NYC’s latest tourist attraction: RATS! Tour guides offer trips to worst rodent-infested parts of the Big Apple – as thousands tune into TikToks of vermin population that’s exploded across city

The Big Apple is now so infested with pests that rats have become a part of tourists’ must-see attractions.

A form of “rat tourism” is now on the itineraries of visitors to New York City, and there’s no shortage of venues, with everything from Times Square to Central Park and the city’s subway system all suitable for a bizarre kind of rat safari.

The rat infestation has gotten so bad that the city’s mayor, Eric Adams, last year appointed a “rat sar” with the official title of “rodent control director” – but things don’t seem to have improved as the rodents continue to thrive.

One TikTok creator, Kenny Bollwerk, has built a sizable following of 234,000 users who focuses on the most “appealing” places for tourists to visit after he began livestreaming rats running around outside a building site in Queens.

He’s now posted a number of videos focusing entirely on the furry creatures that continue to run their own rat race in the country’s most populous city.

Some tourists are now seeking rat-related experiences with guides, including stops at notorious infested locations

“I thought, ‘Damn, this is bad. People walk by, rats run over people’s feet, there are piles of garbage on the sidewalk,” he said. The guard.

He urged viewers to file complaints with the city’s 311 service, which deals with rat infestations — and in some cases his efforts paid off.

“We probably had a hundred complaints in one night at this one place, and eventually the city came along to remove the rats from the construction site.”

While 36-year-old Bollwerk wasn’t particularly fond of the creatures at first, he’s spurred on by the thousands of viewers who are full-fledged rat enthusiasts.

‘I’m afraid of them. Every time someone comes running towards me, I jump. I don’t want them near me,’ Bollwerk said.

TikTok creator Kenny Bollwerk, 36, was initially not fond of the creatures, but was spurred on by his thousands of viewers who are rat lovers and enjoy his live streams

Bollwerk also believes his shorts will ultimately help residents living in rat-infested neighborhoods, while urging viewers to call the city to address the problem.

Tourists now accompany Bollwerk as he searches for places to film the rats

His viewers have both advised him where to go to live stream the scurrying rats, while some have even joined him on his tours of the city.

“I have had a daughter and a father, and a husband and wife go with me. Whatever you can think of: entrepreneurs have joined me in my search. There have been people from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania; St. Louis, Missouri; Oklahoma city; Vancouver, Canada; Los Angeles. It’s crazy how much this brings people together’, explains Bollwerk.

Initially, he started going out three to five times a week. There is no shortage of locations where city rats can be found.

The rodents can squeeze under fences and through cracks in sidewalks.

Rats several feet high can be found outside restaurants where the rubbish can often pile up, while outdoor food sheds also provide a refuge.

Bollwerk is convinced that his short films will ultimately not only provide entertainment, but will also help residents living in rat-infested neighborhoods.

A rat searched for food on a sidewalk on 23rd Street near 6th Avenue in New York last month

A rat climbs out of a box of food on the platform of the Herald Square tube station

A rat sticks its head out of a garbage can while hunting for food at Bogardus Plaza in Tribeca

Last month, Kathleen Corradi, New York City’s “rat nerd,” found widespread support for the city’s efforts to rid the streets of vermin as the Big Apple celebrated its first-ever “anti-rat day of action.”

“The fact that it raises awareness and helps people in their neighborhood – I think that’s what keeps me doing it. And because of that I meet so many nice people that I never would have met,” he said.

New York City leaders have been trying to control the rodent population for generations, with mixed results, but rat sightings in parks, sidewalks and other places around the city have increased and things have only gotten worse since the pandemic.

Under former mayor Bill de Blasio, rats survived a multimillion-dollar effort aimed at reducing their numbers through more trash pick-ups and better housing inspections in targeted neighborhoods.

The city even launched a program to use dry ice to suffocate rats in their shelters, but the rats still persist.

City officials claim they are winning the war against rats, with Kathleen Corradi being designated rat tsar of the city.

In fact, in June, the mayor’s office reported a 15 percent drop in rat sightings compared to 2022.

The rats know that the garbage cans are a haven for disposable food

It is not uncommon to see rats jumping into open garbage cans on city streets

The city also ‘celebrated’ anti-rat day by posting an ‘Interactive Rat Map’ on the city’s website

The mayor introduced a “rat control zone” in Harlem earlier this year, which would invest $3.5 million in ridding the neighborhood of rodents

In areas where rats are known to be common, “rat control zones” have been designated where officials enter rat poison while fining businesses or homeowners if they do anything that could encourage rats to thrive.

Restaurants have also been told to put all food waste in containers rather than directly into garbage bags, in the hope that the added barrier will make life more difficult for the rodents.

The city also launched its first ‘Interactive rat map’ with the Upper East Side, Upper West Side, and Harlem showing the most “rativity” in Manhattan, while Greenwich Village, East Village, SoHo, and Lower East showed some of the least.

“New York City used to be known for our mean streets, but in the future we will be known for our clean streets,” Adams promised at the beginning of the summer.

Time will tell if Adams can live up to his promise, but for now the rats rule.