened to ingest it. Notably, four bald eagles died in Massachusetts since 2021 due to ingesting rat poison deployed to curb rat issues.
The results of the Hyde Square pilot program came from WISDOM Good Works, the group responsible for the program. However, these results were refuted by Tania Del Rio, the commissioner of inspectional services. According to Boston.com, Del Rio told the Boston City Council earlier in October that rat complaints in Hyde Square actually went up from 82 in 2023 to 154, so far, in 2024.
Del Rio said in a statement, “Since the product is still in the research and development phase, we have been observing, monitoring it, because if it proves effective, it is something we should definitely adopt. At the same time, we want to be good stewards of taxpayer money, and if it’s still in that research and development phase, we don’t want to be the kind of people experimenting on it if we’ve received mixed reports.”
The future of rat birth control programs in Boston is up in the air, but it’s gaining traction in New York City. Per The Guardian, New York’s city council approved testing pilot programs utilizing ContraPest, a type of rat birth control. This decision came after Flaco the Owl, the viral sensation, was found dead and had rat poison in his system.