MTA: Birth control to fight subway rat infestation
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NEW YORK (MYFOXNY) -
The MTA says it's launching the first urban trial of pest-control bait that induces permanent infertility in rats.
The product has been successful in rural areas, lowering rodent populations without harming other animals, crops or humans.
However, the bait used must taste better than the pizza crusts, Chinese takeout, cold French fries and other foods lying all over the subway – otherwise the rodents won't eat it.
Arizona-based SenesTech Inc, who makes the bait, will attempt to try different flavors. The co-founder SenesTech said they will launch a rodent taste test in different subway trash rooms. The scientists will spread birth-control bait of different flavors and scents.
A company scientist says female rats start breeding at four months old and give birth to litters of a half-dozen offspring about four times per year. That means any poison has to outpace reproduction.
An NYC Transit official said dead rats don't necessarily mean fewer rats and by lowering the competition for food, good poisons can make the survivors more healthy and fertile, which can lead to a rebound in the rat population.
The official said rats eventually outsmart even the best poisons.
Tuesday, May 21 2013 1:15 PM EDT2013-05-21 17:15:24 GMT
An NYPD detective is accused of hacking into department computers and obtaining information about dozens of people including co-workers. Edwin Vargas was arrested Tuesday outside his home in Bronxville.
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The MTA says limited service will resume this afternoon on Metro-North and Amtrak trains between New York and New Haven.
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A New Jersey priest who resigned after admitting he worked unsupervised with kids despite a legal agreement that barred him from doing so is headed to court.
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The New York jury on which Caroline Kennedy served has acquitted a man of dealing crack cocaine. Kennedy was juror No. 7 at the trial of Harlem resident Nelson Chatman.
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The Metropolitan Opera says it's decided to disband its resident ballet company.
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Looking for some waterfront property in tony Greenwich? A 50-acre compound known as Copper Beach Farm has hit the market with an asking price of $190 million.
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