In 2023, Los Angeles was ranked the 2nd rattiest city in the United States.
In 2022, California Governor Gavin Newsom described the resurgence of typhus, a flea-borne disease spread through infected rats and other small mammals, as a “medieval disease” after 171 cases were reported in Los Angeles County alone.
Earlier this year, Family Dollar agreed to pay a hefty fine and forfeiture of nearly $42 million as part of a plea agreement to resolve criminal charges for keeping food and drugs in an unsanitary warehouse infested with rats. After a Food and Drug Administration inspection revealed the infestation, the warehouse was fumigated, and over 1,200 rats were exterminated.
These incidents highlight the critical need for ongoing rat population monitoring and management. Without the proper tools and strategies, unchecked rat populations can cause significant health risks and economic hardships for individuals, communities, and businesses.
A shocking fact: National Geographic says a single pair of rats can produce up to 15,000 descendants in just one year.
So, what is causing this rise in the rat population? Is it the homeless? Is it our population? What about climate change?
It is all the above.
PBS noted that “climate change has brought longer stretches of warmer weather, which means more time for breeding.” But also, the COVID pandemic shifted where rats went to see out food. As restaurants and businesses closed, rats found food in residential areas. When the restaurants reopened, rats grew in number.
Rats are creatures of opportunity. They look for food in garbage areas, in basements, bags of pet food, and uneaten food in outdoor pet bowls, and they can be found in homeless encampment areas.
Renee Pinel from Western Plant Health stated that the increases in rodent population are the likely result of three issues – loss of effective tools (rodenticides) used to control or eliminate rodents, Unrealistic expectations or ideas on how rodents can be controlled, and the availability of food sources from groups like homeless encampments and their proximity to buildings like restaurants.
“We continuously hear about utilizing “natural control” methods. However, utilizing control methods like raptors or other predators, is probably unrealistic in urban settings where predators cannot adequately meet the population numbers posed by rodents who live in enclosed, indoor settings, not outdoors in natural settings,” said Pinel. “In urban settings, rodents need to be eliminated, not just controlled. When you consider the birth rate of rats, simply controlling numbers is an unrealistic goal if you are trying to protect public health.”
Pinel suggests that both local and state officials have the tools to address these issues head-on.
“Both local and state officials should provide leadership and recognize that the priority of government is to protect the health of its residents. While the government should look at ways to ensure that non-target species are protected, they must start addressing the problem realistically and stop supporting policies that feel good, putting residents at risk from diseases and physical harm.”
As a direct result of the increased rat infestations, Orkin Pest Control has seen a noticeable uptick in service calls around Los Angeles.
“Orkin has seen an increase in calls for rodent control in Los Angeles in the last year,” said Paul Biggs, a pest management professional with Orkin. “Communities that see a rise in rat populations are often challenged with infrastructure and sanitation problems. Rats are willing to forage up to 950 feet away from their home. Cities that have a lot of open dumpsters and trash cans are attractive to rats because of the easy access to food.”
Biggs also attributed some of the rise in calls for rodent control to the number of vacant buildings around the City.
“Vacant businesses can be a draw for rodents in major cities because they offer shelter, food and water. If left unchecked, rodents will quickly reproduce and spread to nearby businesses for more resources. Because of property rights that prevent companies from treating vacant properties, this can be a difficult situation for Orkin to resolve. The same can become true of vacant homes. In the past, there have been public-private partnerships in Los Angeles to alleviate this issue. The city would have more details on those partnerships and outcomes.”
Communities that see a rise in rat populations are often challenged with infrastructure and sanitation problems. Rats are willing to forage up to 950 feet away from their home. Cities that have a lot of open dumpsters and trash cans are attractive to rats because of the easy access to food.
“Aging infrastructure can also be a haven for rodents. Open pipes can provide an underground refuge where rats can thrive. Because they can stay mostly underground in this situation, the population becomes more difficult to control,” said Biggs.
And it’s a growing problem that will become a crisis if left unchecked. Consider this startling fact.
Rats are notorious carriers of numerous deadly diseases, including hantavirus, leptospirosis, listeria, rat bite fever, rat lung disease, and salmonellosis. These diseases can be transmitted to humans through direct contact or indirectly through exposure to contaminated food, air, or surfaces.
The U.S. National Park Service has emphasized the significant health risks posed by rodents, particularly the potential for severe respiratory issues, food contamination, and the spread of diseases through ectoparasites like ticks and fleas.
The agricultural sector is particularly vulnerable, with roof rats causing extensive damage in California orchards. This issue highlights the critical importance of effective rodent control measures, not just for California but for the entire domestic food production chain.
Rachel Long, a former University of California Cooperative Extension farm advisor, warns, “Rodents are everywhere and they are opportunists. They move in from their surrounding urban habitats to take advantage of any food source they can find. And once that food source disappears, they search for food elsewhere.”
“They are also nesting in citrus trees, feeding on the fruit and terrifying field workers when they jump out as people are picking fruit,” she says, “The chewing pests are also girdling citrus limbs, causing branch dieback.”
The stakes are too high to ignore. Rats pose a severe health and economic threat, spreading diseases and causing extensive damage. Effective rodent control is not just an option; it’s a necessity.