Rat birth control coming to some Chicago neighborhoods
Chicago has held the title of rattiest city in America for one decade
CHICAGO (WLS) -- For the 10th consecutive year, Orkin dubbed Chicago the "rattiest" city in America in 2024.
Now, there is a new approach: rat birth control.
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The Wicker Park Bucktown Chamber of Commerce is sponsoring a more humane pilot program to try to control the neighborhoods' rat population.
Starting Tuesday, rat birth control will be installed in bait boxes in alleys behind several major commercial corridors in Wicker Park and Bucktown.
The birth control is an alternative to rat poison.
"Two rodents can become 15,000 in one year," said Bryan Dimenna, with SenesTech.
SenesTech has developed the new weapon in the war on rats.
The special service area for Wicker Park and Bucktown reached out to SenesTech to try out the boxes for the next three months.
"To replace the toxins and the poison that are currently not working in our alleyways with something that is more effective, safer for our environment, safer for our pets," said Alice Howe, with Special Service Area 33.
The birth control is cottonseed oil, which renders both male and female rats infertile.
"We see 61% reduction in the breeding population in one gestational cycle," Dimenna said. "People ask, if my dogs eat it, what's going to happen? They'd have to eat their body weight of material almost at every sitting for them to be rendered infertile, but it would not have a toxic effect on them."
One hundred bait boxes will be placed in alleys behind several major commercial corridors throughout Wicker Park and Bucktown.
They'll be checked regularly to see if rats have been eating the food.
"I would be ecstatic if that would work. To know that you didn't have to drop poison all over the alleys, No. 1, cause the dogs get into it," Wicker Park resident Tanya Lux said.
Even with this new rat abatement method, residents are encouraged to do their part by securing their food sources and keeping the alleys clean.
Chicago isn't the first major city to try this method. New York City was ranked third rattiest by Orkin.
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The company WISDOM Good Works is expected to partner with New York City in their attempt to manage and maintain the distribution of rat birth control.
"It's formulated to target the reproductive system of an animal the size of a rat. Anything that eats that rat will no longer be eating a poisoned meal," said Alaina Gonzalez-White, the director of operations at WISDOM Good Works.
PETA supports the initiative.
ABC News contributed to this report.
READ ALSO | Chicago holds title of rattiest city in America for 10th year in a row by Orkin pest control
