Bay Village and the South End are, respectively, the second- and third-most rodent-infested neighborhoods this year in the city, ranking only behind the top-ranked downtown neighborhood, while the Back Bay came in fifth on the list, according to a recent study released by RentHop, an online resource for apartment rentals.
Behind downtown, with 451 complaints in 2021 (or 727.4 complaints per square mile), Bay Village had 22 complaints (or 550 complaints per square mile) and South End, 298 complaints (or 402.7 complaints per square mile). Fifth-placed Back Bay had 93 complaints (150 complaints per square mile), just behind the fourth-placed North End, with 58 complaints in 2021(or 290 complaints per square mile).
Bay Village also saw the greatest increase in the rodent complaints from last year – a 100-percent increase – with 22 this year, compared with 11 in 2020.
The South End, meanwhile, saw the fourth-greatest increase in rodent complaints – a 34.8-percent spike – with 298 complaints in 2021, as opposed to 221 last year.
(In contrast, Allston saw the greatest decrease in rodent complaints 56.6) , with 124 this year as opposed to 286 in 2020.)
One South End location – 214 Northampton St. – was tied with 40-42 Ashford St. for third on the list of the most rodent-infested addresses in the city in 2021, with seven complaints a piece.
(The most-rodent infested was 130 Endicott St. in the North End, with 12 complaints in 2021.)
“After a tough year with rats roaming around, we have some good news for Bostonians – 311 reports involving rodent activity are down 10 percent this year,” according to RentHop. “As of November 10, Boston 311 received 3,225 rodent activity reports in 2021, which translates to 4.71 complaints per 1,000 population.”