This is one list on which you want to score low: Hartford has dropped again in the rankings of rodent-infested cities, according to Orkin pest control.
Even with the pandemic-related surge in rat activity nationwide, Hartford dropped two places on the 2020 “rattiest cities” list to No. 27, following a seven-place drop in 2019 for both Hartford and New Haven.
Atlanta-based pest giant Orkin ranked cities by the number of new “rodent treatments” performed from Sept. 1, 2019 through Aug. 31. Chicago topped the list for the sixth straight year, but pity poor San Diego rose 13 spots to enter Orkin’s top 20 for the first time.
The closure of restaurants during the COVID-19 pandemic has forced rodents to find new food sources and start scavenging in new areas. More sightings and increasingly aggressive behavior by rats prompted the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in May to issue a warning and offer advice on how to rat-proof homes and businesses.Â
Homeowners need to be on alert for ranging rats, Orkin said.Â
“Rodents are experts at sniffing out food and shelter, and they’re resilient in their ways to obtain both,” said Orkin entomologist Ben Hottel. “Residential properties offer the ideal habitat for rodents, and once they’ve settled in, they’re capable of reproducing rapidly and in large quantities.”
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