Michigan Cities Named Among Most Rat-Infested In the U.S.

Outside of the few who enjoy them as pets, nobody likes a rat. You can lump in mice and other small rodents in that list. They're pesky, destructive and nasty and are quite difficult to get rid of.

For whatever reason, these rodents seem to call much of the Midwest home. Twelve of the top 50 most rat-infested cities in America are from Midwest states, and a quarter of them are in Michigan.

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Orkin released its most recent ranking of the 50 rattiest cities and three Michigan cities ranked on the list. The list is composed by the number of new rodent treatments throughout the year. Though it only counts Orkin services, that doesn't mean the statistics are in danger of being wrong.

The highest-ranking Michigan city on the list is Detroit, which landed at #9, leapfrogging Cleveland from the previous year's list.

Smack in the middle of the list was Grand Rapids at #25, dropping two spots in the annual list.

Flint was the final Michigan city on the list, though props to them for dropping eight spots down to #43.

The top spot went to Chicago, which it has held for nine straight years.

Luckily, the infestation period for these rodents is nearly over, as Orkin says rats and the like usually invade homes between October and February. Still, everyone should be on the lookout for droppings, gnaw marks, nests and scurrying noises in the walls and attics to deal with the rodents as quickly as possible.

Storing food properly, decluttering and maintaining good landscaping are some of the ways you can deter rodents from taking over your home. Residents in Detroit, Grand Rapids and Flint will want to take even more precautions to keep rats and mice out.