Washington, D.C., Ranks in Top 3 for Rat Population
By • October 24, 2014 0 1725
Rats are no strangers to Georgetowners, notorious for their scurrying around the neighborhood’s sidewalks and waterfront when the sun sets.
Washington, D.C., was ranked the third rattiest city in the country, according to a recent study completed by insect and pest control company Orkin. While the rankings are based solely on the number of rodent treatments the company carried out in 2013, it is not an all-encompassing rat census.
According to the rankings, the District of Columbia, which was grouped with Hagerstown, Md., came in just above New York City in terms of rat infestation. Chicago came in first and Los Angeles beat D.C. out for a close second. The study additionally reported that in the past year at lead one-third of Americans spotted rodents in their homes.
In the past year, the D.C. government has hired a rat consultant, Robert Corrigan, and held a number of workshops to help educate the public on how to lower the number of rodents in and around their homes. The best way to eliminate rats is to get rid of their food sources. Simple things like closing the lid on trash containers and scraping your grill when you are finished using it can be very effective.
