Science & Nature
Albany Park to Join Growing List of Chicago Communities Putting Rats on Birth Control
(Nigel Harris / iStock)
Last year, Chicago lost its unofficial title as America’s “rattiest city.” Now, the push is on to see how low its ranking can go.
The North River Commission (NRC), a North Side nonprofit community and economic development corporation, is the latest organization to pilot the use of rat birth control in its service area.
The trial is set to get underway in late October, initially focused on a stretch of Lawrence Avenue in Albany Park that’s dense with restaurants, according to Farah El-Nahal, an economic development specialist with the North River Commission and manager of Special Service Area (SSA) No. 60.
SSAs are local tax districts that collect additional property taxes — typically along commercial corridors — to fund services such as snow removal, landscaping and litter cleanup, as well as oversight of programs including facade improvements and promotional events.
In meetings with her counterparts, El-Nahal learned of a rat birth control trial in Wicker Park, which kicked off in 2025 and expanded in 2026. SSA No. 60 shares some common vendors with Wicker Park and they told El-Nahal they’d seen fewer rats, prompting her to consider the option. A similar trial is also ongoing in Lincoln Park.
The birth control alternative is appealing for a number of reasons, she said.
For one, people are frustrated with the number of rats, but traditional poisons don’t seem to be effective in reducing the rat population, El-Nahal said. At the same time, those poisons are causing unintentional deaths in other wildlife.
“People want this option: to reduce rats in a more ethical way,” she said.
A social media post announcing the pilot generated a lot of interest, according to El-Nahal, and also a lot of questions, particularly about possible negative effects on pets and wildlife such as squirrels.
NRC is using the same vendor and product as Wicker Park, she said: SenesTech’s Evolve, which is formulated only to affect the fertility of rats.
In advance of launching the program, NRC is recruiting volunteers to help deploy the bait and check traps weekly in the pilot area, which will run from Central Park to Spaulding avenues along Lawrence Avenue, and Leland to Lawrence avenues on Kimball Avenue (covering the CTA Kimball Brown Line station).
NRC has purchased enough bait to last four to five months, El-Nahal estimated, and has more money in its 2027 budget to continue the trial.
In order for the bait to be effective, it’s important to maintain a steady supply and monitor its uptake, according to SenesTech.
El-Nahal said NRC is considering sending out monthly surveys to the community to see if rat sightings are decreasing.
Rodent birth control works alongside other rat abatement techniques such as reducing available food sources, sealing up entry points. This type of integrated pest management has become standard practice, but has been lacking in Chicago, according to a recent Inspector General report.
People interested in volunteering with the North River Commission project should call the office at 773-478-0202 or email [email protected].
Contact Patty Wetli: [email protected]
