'2 Rats In 1 Year Can Become 15K': Swampscott Pilot Program Advocates Rodent Birth Control Over Poison

SWAMPSCOTT, MA — Swampscott animal advocate Deb Newman is looking forward to the implementation of a pilot program aimed at curbing the rat population in town without the gruesome collateral damage to dogs, coyotes, foxes and birds of prey that comes with using rodenticides.

Newman, president of Speak Up For Animals, said that the town will soon begin a pilot program using Evolve Rodent Birth Control, made by SenesTech, designed to stop the rapid reproduction of the rats.

“You may be relieved when your exterminator tells you he caught 50 rats at one site last month," SenesTech’s Vice President of Sales Bryan DiMenna said. "But if he's not getting close to 300 a week, then you'll never solve the problem.

"Just two rats in one year can become 15,000."

Newman said commonly used anticoagulant rodenticides are not only ineffective in solving the problem, but they cause a painful bleeding-out for rats and mice who consume the bait, and also doom birds of prey and other rodent predators to the same fate.

Newman said the rodent birth control is the most humane method of controlling rodent populations.

"We have to stop seeing wildlife as 'the enemy' and take responsibility for our own mess instead of blaming rodents for their natural attraction to trash and invitations into unsecured buildings," Newman said in a release to Patch.

She said Swampscott Director of Facilities Max Kasper approved the pilot program after a presentation at the Swampscott fire station. She said the program includes a free assessment of implementation plans for the Swampscott Middle School.

"Success is inevitable when three things happen," DiMenna said, "proper placement of bait stations,consistently timed bait replacement, and integrated pest management that includes public education regarding trash and other rodent attractants."

Newman said she is "thrilled" that Kasper and other town officials are receptive to the poison alternative.

"We need a smart, compassionate leader, not a (rat) czar," she said. "Killing and more killing perpetuates the notion that rodents are mere objects to clear out of our way. What an unethical message to give, especially to children, even as we read them bedtime stories about kind, playful, and industrious mice.

"And, obviously, the killing doesn't work."

(Scott Souza is a Patch field editor covering Beverly, Danvers, Marblehead, Peabody, Salem and Swampscott. He can be reached at Scott.Souza@Patch.com. X/Twitter: @Scott_Souza.)