This community is trying something new to keep rat numbers down: birth control

By Ari Daniel

Published August 19, 2025 at 4:45 PM EDT

No one wants rats scurrying about their neighborhood. But they're a cunning and evasive foe. Now, a community near Boston is trying their luck with a different approach: rat birth control.

Related Content

Too much to pack, not enough hugs: A Kenyan man's last 48 hours in America

Sergio Martínez-Beltrán

Samuel Kangethe has lived in the U.S. for nearly two decades, but an unresolved immigration case has made him deportable. He's decided to return to Kenya, leaving his wife and three children behind.
The International Association of Chiefs of Police calls for more transparency from ICE

Ari Shapiro

The International Association of Chiefs of Police has issued two resolutions focused on ICE agents' use of face masks and heated comments around policing coming from influential leaders. Ari Shapiro speaks with Terrence Cunningham, a retired police chief and head of the IACP.
New Yorkers are in the middle of their once-a-decade tree census

Daniel Ofman

Every 10 Years, New York City counts all its trees.
A Palestinian survivor in the U.S. legally fears he isn't safe as he seeks asylum

Jane Arraf

A Gaza scholar at Yale lost his wife, children and mother in Israeli airstrikes. He's fighting to stay in the United States.
Trump says he'll expand his focus on crimes to other Democratic-led cities

Mariah Woelfel

President Trump has threatened Democratic-run cities, like Chicago and Oakland, that if they don't "learn their lesson" and "clean-up" crime, he will get involved. But leaders of these cities say they are doing the work to reduce crime in ways that will make a lasting impact.

You make NHPR possible.

NHPR is nonprofit and independent. We rely on readers like you to support the local, national, and international coverage on this website. Your support makes this news available to everyone.

Give today. A monthly donation of $5 makes a real difference.