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Baltimore No. 6 On List of 'Rattiest Cities'

BALTIMORE (WJZ) -- Whether you like it or not, Baltimore has been awarded number six in a list of "Top 50 Rattiest Cities" released by pest control company Orkin.

Charm City has a history of rats, with many people displaying their city pride with t-shirts and bumper stickers featuring a rat. And while many have embraced the rodent as part of Baltimore's cityscape, others find them unsightly and a nuisance.

Orkin released its Top 50 Rattiest Cities list, with Chicago topping the list again, after previously ranking first in 2014. The Midwest region had the greatest number of cities on the list, with 13 in the top 50.

Washington, DC, New York, took the second and third spots, respectively, and Philadelphia follows Baltimore at number seven.

Orkin says the list of 50 cities was ranked based on "the number of rodent treatments the company performed from October 1, 2015 – September 30, 2016." Orkin said the ranking includes both residential and commercial treatments.

Next time you see a rodent in a Federall Hill alleyway, you know who to thank for this title bestowed upon our city.

The official list:

  1. Chicago
  2. New York
  3. Washington D.C.
  4. Los Angeles
  5. San Francisco-Oakland-San Jose
  6. Baltimore
  7. Philadelphia
  8. Minneapolis-St. Paul
  9. Detroit
  10. Denver
  11. Seattle-Tacoma
  12. Boston
  13. Miami-Ft. Lauderdale
  14. Dallas-Ft. Worth
  15. Cleveland
  16. Atlanta
  17. Hartford & New Haven, Conn.
  18. Pittsburgh
  19. Indianapolis
  20. Portland, Ore.
  21. Houston
  22. Raleigh-Durham, N.C.
  23. Milwaukee
  24. Norfolk-Portsmouth-Newport News, Va.
  25. Richmond-Petersburg, Va.
  26. Albany-Schenectady-Troy, N.Y.
  27. Charlotte, N.C.
  28. St Louis
  29. Buffalo, N.Y.
  30. Kansas City, Mo.
  31. Tampa-St. Petersburg, Fla.
  32. Sacramento-Stockton-Modesto, Calif.
  33. Grand Rapids-Kalamazoo-Battle Creek, Mich.
  34. Cincinnati
  35. Rochester, N.Y.
  36. West Palm Beach-Ft. Pierce, Fla.
  37. Columbus, Ohio
  38. New Orleans, La.
  39. Nashville, Tenn.
  40. Greenville-Spartanburg-Asheville, S.C.
  41. Flint-Saginaw-Bay City, Mich.
  42. Albuquerque-Santa Fe, N.M.
  43. Portland-Auburn, Maine
  44. Green Bay-Appleton, Wis.
  45. Phoenix
  46. Orlando-Daytona Beach-Melbourne, Fla.
  47. San Diego
  48. Burlington-Plattsburgh, Vt.
  49. Madison, Wis.
  50. Salt Lake City

For more information about the list and their survey, commissioned by Orkin and conducted by Russell Research check here.

Baltimore City and Baltimore County have contacts for help in rat prevention and extermination.

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