In 2023, the City of Pittsburgh was ranked 16th of 50 Rattiest Cities in America on Orkin’s annual Rattiest Cities list. In 2024, Pittsburgh dropped slightly to the 21st spot. Pittsburgh, it should be noted, is the country’s 68th-largest city and 26th-largest metropolitan statistical area — so why are we so far ahead in the rat race?
The city is taking action to evict these four-legged interlopers. According to the City of Pittsburgh’s website, the Rodent Baiting Program offers free, year-round rodent control services to Pittsburgh residents up to twice a year. The city’s contractor, Fort Pitt Exterminators, receives a list from the Bureau of Animal Care and Control, visits private residences to set the bait, and returns to check the progress.
“We used to have a third round where we would go pick the traps up,” Anita Hartung, billing manager from Fort Pitt Exterminators, tells Pittsburgh City Paper. “A lot of people were throwing them away themselves. We’ve had some people, pranksters or whatnot, that just take them.”
In 2023, 174 traps were set, and the figure for 2024 was 472 requests made. In 2025, 121 requests have been made so far, according to Animal Care and Control.
One pet-safe baiting station, where the bait is concealed in a black plastic box, is placed on each property. Each station is good for about 200 rats or mice.
But the best laid plans of mice and men often go awry.
A study published in January by Science used between seven and 17 years of public rat sighting and inspection data from 16 cities around the world to quantify changes in rat populations for each city to evaluate trends. The study explored how the link between climate change and urbanization is reshaping rat ecology, especially in cities like New York and Tokyo. Warmer winters are disrupting the typical winter die-offs that usually limit rat populations.
The study ultimately urges city planners and public health officials to factor climate impacts into control strategies. It suggests shifting to year-round mitigation efforts, integrated data surveillance, and community-level interventions to prevent infestations from spiraling out of control.
Connor Kooistra, who works on the third floor of a building in PPG Place, tells City Paper that, after Picklesburgh, his office faced a rodent problem.
“They left out the trash for a week after Picklesburgh, and of course the trash all over the street attracted a lot of rodents to the area,” Kooistra says. “We had mice running around the office for about a week.”
Kooistra says building management was eventually able to solve the rodent problem.
“I could see small businesses utilizing the [Rodent Baiting Program],” Kooistra says. “We all want to make sure we have a clean Downtown. We also want rats and mice to have a proper home — maybe not in our homes and offices.”
Ronnie Das, Public Health Information Officer for the Allegheny County Health Department, said a property will fail a health inspection if signs of a rat infestation are found.
“We conduct enforcement anytime we verify the presence of either mice or rats on a property, as both are considered health hazards,” Das says. “Enforcement depends on the severity of a given infestation.”
When the health department receives a complaint about rats on a property, a Pre-inspection Notice (PIN) is sent to the property owner outlining the conditions that need to be corrected.
These rats also haplessly carry a host of diseases with them.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), rat bites and scratches can result in rat-bite fever. Rat urine can spread leptospirosis, which can lead to liver and kidney damage.
Lymphocytic choriomeningitis, a virus most dangerous for pregnant women and those with weakened immune systems, is transmitted through rodent urine and saliva, according to the CDC. Rodent excretions can also spread dangerous hantaviruses (which, earlier this year, made headlines for causing the death of actor Gene Hackman’s wife). Last, but certainly not least, the most historically dangerous rat-borne disease, the bubonic plague, is transferred when fleas from infected rats bite humans.
Once environmental and sanitary conditions on a property are rectified, residents are obligated to maintain them. Allegheny County Health Department’s website recommends “do it yourself” rat control products found at hardware stores around the city.
“They’re always going to be around,” Brett Satterfield, owner of Rollier’s Hardware, a family-owned business that has operated for over 50 years in Mt. Lebanon, tells CP. “Whenever you do have [a rodent problem], you have to look at how they got in.” Rollier’s carries an array of rodent and pest control products.
“For some people, if they’re living in an apartment complex or near a restaurant, food scraps and waste can draw them in,” Satterfield says. “Typically, they are looking to come in for shelter, too. You have to ask, ‘Did I leave a door open? Do I have cracks to seal up? Loose masonry blocks in my foundation?’”
Satterfield says that steel wool and spray foams can be effective to seal cracks and holes, although some spray foams can be chewed through.
“They’re just looking for food sources,” Satterfield says. “If you have a birdfeeder, they’re going to come, if it isn’t a dumpster or trash can that’s drawing them in.”
Even in Pittsburgh’s wealthier neighborhoods, rodents remain a problem. Walnut Grill, a popular chain restaurant in Fox Chapel, was hit with over a dozen health code violations in a Feb. 27 inspection report. While Walnut Grill’s Fox Chapel location was not ordered to close, the restaurant permanently shut down on March 16, 2025.
The report outlined rodent droppings in numerous areas including the dishwashing station, bar area, ice machine area, dry food storage area, and staff locker area. Inspectors found 11 dead mice in total in multiple areas, including the bar. Rodent droppings were also found on food-contact surfaces in the kitchen, according to the report.
With climbing bait requests, restaurant shutdowns in upscale neighborhoods, and climate conditions favoring rodents more than ever, Pittsburgh may be chasing its tail when it comes to a solution.
“Even if they’re just looking for a warm spot, they’ll squeeze in,” Satterfield says. “They don’t discriminate.”
This article appears in May 21-27, 2025.
