Atlanta – The City of Rats?
Atlanta is ranked 14th of the “Rattiest Cities” in the US
December 13, 2022
Orkin, an Atlanta-based pest control company and the citizens of Atlanta have found countless rats around Atlanta. From Sept. 1, 2021, to Aug. 31, 2022, Orkin ranked Atlanta 14th on their annual “rattiest cities” list. The influx of rats is due to the recent winters, more trash, and items that attract rodents. As a result, Atlanta’s rat population has increased
in the last few years.
The main types of rats living in Atlanta are Norway and Roof rats. The Norway rats are the larger of the two, growing up to 12 inches long from the tip of their heads to the end of their tails. Suspicious scurrying in the walls indicates that rats have infiltrated your home. The smell of ammonia keeps rats away, but the smell of food and garbage attracts them.
Robert Johnson says, “I was an adjunct professor at Georgia State, and I saw a rat jump in the trash can once.” Malcolm Johnson stated, “I see a lot of rats downtown. I see them near the Marta Station.” In 2020-2021, Atlanta ranked 15th on the list of “Rattiest Cities.”
When asked what rank he thought Atlanta had on the list of the 50 most rat-infested cities in the US, Malcolm Johnson said, “I think it’s fifth.” While we may see rats in the subways or scurrying about the streets downtown, consider that Atlanta is not in the top 5 cities. New York City is number two on the list of cities with the most rats. To remedy their problem, CNN states that NY currently has a job posting for a “Director of Rodent Mitigation.” That’s a fancy term for rodent exterminator, or, as the New Yorkers call it, “Rat Czar.”
Chicago is rated number one for rat infestation. Still, the world atlas rates it as the tenth most visited city in the US. A rat infestation has no effect on the appeal to visitors.
Brianna Ridley • May 24, 2023 at 10:03 am
The article “Atlanta- The City of Rats?” by Hayes Heise and Sam Sangaraboina was an interesting story. I never knew that Atlanta was counted as one of the rattiest city, I also didn’t know that Atlanta had some many rats in it. The article stated, “the reason why there’s so many rats are because of the winters, trash, and items that attract these types of rodents.” I knew that Atlanta was a little dirty but to have so many rats I would have never assumed that. When writing this as the author, did you want people to understand the gravity of Atlanta’s rodents situation?
Silas Clark • Apr 28, 2023 at 10:56 am
In “Atlanta – The City of Rats?” showed me how dirty Atlanta is with all the rats. I was very surprised since there are other cities that are bigger and cleaner. Atlanta is very dirty now that I’ve seen compared to other cities. I also never knew that rats could be 12 inches long. This should be dealt with by cleaning up the streets of Atlanta.
Anna Wheeler • Apr 27, 2023 at 12:14 pm
All this time I knew that Atlanta was dirty since it is a large city, but i never realized exactly how dirty it was. The fact that Atlanta is ranked 15th dirtiest city really says a lot about it. It shocks me because I lived there and never saw a ton of rats. They must be pretty sneaky!
Kennedy Moultrie • Apr 24, 2023 at 2:10 pm
In the article “Atlanta – The City of Rats?” it showed me how many rats there are in Atlanta. I don’t visit Atlanta that much, so, I don’t really encounter that many of these crawly creatures. I also didn’t notice how dirty this city really is. I can’t believe that rats can basically multiply that fast, and I didn’t know that Atlanta was this low on the list of all of the cities. New York didn’t really surprise me much because it’s really dirty with a bunch of homeless people.
Luke Kirby • Mar 3, 2023 at 4:25 pm
I learned that Atlanta is ranked the 14th “rattiest” city. New York City ranks #2. I think this is gross and makes me feel bad for Atlanta. Rats carry a lot of diseases and eat out of trash bins. This is not healthy or sanitary.
grace mckinney • Feb 10, 2023 at 4:03 pm
In “Atlanta – The City of Rats?” the article really showed me how dirty Atlanta is. I would assume it’s kind of all cities but I didn’t realize how ratty it was! I didn’t even know that it’s ranked 15th. I like the article and the detail that you used on the new yorkers. Chicago surprised me. it’s insane how much it can change in just one year
Lilla Dos Santos • Feb 9, 2023 at 9:51 am
I never realized just how many rats there were in Atlanta. This article really helped me understand the problem we are undergoing in Atlanta with rats. The fact that Atlanta was ranked 15th on the list of “Rattiest Cities” amazes me. This is happening even though I have never witnessed rats in Atlanta. We should definitely try to get rid of these rats or the problem will increase and open up a whole new can of worms.
Lina Wang • Feb 9, 2023 at 8:55 am
I didn’t know how fast rats and rodents can grow and spread over a short time. I also never thought rats could grow up to 12 inches long. I think it’s crazy how a city so close to us can be so gross and disgusting.
Symone Gatlin • Feb 9, 2023 at 8:34 am
Never in a million years I would think my city was filled with rats. This article really opened my eyes. Thank you for allowing me to know more about my city.
Arayna Gupta • Feb 8, 2023 at 8:37 am
The article “Atlanta – The City of Rats?” written by Hayes Heise and Sam Sangaraboina talks about the rat infestaion in Atlanta. This really opened my eyes about how many big and different types of rats there are in Atlanta. Robert johnson thinks the problem is filth, and I agree. Because every time I go to Atlanta I can see a bunch of filth and waste. A way we can solve this is by being mindful of our waste and pick up trash around us.
Arayna Gupta • Feb 6, 2023 at 8:52 am
In the article “Atlanta – The city of rats” written by Hayes Heise and Sam Sangaraboin, they talk about the rat infestation in Atlanta. This really opened my eyes about the different types of rats in Atlanta and how many Rats there are in Atlanta. I was shocked to find out that such big rats live in Atlanta. Malcom Johnson thinks filth is the cause of the rats. I agree with him because when I go to Atlanta I see filth. We can solve this problem if we be mindful of the waste we use.
Saylor Ziegler • Dec 15, 2022 at 8:43 am
I would’ve never had thought that ATL was so dirty! Though I would not say that everyone is helping out to get the infestation, it would help to clean up the floating arund trash. These rats a reproducing quickley and will take over the city (cities) fast if we dont stop them.
Jerry Geistweite • Dec 15, 2022 at 8:30 am
It is crazy to see how fast rats and pests can spread over such a short amount of time. In just 1 year, it has become the 14th “rattiest city” according to Orkin.
Lincoln • Dec 14, 2022 at 11:41 am
cool article, It was so fun to learn about rats.
Vivian Hunt • Dec 14, 2022 at 11:27 am
Atlanta is ranked the 14th Rattiest City in the US. Norway rats that are mostly in Atlanta grow up to 12 inches long. The other type of rat in Atlanta is called a roof rat. Most rats are attracted by the smell of food and garbage.
Jack Laton • Dec 14, 2022 at 11:24 am
Very good reading. I really liked the rats. Very interesting to see that Atlanta, a city 30 minutes away, has a lot of rats.
Maxfield Smilley • Dec 14, 2022 at 11:09 am
I especially enjoyed the article, “Atlanta-The City of Rats?” by Hayes Heise and Sam Sangaraboina. One detail I particularly fancied was it explained that Chicago is number one for rat infestation, however, it is the fifth most visited U.S. state. This interested me because I would think that rats would draw away people, however, that is not the case.
Dante Coiro • Dec 14, 2022 at 11:04 am
I believe that this passage accurately describes the rat problem currently happening in Atlanta. It shows how common rat spottings are, and how unexpectedly they occur. All in all, this is a very disgusting and strange article.
Kyle • Dec 14, 2022 at 11:03 am
In the article “Atlanta – The City of Rats?” by Hayes Heise and Sam Sangaraboina, it was interesting to learn about filthy disgusting grimy rats in my town. This makes me know that there are rats in the town that I live in every day. Thank you for letting me be aware that there are rats around Atlanta.
Marcus Torrechilla • Dec 14, 2022 at 10:57 am
In the article “Atlanta – The City of Rats?” by Hayes Heise and Sam Sangaraboina, It was fascinating to find out that such a glorious city is filled with large dirty and very grimy rats that are 12 inches long. It would be very satisfying for me to find out more information about how these rats came to be.
Layla Spinney • Dec 14, 2022 at 9:04 am
In the article “Atlanta – The City of Rats?” by Hayes Heise and Sam Sangaraboina, it was interesting to learn a little more about how infested ATL is. I would have loved to learn more facts about the rats though and what the people think about the situation.