Pests are a homeowner's nemesis, no matter where you live. But some cities are seeing a big increase in pest infestations.
For example, in New York, complaints about rats rose 7 percent from 2015 to 2016 and rose by 16 percent in Boston, according to the newly released American Housing Survey by the Census Bureau. In 2015, 11 percent of households encountered rats or mice and 12 percent spotted cockroaches, according to the survey. Bedbugs are on the rise in many cities too, according to a report by Orkin, a nationwide pest-control company.
“We have more people affected by bedbugs in the United States now than ever before,” says Ron Harrison, an entomologist and director of technical services at Orkin. “They were virtually unheard of in the U.S. 10 years ago.”
Realtor.com®'s research team went on the hunt for critters. They sought to determine which cities have the highest prevalence of rat, cockroaches, mosquitoes, termites, bedbugs, fleas and ticks, and scorpions. They found that rats tend to reign in the Northeast while insects taunt the South.
Here are the seven cities with the most pest infestations:
- Houston, Texas
- New York, N.Y.
- Washington, D.C.
- Atlanta, Ga.
- Philadelphia, Pa.
- Miami, Fla.
- Tampa, Fla.
Source: "Critter Cities: America's Top 10 Towns for Pest Infestations," realtor.com® (Jan. 30, 2017)
