Are rats really a bigger problem in Detroit?
Rat activity is widely reported in Detroit, but the numbers come from specific sources. Orkin's 2025 ranking of cities by its own residential rat calls put Detroit seventh, up from eighth a year earlier. One Troy-based pest firm reported a 36 percent rise in rat calls, though its causes were described as unclear.
Neither figure is a count of all rats in the city; they measure calls to those companies. The Orkin list covered calls from August 2024 to August 2025, and earlier lists placed Detroit ninth in 2023. The suggested reasons for the rise include empty properties, building demolitions and wetter-than-normal summers that thicken vegetation, but those are possibilities, not proven causes.
What homeowners can take from this is practical: rat pressure is real enough in Detroit that a technician will treat the whole property, not only the room where one was seen.
Do rats move when nearby buildings come down?
Residents quoted in news coverage say rats scatter into neighboring houses when a building next door is demolished. That is a report, not a rule, and it does not apply to every block. If an empty property sits next to yours, expect some rat pressure and take extra care with sealing and trash.
A building that is empty or being demolished can be a shelter and a food source, and when it goes, rats look for new cover. Occupied houses with garbage, bird feed or a gap at the foundation are the next likeliest spot.
Our guide to rats near vacant lots in Detroit goes through what residents and pest firms describe, and what the city's rules cover.
Who handles rats on a vacant or neglected property in Detroit?
The city's Buildings, Safety Engineering and Environmental Department (BSEED) has an Environmental Enforcement section that handles rat harborage under property-maintenance and solid-waste rules. It also runs a Rodent Impact Program for education. Residents can report problems through the Improve Detroit app, which has logged 21,990 rodent extermination requests since 2014.
A technician can treat your own property, but cannot enter a neighbor's. If the source is next door, a report to the city is the way to bring in the owner. Take a photo of burrows, uncollected trash or open doorways before you report, and mention the address.
City phone numbers change, so use the Improve Detroit app or the city website for the current contact route. We do not list a number here.
How do I stop rats coming back?
Remove what rats need: food, water and cover. Store garbage in lidded bins, pick up fallen fruit and bird seed, keep brush and woodpiles off the ground, and fix leaks. Then close the building, because rats come back through the same holes. Sealing and sanitation together do more than poison alone.
Rats use the same routes repeatedly and prefer cover. A bare strip beside the foundation, gravel rather than thick groundcover, and storage racks that lift material off the ground all make a yard less attractive.
Inside, look at the places where a Norway rat can enter at ground level: gaps under doors, damaged vents, old drains, and unused coal chutes. For houses with full basements, rodent exclusion is the part of the job that holds up longest.
- Use garbage cans with tight lids, and keep bags off the ground
- Do not leave pet food or bird seed outside overnight
- Cut back dense vegetation and stack wood off the ground
- Fix gaps at doors, vents, pipes and foundation cracks
