Northwest Exterminating, a company in Florida, says that rats may be drawn to “dirty” or crowded areas because they are looking for food and other spills. Rats are said to not be picky eaters and will eat anything that can be eaten. One city in Florida, Miami, has been called both one of the ugliest and one of the most rat-infested. This may be why.
What Makes Up A “Dirty” City, According to Lawnstarter: Lawnstarter made a list of the “dirtiest” towns in America in the summer of 2024. To do this, it looked at things like air pollution, water quality, trash collection, and how happy residents were with their neighborhoods.
It was named as the 20th “dirtiest” city in America and the “dirtiest” city in Florida. Residents of Miami were the least satisfied with their city.
There has also been news about problems with cleaning in Miami. The New York Post said in July 2023 that some of Miami’s dumps would likely run out of space in 2026.
Coral Springs, Hollywood, and West Palm Beach were some of the other Florida towns that did pretty well on the list.
The Florida Cities With The Most Rats: Terminex posted a list of what it thought were the “rat-infested” cities in the US in September 2024. The list was based on data from 2023.
Terminex said that Miami wasn’t the most rat-infested city in Florida. That award went to Tampa first, then Orlando, and finally Miami. (The 17th, 18th, and 22nd places were given to these towns.)
According to PBS, the number of rats in the US is growing, in part because of more people living in the same area.
The three “rattiest” cities in Florida that made the list are all in the top four most heavily populated cities in the state, except for Jacksonville.
One interesting fact is that people in South Florida really love the “ratty” nickname for the NHL’s Florida Panthers. So the story goes, the Panthers were called “the rats” because one of their goalies once called a hat trick a “rat trick” because he saw a real rat in the old Miami Arena.