Boston Rats Getting Bold – Watch One Run Up A Man’s Leg in the Seaport
Are you a fan of rats? You may not want to watch this video if you’re not. Imagine seeing a rat and taking out your phone to document it, only…
Dead rat
GettyAre you a fan of rats? You may not want to watch this video if you're not. Imagine seeing a rat and taking out your phone to document it, only to find it crawling up your leg. That's exactly what just happened to a man in the Seaport.
The man's name is David Gomez and he's from East Boston. He explained that he was enjoying a night out with friends in the Seaport when he saw a rat. When took out his phone to take a video, the rat tried to crawl up his leg. Kudos to David for not freaking out. He took the encounter very well. The video was posted on the "Caught in Southie" IG page where they captioned it "Eeeek!!!! Oh no big deal! Just a rat climbing up someone’s leg in Fort Point! Yikes! #southie #southboston #caughtinsouthie."
Unfortunately, this incident is one of several that describe a rise in rodent infestations around the city of Boston. Earlier this year, Boston was voted one of the rattiest cities in the entire country (keep scrolling to see where it landed). Apparently there is a database called 311 service request database which keeps track of these types of complaints and when it comes to rats, there has been upwards of 3,900 rodent-related complaints received in 2023 alone.
Gomez told NBC 10 Boston "I was just chilling, I don't know. Yeah, my friends were like, 'Why were you so calm?' and I was like, 'I don’t know. I thought it was funny because I had never seen something like that happen before. So, my reaction was to pull out my phone and make a funny video."
Boston is indeed one of the rattiest cities in the country, but it's not THE rattiest. Find out where it lands below.
Boston’s Unruly Rat Problem – One Of The Absolute Worst In The U.S.
Boston is one of the rattiest cities in America. Well, not just rats. In a recent study by New York-based pest inspector Doctor Sniffs, Boston ranks fourth on a list of the most pest-infested cities in America. Not a great and prestigious list to be on. Definitely not something we should be bragging about. The study actually analyzed census data from 2021 specifically when it came to rat and cockroach infestations. According to a statement from Doctor Sniffs: “The city faced 417.8 rat sightings and 74.4 cockroach sightings across a year time frame."
As nasty as that sounds, Doctor Sniffs also analyzed strictly rat infestations in each city and New York City is ranked #1 for the most rats in America. I don't believe this is too surprising a statistic. There were 1225 rat sightings in New York City during the analyzing period.
This is nothing new for Boston. Just last year, Boston was named the 13th "rattiest" city in America according to a study from Orkin. Rodent infestations become more severe of an issue in the fall and winter months so it seems as if Boston's pest problem will only get worse in the coming months. The other issue with these types of infestations is the fact that these pests carry diseases like Salmonella and Hantavirus.
So what should you do to control the pest population in your city? First off, CLEAN! Do NOT leave trash or litter or even uncovered trash cans in and around your apartment or house. Store all food in containers and leave NO food out on any surface. Make sure your plumbing has no leaks. And close off places where pests can hide. That being said, below are the most pest-infested cities in America. Thinking none of these cities will surprise anyone. Boston continues to be in the top 10.
#10 New York City
New York City and ninth place of San Francisco had a combined pest sighting rate of 27.2 per 100,000 residents “and a staggering 1,164.9 rat sightings, and 1,225.7 cockroach sightings, the highest on the list for both pest sightings throughout 2021.”
#9 San Francisco
New York City and ninth place of San Francisco had a combined pest sighting rate of 27.2 per 100,000 residents “and a staggering 1,164.9 rat sightings, and 1,225.7 cockroach sightings, the highest on the list for both pest sightings throughout 2021.”
#7 Dallas
Rats have been known to be the most commonly reported rodent and/or pest nuisance in the state of Texas. Dallas is home to two different types of rats: Brown rats and black rats.
#6 Houston
Rats have been known to be the most commonly reported rodent and/or pest nuisance in the state of Texas. No surprise that Houston is also in the top 10 along with Dallas.
#5 Riverside, CA
There have been reported cases of viruses spread by rat/mice droppings in Riverside.
#4 Boston
According to Doctor Sniffs: “The city faced 417.8 rat sightings and 74.4 cockroach sightings across a year time frame."
#3 Washington D.C.
The complaints about rats have spiked in the past year. This is due to the rise in restaurants in D.C. They also attribute it to more people working from home which means eating from home and not disposing of trash properly.
#2 Miami
Miami is the second most populated city in Florida so this is no surprise. Rats go where people go unfortunately.
#1 Atlanta
Congratulations Atlanta, YOU WIN! Atlanta tops the list with a combined pest sighting rate of 165.9 per 100,000 residents.
