California has a rat problem, and I am not referring to politicians.
For example, after years of allowing the homeless to dominate its streets, a San Francisco Walgreens is being temporarily closed to deal with a “severe rat infestation.”
The Walgreens in question, which is in the city’s Noe Valley neighborhood, will not be allowed to reopen until it manages to pass a health inspection, according to a San Francisco Department of Public Health report first noted by SFGate.Inspectors ordered the location closed on Nov. 8 after determining the establishment posed “imminent health hazards that could not be immediately corrected.”
The store seems like it was more of a garbage dump than retail establishment, based on the reports.
A report from the inspector noted that food was “contaminated and/or adultered” by vermin on the sales floor and in an upstairs storage area.”Observed containers of noodles, flour and other food products gnawed and with vermin droppings on and around them,” the report said.Droppings were found on the sales floor, on shelves, on and around food products and on top of storage area, the report said. One dead rat was spotted on a glue trap.
However, San Francisco isn’t the only Golden State city to have a rodent problem. Los Angeles has the dubious honor of being the second most rat-infested city in America.
One thing Los Angeles residents may not want to be known for, however, is the overwhelming number of rats creeping through our streets and backyards.Nevertheless, that’s exactly the case, according to a new ranking released Friday by pest control company Orkin. In fact, Los Angeles was ranked No. 2 on this year’s list of the Top 50 “Rattiest” Cities.If you want to hold off on bragging, we understand, but here’s how Orkin comes up with the list: Each year, the company ranks metro areas based on the number of new rodent treatments performed from Sept. 15 of the previous year to Sept. 15 of the current year. The ranking includes both residential and commercial treatments.
San Francisco was merely #5, which highlights the scope of the problem in LA.
Furthermore, the capital city of Sacramento has moved up on the Orkin list.
The city of Sacramento, which has been topping lists lately for skyrocketing housing prices, is also climbing the rankings on a national list for something else — rats.The Capital City ranked No. 29 on Orkin’s annual list of the top 50 “rattiest” cities in America — up seven spots from last year….In 2019, the city exterminated more than 100 rats that had infested a then-vacant River District lot surrounded by homeless encampments. The same year, rats infested the courtyard outside the California EPA building downtown, sparking a heated debate on how to get rid of them.
If these trends continue, COVID will be replaced by rat-borne diseases as the prevalent public health issue in the state.
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