For many homeowners, bugs and rodents are the bane of their existence!
Insect and rodent management is a necessity that needs to be a part of the annual home maintenance budget for most Amercians.
Did you know that pest control is in fact one of the top hidden costs when it comes to homeownership?
If you don’t keep up with your pest problems you’ll end up spending a lot of money in ruined furniture and potential health issues from completely avoidable pest infestations. https://www.star-telegram.com/news/business/growth/article232033912.html
That said, we wanted to analyze the latest American Housing Survey data to see which states are most at risk for pest problems so you can be proactive in pest proofing your house.
That said, we found that the American Housing Survey collects data on two specific types of pest sightings. Those are:
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- Signs of mice or rats inside homes in last 12 months and;
- Signs of cockroaches in last 12 months.
Unfortunately, we have some bad news for Texas households!
In the data, we found that Texas had the greatest amount of pest sightings than any other state in the country! In contrast, if you want to avoid pests, the best state to live in is Colorado, BRB moving there right now!
We dug a little deeper and looked into city level data, and it’s not looking great for New Yorkers! New York City ranked #1 in pest sightings with Houston being #2!
Ed Spicer, General Manager of Pest Strategies also commented; “California, Texas, and Florida aren’t surprising given they’re warm most of the year making them ideal climates for pests, but New York was surprising given it gets pretty cold during the year!
It may be because of how New York disposes their trash (putting it out curbside in bags instead of inside garbage cans, which tends to attract a lot of rats!).” https://www.nytimes.com/2019/08/13/nyregion/newyorktoday/nyc-news-trash.html
Below are some graphics illustrating the data on pest sightings by State. The numbers are stated in thousands of housing units.
| State | Pest Sightings (In Thousands) |
| Texas | 3,547 |
| Florida | 2,448 |
| California | 2,369 |
| New York | 1,953 |
| Pennsylvania | 1,102 |
| Illinois | 1,077 |
| Ohio | 881 |
| Virginia | 715 |
| Massachusetts | 597 |
| Maryland | 560 |
Below is the complete list of pest sightings by city. Again, the data is in 1,000’s.
| City | Pest Sightings (In Thousands) |
| New York City | 1634 |
| Houston | 992 |
| Los Angeles-Long Beach | 881 |
| Atlanta | 743 |
| Chicago | 630 |
| Dallas | 625 |
| Miami | 618 |
| Philadelphia | 585 |
| Washington DC | 532 |
| Tampa-St. Petersburg | 449 |
| Boston | 401 |
| Northern New Jersey | 370 |
| San Antonio | 367 |
| Phoenix | 326 |
| Minneapolis-St. Paul | 284 |
| Orlando | 274 |
| Baltimore | 273 |
| Fort Worth-Arlington | 214 |
| Birmingham | 206 |
| St. Louis | 204 |
| Riverside-San Bernardino | 201 |
| San Francisco | 192 |
| San Diego | 189 |
| New Orleans | 178 |
| Oklahoma City | 174 |
| Raleigh | 173 |
| Las Vegas | 169 |
| Pittsburgh | 169 |
| Kansas City | 159 |
| Denver | 152 |
| Memphis | 152 |
| Oakland | 145 |
| Virginia Beach-Norfolk | 145 |
| Cleveland | 136 |
| Detroit | 134 |
| Jacksonville | 128 |
| Nashville | 125 |
| San Jose | 125 |
| Cincinnati | 124 |
| Indianapolis | 115 |
| Louisville | 109 |
| Sacramento | 109 |
| Richmond | 105 |
| Portland, OR | 96 |
| Providence | 93 |
| Tucson | 90 |
| Milwaukee | 85 |
| Rochester, NY | 84 |
| Seattle | 84 |
| Hartford | 78 |
| Columbus | 76 |
| Charlotte | 70 |
| Austin | 42 |
| Buffalo | 40 |
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Because pest control products can be dangerous to your family if mishandled, we always recommend consulting with an exterminator even if just to ask for advice on how to apply pest control products yourself.
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