Rat birth control rolls out in NYC this month. What to know about the city's new strategy for reducing rodents
New York City is preparing to roll out an unconventional strategy for tackling its rodent problem: rat birth control.
The city says its pilot program goes into effect April 26, distributing pellets to select rat mitigation zones beginning in Harlem.
Reducing NYC's rat problem
"Two rats in a given year can reproduce 15,000 descendants," New York City Councilmember Shaun Abreu said. "We have to go at the source."
As chair of the sanitation committee, he led the successful push for Flaco's Law, the rat contraceptive initiative named for the beloved owl that died last year after consuming rat poison.
Abreu estimates zones could start seeing a difference in as little as six months.
How rat birth control works
"We know these pellets are going to be attractive to rats because they're sweet. There's a compound in it called triptolide that targets ovarian function in female rats and sperm production in male rats," he said.
Animal welfare organizations including PETA have shared support for the program's mission to keep poison out of the mouths of pets and wildlife.
The New York City Department of Health and Hygiene says Flaco's Law will work in tandem with existing containerization rules, which they say have helped bring down 311 complaints of rat sightings citywide, down 24% year-over-year in January 2025 compared to January 2024.
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