Don’t call us “Ratlanta.”
According to Atlanta-based Orkin’s annual survey of the nation’s most rodent-infested cities, the ATL ranks a mere 14 out of the top 50.
While New York achieved dubious fame with the “Pizza Rat” viral video a few years ago, it’s not No. 1.
The honors, so to speak, belong to Chicago, America’s “rattiest city” for the ninth year in a row.
Los Angeles moved up to the No. 2 slot, proving that the Hollywood rat race continues unabated, while New York slipped to third. Pizza Rat may reign supreme in the City That Never Sleeps but he’s been dethroned by his deep dish-scarfing cousins in the Second City and the cheese and chardonnay crowd way out west in Tinseltown. Incidentally, Atlanta is home to the somewhat less Internet-famous Pizza Squirrel.
“Cities on the Rattiest Cities List are based on the number of new rodent services showcasing the demand and also indicates the efforts that residents and businesses of the top cities have taken to treat rodent issues,” the Orkin report said. “Orkin ranked metro regions by the number of new rodent treatments performed from Sept. 1, 2022, to Aug. 31, 2023. This ranking includes both residential and commercial pest control treatments.”
Although Atlanta hasn’t moved down in the rankings since 2022, it could be worse. Greensboro, N.C., found itself on the tail end of the top 50, claiming the ignominious final slot from Burlington, Vermont, which scurried up to 44th this year.
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