New York City is hoping its newest job candidate has a "killer instinct" to best accomplish the role of a recent job posting on the city's website: Director of rodent mitigation.
Rat Trap Inc., a New York based-rodent trap business, estimates that for every four humans in New York City, there's a rat. Those numbers equate to 2 million rats scurrying around the city. For New York City officials, it's too many. The city recently posted a job listing seeking a director of rodent mitigation to combat the infestation. Whoever is hired for the position could earn up to $170,000 a year, however one local rodent expert is warning the potential employee that the city will ultimately lose the war against the rodents.
"New York City will not win," Ernie Schicchi, a pest control expert specializing in rodents, said in a New York Post article published Friday. "Too much has to happen everywhere at once. The rats are going to win."
New York City boasts a prime environment for rats with the city's accumulation of garbage, waste material and access to water. In 2014, Animal Planet named The Big Apple the "Worst Rat City in The World." Since the designation, thousands of city inspections have failed when checked for active rat signs, equating to 12 percent of all initial inspections.
To control the problem, Schicchi said humans will have to outsmart the rats, a task that is harder than it seems.
"Rats are very smart, very resourceful and they learn very quickly," Schicchi added.
New York City's job posting acknowledged the seemingly impossible task by calling the job a 24/7 endeavor "requiring stamina and stagecraft."
"The ideal candidate is highly motivated and somewhat bloodthirsty, determined to look at all solutions from various angles, including improving operational efficiency, data collection, technology innovation, trash management, and wholesale slaughter," the job posting reads.
The posting asks a lot of its ideal candidate, requiring them be a New York City resident, have a bachelor's degree in public policy or related fields, at least five years of experience, strong organizational skills, and a slew of other requirements.
Along with the accomplishing the city's requirements, the candidate will have to be willing to combat the rat infestation in myriad ways, according to Schicchi. To combat the infestation, Schicchi suggests covering rat burrows, coating garbage cans in bleach, spraying chemicals that eliminate odors, set out a bait station and regularly change the bait sources and covering rat entryways with copper wire mesh and diamond mesh steel.
The tasks could be never-ending for a city of millions of people and rats alike, the latter of which adapt quickly to survive, according to Schicchi.
Newsweek reached out to New York City Mayor's Office for comment.
Uncommon Knowledge
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Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
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Anna Skinner is a Newsweek senior reporter based in Indianapolis. Her focus is reporting on the climate, environment and weather ... Read more
