MTA to use birth-control bait to control rat population

The MTA has found a new way to fight rats in the subway system.

According to the Wall Street Journal, the transit agency, working with SenesTech Inc., is launching the first urban trial of a pest-control bait that makes rats permanently infertile.

After trying methods such as poison and eliminating trash cans in subway stations, the MTA is hoping this new method, which has worked in rural areas, will get rid of some of the subway rodents.

But urban rats are picky eaters compared to their rural counterparts and have more food choices, said the Wall Street Journal. For that reason, later this month SenesTech Inc. will start doing taste tests with the rodent birth control to see which flavors and smells are more appealing to the rats.