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These are America’s most rodent-infested cities. 7 are in Florida

Tampa-St. Petersburg ranks highest in the Sunshine State

Rat. (ivabalk from Pixabay)

Pest-control company Terminix has released its list of the 50 most rodent-infested cities in the U.S., and six Florida cities managed to find a place on it.

According to the company, the list was concocted using data from over 300 Terminix branches from across the country.

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More specifically, the list considers which cities had residents using rodent control services most often last year.

The top-ranked cities on the list were New York City (No. 1), the San Francisco-Oakland-San Jose metro area (No. 2), and Los Angeles (No. 3). However, six cities on the list are located in Florida.

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Within the Sunshine State, Tampa-St. Petersburg placed highest at No. 17, and the Orlando-Daytona Beach-Melbourne metro area came in just behind at No. 18.

Meanwhile, Miami-Fort Lauderdale placed a few spots down at No. 22, and West Palm Beach-Fort Pierce took the No. 42 spot toward the bottom of the ranking. And along with Mobile in Alabama, Florida’s panhandle city Pensacola was ranked No. 44.

Lastly, Fort Myers-Naples placed No. 48, and Jacksonville earned the lowest rank on the list at No. 50.

According to Terminix, signs of rodents living in a home can include small droppings found in the back of drawers and cabinets, chewed wires or floor molding, holes and gnaw marks on food packaging, urine stains in the corners of shelves, and scratching in the walls.

To prevent rodents living in your home, Terminix suggests the following measures:

  • Seal possible entry points, such as cracks and openings near doors, windows and foundations.
  • Store food in airtight containers.
  • Keep living spaces clean and remove crumbs.
  • Regularly dispose of garbage in tightly sealed bins.
  • Organize cluttered storage areas to limit possible nesting sites.

As for the rest of Terminix’s ranking, it is listed as follows:

RankCityState
1New York CityNY
2San Francisco-Oakland-San JoseCA
3Los AngelesCA
4PhiladelphiaPA
5Washington, D.C.DC
6ChicagoIL
7HoustonTX
8BostonMA
9Dallas-Fort WorthTX
10AtlantaGA
11BaltimoreMD
12Sacramento-Stockton-ModestoCA
13DenverCO
14Hartford-New HavenCT
15Cleveland-AkronOH
16DetroitMI
17Tampa-St. PetersburgFL
18Orlando-Daytona Beach-MelbourneFL
19IndianapolisIN
20PittsburghPA
21CincinnatiOH
22Miami-Fort LauderdaleFL
23MemphisTN
24ColumbusOH
25Palm SpringsCA
26Seattle-TacomaWA
27NashvilleTN
28Little Rock-Pine BluffAR
29San DiegoCA
30Kansas CityMO
31Providence-New BedfordMA
32Minneapolis-St. PaulMN
33Oklahoma CityOK
34San AntonioTX
35AustinTX
36Harrisburg-Lancaster-Lebanon-YorkPA
37St. LouisMO
38LouisvilleKY
39Wilkes-Barre-ScrantonPA
40HonoluluHI
41Richmond-PetersburgVA
42West Palm Beach-Fort PierceFL
43Fresno-VisaliaCA
44Mobile-PensacolaAL/FL
45Monterey-SalinasCA
46PortlandOR
47Albany-Schenectady-TroyNY
48Ft. Myers-NaplesFL
49BirminghamAL
50JacksonvilleFL

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