No audio available for this content.
Flagstaff, Ariz.-based SenesTech Inc., a developer of technologies for managing animal pest populations through fertility control, reports progress on current deployment and site updates for fertility control in Washington, D.C.
“SenesTech agreed to provide a camera to DC Health in August 2019 to obtain information on how the rat populations in an alley in Adams Morgan was responding to ContraPest,” says Brandy Pyzyna, VP of scientific operations. “The camera is programmed to take photographs to determine if the number of juveniles decreased over time. This is a rapid way to determine if fertility control is working.”
After collaboratively reviewing all data points, DC Health saw 61 percent average consumption at the Adams Morgan alley, reports SenesTech. Preliminary camera data indicates a 77 percent reduction in the proportion of juveniles to adults after the addition of ContraPest to DC Health’s current rodent control program. According to SenesTech, this indicates that the rat population is decreasing with the consumption of ContraPest.
“We are pleased with the progress and collaboration in our partnership with DC Health, and we will continue to work with their team as they continue and expand the use of ContraPest,” says Kenneth Siegel, SenesTech’s CEO.
ContraPest targets the reproductive capabilities of both sexes in rat populations, inducing egg loss in female rats and impairing sperm development in males. Using a bait delivery method, ContraPest is dispensed in a palatable liquid formulation that promotes sustained consumption by rat communities. According to SenesTech, ContraPest is designed, formulated and dispensed to be low hazard for handlers and non-target species such as wildlife, livestock and pets, where the active ingredients break down rapidly.
