When most people think of areas around the country that tend to have the biggest rodent problems, New York City—with its famous pizza-munching rats—may first come to mind. But the Big Apple apparently doesn't even crack the top five when it comes to the most rodent-infested places in the United States.
This is according to data from Yelp, the website known for publishing crowd-sourced business reviews. In coming up with its findings, Yelp analyzed consumer searches in June 2024 compared to June 2023, in order to log the change in volume of specific pest-related search queries. The platform then tallied the number of times each query was entered per million searches to identify the top states (including Washington D.C.) with the biggest pest problems.
Overall, it was determined that mice removal, specifically, was up 57 percent from 2023, with California leading the nation in rodent-related pest control searches. (Interestingly enough, cockroaches topped summer infestation surges with a 323 percent spike from last year.)
Wyoming came in second for rodent-related pet control search queries, followed by Washington D.C., New Mexico, and Wisconsin.
"Nothing disrupts a summer hangout like the presence of a bug or rodent in your space,” said Yelp’s Trend Expert and Vice President of Community Expansion, Tara Lewis. "Whether it’s checking for termites or taking care of that wasp nest, Yelp can easily connect you to reliable pest control experts, and address infestations before they escalate."
Yelp also offered up some tips from the experts at Terminix on how to keep your home pest-free, such as eliminating food and water sources, sealing up any cracks and gaps, storing trash properly, keeping outdoor spaces free of debris, and checking basement and attic spaces that can become havens for pests.
You can see the top five below, or head over to Yelp for more pest-related insights.
