America’s 10 Most Pest-Infested Cities

By Paul Ausick Updated Jan 12, 3:10PM EST · Published Feb 4, 8:50AM EST

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America’s 10 Most Pest-Infested Cities — © Thinkstock

[cnxvideo id=”655426″ placement=”ros”]There is no such thing as a single cockroach. If you spot one, its friends and family are not far away and will soon be paying you a visit. Bedbugs and fleas are included in that same category: if you’ve seen one, you’ve not seen ’em all.

The U.S. Census Bureau recently released its latest American Housing Survey, and researchers at Realtor.com took a look at the percentage of U.S. households reporting close encounters with a variety of pests.

In addition to roaches, bedbugs and fleas, the Census Bureau also collected data on rats, mosquitoes, termites and scorpions (scorpions!). According to the survey, 11% of U.S. households in 2015 had encounters with mice or rats and 12% encountered roaches. Complaints about rats rose 7% in New York and 16% in Boston.

And don’t even ask about bedbugs. According to one expert, more U.S. citizens are affected by bedbugs than ever before. He noted that 10 years ago bedbugs were virtually unheard of in this country.

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Armed with a sufficient supply of repellent and pages of data, Realtor.com researchers identified the 10 U.S. cities with the worst pest infestations. Of the 10, six are located in the South or Southwest where warmer temperatures allow the creepy-crawlies to live longer. We’ve included the percentage of households in each city that reported mice/rats and cockroach sightings. For details and anecdotes, visit Realtor.com.

Houston, Texas: 8% reported mice or rats and 38% reported cockroaches
New York City: 15% reported mice or rats and 16% reported cockroaches
Washington, D.C.: 13% reported mice or rats and 9% reported cockroaches
Atlanta, Georgia: 5% reported mice or rats and 25% reported cockroaches
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania: 18% reported mice or rats and 7% reported cockroaches
Miami, Florida: 4% reported mice or rats and 32% reported cockroaches
Tampa, Florida: 3% reported mice or rats and 38% reported cockroaches
Nashville, Tennessee: 11% reported mice or rats and 9% reported cockroaches
Phoenix, Arizona: 3% reported mice or rats and 20% reported cockroaches
Boston, Massachusetts: 17% reported mice or rats and 2% reported cockroaches

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About the Author Paul Ausick →

Paul Ausick has been writing for a673b.bigscoots-temp.com for more than a decade. He has written extensively on investing in the energy, defense, and technology sectors. In a previous life, he wrote technical documentation and managed a marketing communications group in Silicon Valley.

He has a bachelor's degree in English from the University of Chicago and now lives in Montana, where he fishes for trout in the summer and stays inside during the winter.