Rats

Ew! Rat Ranks to Continue Rising in the City This Summer

Expect more rats
Expect more rats Photo: Yortw/Flickr

Some good news and more bad news related to Green Eggs Cafe’s Center City location and its unfortunate rat problems are surfacing today. First the good. The cafe’s owners are keeping it closed until crews fix the broken sewer pipe that’s been cited as the cause of the recent rodent infestation. According to NBC Philly, owner Steven Slaughter has obtained the work permits necessary to begin digging up the street and sidewalk to replace the broken pipe. That reports also mentions that Green Eggs was inspected by the Philadelphia Office of Food Protection three times last year, and with each one, only minor violations were cited, which, we guess, is encouraging. But here comes the bad news.

As we mentioned yesterday, the City of Philadelphia, like most other metropolises, is overrun with rats, mice, bugs and all kinds of mean, nasty, and ugly creepy crawlers, and there’s not a whole lot anyone can do about that. What’s really disconcerting though, the Philadelphia Public Health Department says its rat hotline has received upwards of 210 more complaints about rats than this time last year. That confirms that rat populations here are on the rise. Even more worrisome, as summer rolls around, the health department expects to hear even more complaints about rats, as their number swell in warmer months. What’s more, history shows that the rat ranks grow even bigger with the arrival of 17-year cicadas, which is going to happen in any second.

Rat Reports on the Rise in Philadelphia [NBC Philly]

Earlier: Oh Rats! Broken Pipe Sends a Flood of Rodents Into Green Eggs Cafe

Ew! Rat Ranks to Continue Rising in the City This Summer