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NEWTON, Mass. (WBZ NewsRadio) – A city just west of Boston is trying to get its rodent problem under control by using contraception for rats.
Newton is hoping the world’s first and only rodent contraceptive registered with the Environmental Protection Agency will help the city after they’ve reported an uptick in rat sightings. Commissioner of Public Buildings for Newton Josh Morse said ContraPest is a safe kind of rat control method that stops the problem at the source.
“[It's a] better way of correcting the growth curve by interrupting the gestation cycle,” he explained. “There is no secondary impact to the fertility of any predators that might consume any of those rats, so it really is a very focused solution.”
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The birth control comes in liquid form that is housed in traditional bait boxes and is very tasty to rats. While the method is not as immediate as killing rats, Morse said it could help manage the population in the long run.
WBZ’s James Rojas (@JamesRojasNews) spoke with Morse:
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