Original analysis, updated October 28, 2026
Columbus pest data
We pulled every pest-related request Columbus residents filed with 311 in 2024 and 2025, 25 years of daily weather from John Glenn airport, and Census housing data for 36 ZIP codes, and turned them into a Columbus pest calendar.
The Columbus pest year
How we built this- Avg. days with a daily mean of 50°F+ (NOAA, 2001 to 2025)
- Termite swarm season (spring)
- 5+ nights at 65°F or warmer: mosquito months
- 5+ freezing nights: mice move in
What Columbus calls 311 about
5,690 pest-related requests in two years, inside Columbus city limits. Bed bugs and rats make up most of them.
| Request type | City department | 2024 | 2025 | Both years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rat complaint (outside) | Public Health | 989 | 889 | 1,878 |
| Rodent infestation (code complaint) | Building and Zoning | 272 | 235 | 507 |
| Pest infestation, rental property (code complaint) | Building and Zoning | 351 | 406 | 757 |
| Bed bugs (code complaint) | Building and Zoning | 54 | 62 | 116 |
| Bed bug items, special refuse collection | Public Service | 1,029 | 1,172 | 2,201 |
| Standing water, mosquito breeding | Public Health | 102 | 129 | 231 |
Rat requests to Columbus 311 by month (outdoor rats and rodent code complaints)
Bed bug requests to Columbus 311 by month (item pickups and code complaints)
Communities with the most pest requests
| Columbus community | All pest requests | Rats | Bed bugs | Rental pests |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Greater Hilltop | 738 | 334 | 310 | 68 |
| North Linden | 550 | 276 | 218 | 43 |
| South Side | 447 | 208 | 171 | 50 |
| Mid East | 403 | 59 | 277 | 48 |
| Northland | 337 | 102 | 150 | 77 |
| South Linden | 263 | 120 | 113 | 27 |
| Clintonville | 252 | 192 | 38 | 12 |
| Far South | 248 | 54 | 160 | 17 |
| University District | 224 | 119 | 49 | 50 |
| Northwest | 217 | 147 | 32 | 26 |
| Near East | 213 | 82 | 86 | 34 |
| Far West | 181 | 132 | 28 | 9 |
Columbus 311 "Columbus community" areas in 2024 and 2025. Click a column to sort.
Insect-active days per month in Columbus (daily mean 50°F or warmer)
Warm nights per month, low of 65°F or warmer (peak mosquito nights)
Nights at 32°F or colder by month (when mice move indoors)
Average rainfall by month, Columbus John Glenn (inches)
What we found
- Rats are a summer call. Rat requests to 311 run about 153 in July against about 60 in December. 1,878 were outdoor rat complaints, which Columbus Public Health handles, and 507 were code complaints about a rodent infestation at a property.
- Bed bugs never take a season off. Bed bug requests stay above 69 a month all year and peak in late summer and fall, after move-in. The city did 2,201 special pickups of bed bug items in two years.
- Linden and the Hilltop lead. ZIP 43211 logs about 29 pest requests a year per 1,000 homes, the most of any ZIP we cover. Greater Hilltop and North Linden filed the most requests of any Columbus community.
- Freezes push mice inside. About 100 nights a year reach 32°F or colder at John Glenn. The median first fall freeze is October 29 and the last spring freeze April 16.
- A short, full bug season. 216 insect-active days a year, nearly all of May through September, and about 62 mosquito nights at 65°F or warmer, mostly June to August.
- Old, rented housing. In the 25 Columbus city ZIPs, 35% of homes were built before 1960 and 56% of occupied homes are rented. German Village (43206) has 56% built before 1940; the Short North (43201) is 83% renter occupied.
- Licensed applicators. ODA's applicator list (updated October 26, 2026) shows 1,085 commercial applicators with a Franklin County address: 290 hold category 10a general pest control, 96 hold 10b termite control and 135 hold 10d mosquito and vector control.
Insect-active days per year, Columbus John Glenn
All 36 ZIP codes
| ZIP | Area | Homes | Median year built | Built before 1960 | Renter occupied | 311 pest requests in 2024 and 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 43081 | Westerville | 28,986 | 1986 | 8% | 41% | 50 |
| 43123 | Grove City | 28,557 | 1994 | 14% | 26% | 66 |
| 43228 | Far West and Lincoln Village | 26,189 | 1986 | 15% | 56% | 147 |
| 43026 | Hilliard | 25,932 | 1995 | 9% | 32% | 143 |
| 43230 | Gahanna | 25,903 | 1987 | 6% | 40% | 31 |
| 43068 | Reynoldsburg | 25,651 | 1986 | 11% | 42% | 35 |
| 43229 | Northland | 23,250 | 1972 | 9% | 58% | 213 |
| 43207 | South Side and Far South | 21,304 | 1965 | 40% | 41% | 407 |
| 43235 | Far Northwest | 20,762 | 1987 | 3% | 50% | 164 |
| 43232 | Southeast and Groveport Road | 20,199 | 1975 | 11% | 61% | 175 |
| 43016 | Dublin (Bridge Street and west) | 20,106 | 2002 | 3% | 46% | 22 |
| 43204 | Hilltop and West Columbus | 19,418 | 1959 | 51% | 51% | 447 |
| 43224 | North Linden and Northland | 19,035 | 1961 | 48% | 48% | 433 |
| 43201 | Short North and Victorian Village | 18,126 | 1973 | 38% | 83% | 223 |
| 43213 | Whitehall | 17,326 | 1972 | 33% | 59% | 90 |
| 43017 | Dublin (east and Muirfield) | 16,873 | 1989 | 4% | 34% | 67 |
| 43221 | Upper Arlington | 15,438 | 1966 | 44% | 31% | 53 |
| 43215 | Downtown and Harrison West | 14,574 | 2004 | 25% | 80% | 93 |
| 43214 | Clintonville and Beechwold | 14,277 | 1955 | 59% | 38% | 203 |
| 43220 | Upper Arlington north and Kenny Road | 14,251 | 1975 | 14% | 49% | 76 |
| 43212 | Grandview and Fifth by Northwest | 13,806 | 1966 | 44% | 68% | 37 |
| 43219 | East Columbus and Easton | 13,304 | 1979 | 28% | 62% | 268 |
| 43082 | Westerville north and Genoa | 13,215 | 2000 | 5% | 13% | 1 |
| 43206 | German Village and Merion Village | 12,765 | 1938 | 75% | 51% | 321 |
| 43209 | Bexley and Eastmoor | 12,623 | 1956 | 59% | 42% | 49 |
| 43085 | Worthington | 11,171 | 1973 | 25% | 30% | 27 |
| 43227 | Far East and Berwick | 10,755 | 1960 | 52% | 48% | 224 |
| 43223 | Southwest Columbus and Valleyview | 10,688 | 1964 | 44% | 56% | 306 |
| 43202 | Clintonville south and Old North | 10,412 | 1951 | 62% | 70% | 145 |
| 43211 | North Linden and South Linden | 9,722 | 1951 | 67% | 59% | 564 |
| 43231 | Northeast and Minerva Park | 9,056 | 1978 | 10% | 46% | 54 |
| 43205 | Olde Towne East and Driving Park | 7,407 | 1938 | 77% | 63% | 163 |
| 43203 | Near East and King-Lincoln | 5,464 | 1958 | 52% | 69% | 101 |
| 43240 | Polaris | 3,831 | 2007 | 4% | 72% | 3 |
| 43222 | Franklinton | 2,369 | 1938 | 65% | 66% | 80 |
| 43210 | Ohio State campus | 234 | 1962 | 40% | 100% | 7 |
Area names are our shorthand for the main neighborhoods in each ZIP. Census ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates (tables B25034, B25035, B25003). 311 counts include only addresses inside Columbus city limits, so suburban ZIPs show few. Click a column to sort.
How we built this
311 requests. The City of Columbus publishes service requests from the last three years on its public map service (arc.columbus.gov, "All Service Requests, Last 3 Years"). We pulled every request of nine pest-related types on October 28, 2026 and counted the full calendar years 2024 and 2025. 2026 is left out because the layer holds far fewer 2026 requests of every type than a normal year, which points to a gap in the published data rather than a real drop.
Weather. NOAA NCEI Global Historical Climatology Network daily summaries for Columbus John Glenn International (station USW00014821), January 2001 to October 24, 2026. Yearly and monthly averages use the 25 complete years from 2001 to 2025. An insect-active day is one where the average of the daily high and low is 50°F or more.
Homes. US Census American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates by ZIP Code Tabulation Area, via Census Reporter.
Licenses. The Ohio Department of Agriculture's public Pesticide Applicator Search list, counted by the county on each applicator's record.
Limits. A 311 request is a complaint, not a confirmed infestation, and people in some neighborhoods call more than others. One airport station does not describe every ravine and riverbank. None of this tells you whether your house has a pest problem.
About this data
Where does this data come from?
NOAA NCEI daily weather summaries for Columbus John Glenn International (station USW00014821), City of Columbus 311 service requests from the city's public map service, the US Census American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates by ZIP code, and the Ohio Department of Agriculture's public list of licensed pesticide applicators.
Do the 311 numbers cover the suburbs?
No. Columbus 311 takes requests for addresses inside Columbus city limits. Suburbs such as Dublin and Westerville run their own services, so a suburban ZIP's 311 count only reflects the Columbus addresses inside it.
Why use 50°F as the line for insect activity?
Most insects develop slowly or not at all below about 50°F, and 50°F is the base temperature commonly used in degree-day models for insect development. A day with a mean of 50°F or more is a fair, simple marker of an active day.
Can I use these charts?
Yes. Anyone may cite or republish the charts and tables with a link to this page (CC BY 4.0).