We hate rats. It’s not because we think they’re creepy, though a lot of people do. It’s because, left uncontrolled, rats can be dangerous to your health. Rats can spread serious diseases to humans through contaminated food, urine and droppings, fleas and ticks, and rat bites. In short, rats make us sick.

Early in the 1900s, the Health Department, then called the Bureau of Health, paid a nickel for every dead rat people brought into its Rat Receiving Station. Thankfully, we no longer want your dead rats. 

But that doesn’t mean that we’re not working hard to get rid of rats right now. The Health Department’s award-winning Vector Control Services has been responding to thousands of complaints about rats every year for decades (call 215-685-9000 today if you’re concerned about rats on your property or in your neighborhood). 

Let’s face it, rats are a fact of life in every city in the world. Philadelphia is no different. Every year, the Health Department receives about 4,000 complaints from residents who are worried they might have rats. We investigate every single complaint and find that about 2,000 of them are actual rat problems. We then treat them and work with the residents to keep the problem and more rats from coming back. 

Can we do more? 

While rats may be a fact of life, that doesn’t mean we can’t do more to get rid of them. Which is why we are announcing the appointment of our new Rat Abatement Manager Adrian Jordan. 

Adrian is leading a team of Health Department inspectors who will go door-to-door in our most affected communities to see the extent of the problem, work to get rid of the rats, and provide information on how residents can join the fight against them. 

If we find that the problem is something that can best be dealt with by another City department, Adrian will be coordinating regular meetings with representatives from five other departments to reduce bureaucracy: 

• Community Life Improvement Program or CLIP
• Licenses and Inspections, Quality of Life
• Philadelphia Water Department
• Sanitation Department
• Streets Department 

Will this solve the problem? 

As much as we think that our Rat Abatement Program will help, we can’t do it alone. Adrian and the entire Health Department are asking you to join the fight against rats in Philly. Here are the four most important things you can do to help reduce the risk of rats in your neighborhood: 

• Don’t feed the rats. Keep trash in metal cans with tight-fitting lids.
• Don’t let them hide. Keep tall grass, bushes, garden rocks, and wood piles away from your home. Get rid of abandoned vehicles and appliances, where they can hide.
• Don’t let them into your home. Seal all openings that are bigger than a half inch, including around pipes, in walls, around and in windows and doors.
• Ask for help. Call 215-685-9000 if you see rats. Tell us the street address where you saw them and give us your contact information. 

Together, we can make sure our neighborhoods are the cleanest, greenest, and safest in America.