I’m so sorry to be the one delivering this news but if you live in certain parts of New Jersey, you should be aware of how vulnerable your city is to rat infestations.

A study was recently put out by Pest Gnome that highlighted the most vulnerable cities in the U.S. Not only did two cities in the Garden State make the list, but our neighbors in New York and Pennsylvania did as well.

Clouse up the rat in dry leaf background. Animal contagious disease concept.
BirdShutterB
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What was their methodology?

In order to determine which cities were most vulnerable to rats, Pest Gnome assigned a weight to the following factors:

🐀 City Crowdedness

🐀 City Dirtiness

🐀 Rat Infestation

🐀 Rat Bait

🐀 Rat Control

They also factored in residents’ dissatisfaction with their city’s garbage disposal, the number of residents per square mile, and access to exterminators.

Sick rat on a Boardwalk in Frankfurt
Pierre Aden
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Surprising no one, number one on the list was New York City. Anyone who has ever stepped foot in a New York subway station could believe this easily, they’re riddled with rats.

Rat infestations are so bad in NYC that they had to appoint a Rat Czar. Let me tell you, that is one job I won’t be applying for any time soon. Silver lining: at least those rats know where to get a decent slice of pizza.

The top ten cities most vulnerable to rat infestations are as follows:

1️⃣ New York, NY

2️⃣ Los Angeles, CA

3️⃣ Jersey City, NJ

4️⃣ Philadelphia, PA

5️⃣ Houston, TX

6️⃣ Newark, NJ

7️⃣ San Francisco, CA

8️⃣ Miami, FL

9️⃣ Chicago, IL

🔟 Detroit, MI

Small brown rat near wooden wall on floor
Liudmila Chernetska
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Yikes! Bad news for Jersey City and Newark.

According to the study, two of the biggest factors that Jersey City had going against it were their dirtiness and the number of restaurants per square mile.

Newark, on the other hand, can thank its dense population for its high ranking on the list.

Photo by Svetozar Cenisev on Unsplash
Photo by Svetozar Cenisev on Unsplash
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If you live in either of those cities, Pest Gnome recommends that you do the following in order to deter rodents:

⚫ Regularly clean your home, especially the kitchen and bathroom areas
⚫ Seal off potential entry points like cracks and holes
⚫ Ensure food items are properly stored
⚫ Eliminate nesting sites, like leaf piles and standing water
⚫ Call in a rodent exterminator to evaluate and treat your property

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The post above reflects the thoughts and observations of New Jersey 101.5's Kylie Moore. Any opinions expressed are Kylie's own. You can follow Kylie on Instagram.

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