ATLANTA — This is NOT a list Atlanta wanted to be on.
According to a new list, Atlanta is the tenth rattiest cities in the nation. That's according to pest control company Orkin.
The company ranked metros by the number of new rodent treatments performed between Sept. 15, 2018 and Sept. 15, 2019, and Atlanta cracked the top 10 for the first time, moving up five spots from last year's list.
But don't worry, we're not competing with the top-three rattiest cities - Chicago, Los Angeles and New York - which should come as no surprise. Here's the top 10 list:
1. Chicago
2. Los Angeles
3. New York
4. Washington, DC
5. San Francisco
6. Detroit
7. Cleveland, OH (+1)
8. Minneapolis-St. Paul (+3)
9. Philadelphia (-2)
10. Atlanta (+5)
Orkin said the most common rodent pests in the US are the house mouse, the Norway rat and the roof rat, and most rodent activity spikes in the winter months as pests like them seek shelter and food.
The pesky rodents are known to wreak all sorts of havoc, however, because they can easily squeeze in small spaces, can cause severe structural damage with their strong jaws and spread diseases, like food poisoning, rat-bite fever, hantavirus and even the bubonic plague.
To curb possible infestations, homeowners should look for any possible entry points from the outside and seal them ASAP, clean crumbs and spills as soon as they happen, and cut back trees and brush from homes to avoid giving rats a "jumping off" point to access gutters and roofs.
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