The effort is meant to cut down on rat population while also cutting down on the risks that rat poison poses to pets and the environment.
For the last ten years, pest control company Orkin has crowned Chicago the "rattiest" city in America, with plenty of "infrastructure and environment" like alleys that offer rats plenty of hiding places and garbage they can eat.
And while the city has a rodent abatement program, Chicago keeps winning the unfortunate honor. But a new pilot program in one of the city's most popular neighborhoods could help to break the streak: Rat birth control.
Beginning Monday, the Wicker Park Bucktown Chamber of Commerce will install bait boxes with "Evolve" -- which acts as rat birth control -- in alleys behind several major commercial corridors, according to an announcement.
The initiative is led by Special Service Area No. 33 Program Manager Alice Howe, the announcement said. The effort is meant to help control the neighborhood's rat population, curb the damage rat burrows can cause and cut down on the risks rat poison poses to pets and the environment, the announcement said.
According to officials, "Evolve" is considered a low-risk pesticide that lowers rats' fertility when they eat it.
Chicago isn't the first city to attempt to crack down on the rat population using a birth control pilot.
In 2024, New York City Council passed a bill to deploy a rat contraceptive pill program, according to reports.
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“For no less than 12 months immediately after the deployment of the rat contraceptive, the department shall perform monthly inspections of each pilot program area and each pilot program comparison area,” the bill said. “During such monthly inspections of the pilot program areas, the department shall track the amount of rat contraceptive in each rat contraceptive dispenser.”
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