Name: Why California’s Rat Problem Keeps Growing | Panel
Uploaded: 2026-07-25T16:23:19.000Z
Description: For years, this looked like a story about weather, or growth, or the number of people on the street. Those are part of it. But the people who deal with rodents for a living say something else changed, too, and it narrowed what they can do about the rats.

Siyamak Khorrami has been the general manager and chief editor of the Southern California edition of The Epoch Times since 2017. He is also the host of the “California Insider” show, which showcases leaders and professionals across the state with inside information about trending topics and critical issues in California.

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California, as the wealthiest and most populated state in the nation, carries many leading roles in policy making, economic growth, cultural influences and technology development. California Insider, hosted by Siyamak Khorrami with The Epoch Times Southern California, showcases leaders and professionals across the state with inside information about trending topics and critical issues. Our mission is to inform California residents through the experiences and knowledge of our guests. 

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Why California’s Rat Problem Keeps Growing | Panel

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Rats are showing up where Californians live, eat, and park. They’re in restaurants and grocery stores, in the walls of single-family homes, and under the hoods of parked cars, chewing through wiring that costs thousands to repair.

It’s happening in Los Angeles and San Francisco, and it’s reaching smaller cities like Auburn that never expected to deal with it.

For years, this looked like a story about weather, or growth, or the number of people on the street. Those are part of it. But the people who deal with rodents for a living say something else changed, too, and it narrowed what they can do about the rats.

We sit down with Travis Mickel, president of the California Pest Management Association and a manager at Clark Pest Control, along with Jake Plevelich of CAPMA and pest control business owner Simon McKeown.

They walk through why the problem has gotten harder and more expensive to control, and who ends up paying for it. What they take away from it isn’t the lesson most people would expect.

<em>Views expressed in this video are the opinions of the host and the guests and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Epoch Times.</em>

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