Philadelphia ranked among America's 10 most rat infested cities
NEW YORK, US - APRIL 16: Rats are seen in a street of New York, United States on April 16, 2023. Current estimates put the rat population at about 2 million across 90% of the city, according to The Atlantic. Rat sightings have jumped in recent years,
PHILADELPHIA - Aww, rats!
Philadelphia ranked within the top-10 in a recent list of America's most rat-infested cities, topping other urban landscapes like Chicago, Houston and Baltimore.
The list was compiled by Terminix, a national pest control company, who based the rankings off which of its 300 branches were dispatched for rats the most last year.
New York City came in first place, followed by the San Francisco Bay Area and Los Angeles. Philadelphia ranked fourth, and Washington D.C. rounded out the top-5.
While rats are an unfortunate part of city living, they carry a host of serious diseases and can wreak havoc on buildings if they're allowed to nest.
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Rest assured, rats aren't just a Philly problem. Cities included in the top-10 list span both coasts and middle America, including Denver, Dallas and Cleveland.
To prevent rats from finding their way into your abode, Terminix suggests sealing all possible points of entry, keeping food stored appropriately and living areas clean, and disposing of trash in tightly sealed bins.
Mayor Cherelle Parker made it a campaign promise to clean-up Filthadelphia's act, with street cleaning blitzes in ramshackled parts of the city like the notoriously grimy Kensington neighborhood and parts of North Philadelphia.
Earlier this month, the city's sanitation workers told FOX 29 that they've cleaned 18,000 city blocks over a 13-week period with street sweepers and sheer manpower.
Parker called on Philadelphians to do their part to keep the streets tidy after the cleaning crews come, calling it a "partnership."