Philadelphia now has a rat czar.
Mayor Cherelle Parker’s administration on Wednesday appointed Adrian Jordan as the city’s rat abatement manager, a newly created position.
“I’ve worked to fight rats in Philadelphia for more than 20 years, and I am looking forward to being able to work directly with colleagues from departments across the city to ensure that we are properly prioritizing this,” said Jordan, a longtime health department employee, in a statement.
His first task will be conducting door-to-door surveys in the Oxford Circle and Castor Gardens sections of Northeast Philadelphia, officials said.
City Council, at the behest of Anthony Phillips, of the 9th District, adopted a resolution earlier this month calling on the administration to treat a growing rodent infestation in those neighborhoods as “an urgent public health and quality-of-life emergency.”
The Philadelphia Department of Public Health, in a news release Wednesday, said that “despite the recent online and media buzz… the city has found no documented rise in confirmed rat complaints.”
Health officials said the department receives about 4,000 reports about rats each year, about half of which are founded.
In the early 1900s, Philadelphia paid individuals 25 cents for every dead rat brought to a receiving station, according to a recent blog post on the city’s website. That incentive is no longer in place, and Jordan will be charged with working with a host of city departments to coordinate rat elimination efforts.
Anyone who sees a rat is encouraged to call the city's vector control at 215-685-9000.
To decrease rodent activity, the health department recommends residents keep trash in metal cans with tight-fitting lids; keep tall grass, bushes, rocks and wood piles away from their property; remove abandoned vehicles and appliances; and seal all openings that are bigger than a half-inch.
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