Exclusive | Quirky rat whisperer takes NYC visitors on guided tours of the citys worst rodent hot spots: Theyre sort of little monsters, but also sort of cute

You could call it rata-tour-y.New York City has always been at war with rats, from when they jumped from ship to shore in the 18th century to the city’s anti-rat campaign today.Over many decades, the reviled brown rodent has burrowed deep into the Big Apple’s collective psyche — they were even referenced in a recent episode of “And Just Like That” where Carrie Bradshaw screams as rats scurry past in her backyard.Thankfully, there has emerged a lone hero who braves Gotham’s vermin plague to educate the masses and reduce the fright factor: Suzanne Reisman, leader of the Garbage & Rats in NYC walking tour.Clad in fuzzy, faux rat ears like a bizarro Mouseketeer, the varmint savant takes guests through some of the city’s most rat-infested sites while spilling retch-worthy facts on the critters’ habits, à la a sanitation history lesson meets an urban wildlife safari.“Rats love to go up to the poop!” she enthused to entranced rodent tourists during a recent tour as she discussed the delicacy of canine excrement.“They’ll kick through it, find the undigested kibble,” she explained to the curious crowd.

“I mean, dog poop is disgusting, but anyway, I do not ever pass by dog poop anymore without thinking, ‘Oh, it’s a rat snack.'”Since the tour opened in April, curious city visitors and locals alike have been clamoring to see the Big Apple’s trash-loving mascot.“There has been a lot of interest,” Reisman told The Post of the popular, frankly skin-crawling experience, which costs $40 per person.“I sold out two tours and filled the waitlists during Jane’s Walk,” she said of a recent excursion coinciding with the annual festival of community-led walking conversations.“I wasn’t sure that people would show up for a Sunday night tour in the rain, but they did!”On the two-hour foray through lower Manhattan, guests learned how the Norway rat — a misnomer, as they hail from Asia, Reisman explained — hitched a ride here on Hes...