Commercial pest control leads from health inspections

Every Monday: groceries, daycares, schools and restaurants near your shop that a Chicago inspector wrote up under violation 38 (pests noted, door gaps or log books), NYC restaurants cited for rats, mice, roaches or flies, NYC buildings that failed a rat inspection, and new food and child-care licenses.

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Chicago and New York City ZIPs. In New York you can also type your pest company's name. Each line links to the government record.

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What's in the list

Violation 38 write-ups Chicago

Violation 38 is the city's insects, rodents and animals item. You get the place, the inspector's words, Pass or Fail, whether pests were noted or it was a door gap or a log book, and whether the license failed with violation 38 earlier in the year.

148 places in 4 weeks, pests noted at 67

New food and child-care licenses Chicago

Retail food and children's services licenses the city issued, with the license holder's company name.

104 new licenses in 4 weeks

Pest citations and rat inspections New York City

Restaurants cited by NYC Health for rats, mice, roaches or flies (codes 04K–04N), with the phone on the record, and privately owned commercial or 4+-unit apartment buildings that failed a rat inspection, with the owner of record when it is a company.

751 restaurants and 2,077 buildings in 4 weeks

Source: City of Chicago, all ZIP codes, counted by the pestcite engine from city records, Oct 5 – Nov 1, 2026; data as of Nov 8, 2026. Records: Food Inspections, Business Licenses. How we count

Source: New York City, five boroughs, counted by the pestcite engine from city records, Oct 5 – Nov 1, 2026; data as of Nov 8, 2026. Records: DOHMH New York City Restaurant Inspection Results, Rodent Inspection, Primary Land Use Tax Lot Output. How we count

Groceries, hospitals and daycares rank above restaurants with the same write-up

Your list ranks places that are not restaurants above restaurants with the same kind of write-up. In 4 weeks, 44 of the 148 Chicago places with a violation 38 write-up were not restaurants:

Chicago violation 38 places that are not restaurants, by type
Grocery stores17
Children's facilities12
Schools4
Hospitals3
Long-term care1
Other7
Not restaurants44

Chains are marked national account and ranked lower. So are schools run by the Chicago Public Schools district (1 of the 4 schools): they are public bodies, not businesses. New licenses are the other early signal: 104 in the same weeks. A new license is not always a new business, and the line says when the records point to a change of owner.

In New York the NYC Health file holds restaurants only, so the lines that are not restaurants are buildings: of the 2,170 buildings that failed a rat inspection in 4 weeks, churches, schools and hospitals included, 1,487 name a company as owner of record.

Restaurants are still on the list. The thing to watch is repeat offenders. Pavado, a pest-marketing blog, puts it this way:

“Operators are close to unanimous that chasing failed restaurants is a trap, because a place with repeat violations rarely changes without new management.”

Pavado, Pest Control Leads Without Buying, Sep 2, 2026

So a Chicago line that is a repeat says so, for example 3rd Fail with violation 38 in 2026, linked to the city's own count, and you can tell a first write-up from a place that keeps failing.

How to call without sounding like an ambulance chaser

A record is a reason to say hello, not a request for service. Nobody on the list asked for a quote.

A first call, word for word:

“Hi, I'm [name] with [your company], a few blocks from you. The city posted an inspection record for your store from [date]. We look after [groceries] near here. If it would help, I can stop by and take a look.”

More, including the CAN-SPAM rules if you email: How to use a record without looking like an ambulance chaser

Price

$149/month per territory.

Founding firms pay $79/month for 12 months (first 20 firms). 14-day free trial, no card: you get 2 Monday lists before you decide.

In lead terms, $149/month buys 2 to 3.7 commercial pest leads from Google Local Services Ads at $40–75 per lead (Blue Grid Media, Mar 21, 2026, fetched Nov 7, 2026), and the founding price 1.1 to 2. An LSA lead is a caller who already wants service; this list is the places you choose to call. Win 1 to 2 restaurant preventive contracts at $100–300/month (The Restaurant Owner's Guide, a restaurant cash-advance site's blog, May 16, 2026, fetched Nov 7, 2026) and the list price is covered.

How many records: it depends on the area, so look up your ZIP above. In our Chicago test areas (3 mi around ZIP 60622, 60640, 60617 and 60644) the median week had 7.5 (range 1 to 22). In our NYC test areas (2 mi around ZIP 10027, 10002, 11211 and 10456; 3 mi around ZIP 11354 and 10301) it had 90.5, mostly rat inspections.

Source: pestcite engine lists for test territories in Chicago and New York City, every published complete week, Sep 28 – Nov 1, 2026; data as of Nov 8, 2026. Records: Food Inspections, Business Licenses, DOHMH New York City Restaurant Inspection Results, Rodent Inspection. How we count

Questions

Is every violation 38 write-up a pest sighting?

No. In 4 weeks of Chicago records, the inspector noted pests at 67 of the 148 places with a violation 38 write-up. The rest were door gaps, proofing or a missing pest-control log book. Each line says which, and gives the result: Pass, Pass w/ Conditions or Fail.

Do I get a phone number?

For NYC restaurants, yes: the business phone on the NYC Health record. Chicago records carry no phone; you get the address and the license holder's company name. NYC buildings show the owner of record from NYC PLUTO when it is a company. We never print a person's name.

Are NYC citations final?

No. The NYC Health file holds citations that are upheld or not yet decided, and some are dismissed later. Restaurants that close drop out of it.

How fresh is the list?

Cities post records days or weeks after the inspection. So each Monday list covers the newest complete week that ended at least a week before, and every line shows its inspection or license date.

All questions · Is it legal to use these records? · Where the data comes from

Get next Monday's list for your area

One free email next Monday with the newest complete week of city records near your shop, each with its record link. We cover Chicago and New York City for now.