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Pittsburgh Makes List Of Top 'Rattiest Cities' In US

PITTSBURGH (KDKA) -- Oh rats! It's a list that Pittsburghers would rather not be on.

The Steel City comes in at the No. 18 on Orkin's annual "Top 50 Rattiest Cities" list.

The good news? That's the same spot the Burgh ranked last year.

The cities were ranked according to where Orkin conducted the most rodent treatments over the past year.

Topping the list was Chicago, Los Angeles and at No. 3 New York. West Palm Beach, Florida took the 50th spot.

Orkin says the closure of restaurants due to the pandemic has forced rats to scavenge residential areas for food, increasing their visibility.

"Rodents are experts at sniffing out food and shelter, and they're resilient in their ways to obtain both," Orkin entomologist Ben Hottel said. "Residential properties offer the ideal habitat for rodents, and once they've settled in, they're capable of reproducing rapidly and in large quantities."

Experts recommend you throw out trash immediately, don't leave food out and keep places uncluttered.

You can view the complete list below:

1. Chicago 26. Raleigh, N.C. (-2)
2. Los Angeles 27. Hartford, Conn. (-2)
3. New York 28. Columbus, Oh (-7)
4. Washington, D.C. 29. Grand Rapids
5. San Francisco 30. Kansas City (+8)
6. Detroit 31. Charlotte, N.C. (-3)
7. Philadelphia (+3) 32. Phoenix (5)
8. Baltimore (+4) 33. Richmond, Va. (-3)
9. Denver 34. Nashville
10. Minneapolis (-2) 35. Greenville, S.C. (-2)
11. Cleveland, Oh. (-4) 36. Sacramento (+5)
12. Seattle (+1) 37. St. Louis (-6)
13. Boston (+1) 38. Albany, New York (+10)
14. Atlanta (-3) 39. Champaign, Ill. (-3)
15. Indianapolis (+1) 40. Green Bay (+18)
16. Dallas-Fort Worth (-1) 41. Tampa (-1)
17. Houston 42. Flint, Mich. (+3)
18. Pittsburgh 43. Buffalo, New York (-8)
19. San Diego (+13) 44. Syracuse (-5)
20. Miami (-1) 45. Knoxville (+14)
21. New Orleans (+6) 46. Orlando (-3)
22. Cincinnati (+1) 47. Burlington, Va. (+2)
23. Portland, Or. (-1) 48. Albuquerque (+19)
24. Milwaukee (-4) 49. Dayton (-2)
25. Norfolk, Va. (+1) 50. West Palm Beach (+3)

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