Superior rodent management is critical to preserve the diversity of wildlife, and to mitigate environmental and social damage. Pest management strategies can employ 21st century methods to balance the human-animal conflict, especially regarding rodents. Non-toxic fertility control has several advantages over the use of poison when the following parameters are true: 1) rate of removal exceeds rate of population increase; 2) compounds do not bioaccumulate in the rodents or the environment; 3) non-lethal method targets both males and females; 4) animals can be detected at low densities; 5) cost analysis favors fertility control over lethality; 6) method has socio-political acceptance. Our fertility control system meets each of these requirements. Utilizing plant-root-based extracts from Tripterygium wilfordii Hook F, we have formulated a proprietary rodent feed pellet that is efficacious in reducing mice and rat populations in multiple settings. The pellets target rodents with a population reduction capacity of 98% that is sustainable over 12 months. The cost of the pellet solution is less than 90% of other fertility control products, and less than 47% of poison products. The functional key to the success of fertility-control approaches is optimizing feeding protocols to achieve maximum population reduction. We have developed an application-based system to provide sustainable cost-effective management. The monitoring system captures consumption and feeder service data. Point-of-entry data validation is enforced. Compliance with the service program is monitored and configurable alerts are issued for outlying events. These data are ingested into a data analytics engine which generates real-time dashboards for oversight and analysis. Administrative features provide user management, project definition and configuration. In-line instructional documentation and pellet supply order forms provide support for field technicians. As a 501(c)3 non-profit charity we are funded by Open Philanthropy to provide the rigorous data sets presented: a 21st century solution to rodent management.

Rat population control is complicated by the rapid evolution of non-responsiveness to rodenticide treatment within populations. Population control using contraceptives could mitigate evolved resistance if non-responsiveness to contraceptives evolves more slowly than non-responsiveness to rodenticides. Our presentation has two parts. First, we use an age-dependent demographic model and classic data from natural populations to explore how contraceptives may control rat population size. We show that: (a) fertility reduction applied early in female lifetimes is effective in controlling rat population growth, and (b) is effective in controlling rat populations that are expanding. Consistent with model predictions, (c) field application of contraceptive bait decreased the total number of rats and the proportion of juvenile to adult rats observed in camera traps over a one-year urban study. Secondly, we illustrate a method for delaying and possibly eliminating the evolution of non-responsiveness to pest control treatments. We show that: (a) using simulations and estimates of the variance in relative fitness, the selection responsible for the evolution of non-responsiveness to pesticides and sterility-inducers resembles sexual selection, and therefore (b) can be orders of magnitude stronger than that for untreated populations. In contrast, (c) when contraceptives are used to reduce the fertility of a pest species, with non-responders embedded within such populations, the opportunity for selection favoring non-responsiveness is reduced to that occurring by chance alone. Our results indicate that contraceptives are more effective at controlling pest populations and slowing the evolution of non-responsiveness than treatments that cause sterilization or death in target species, findings with significant implications for the management of pest and pathogen species through fertility control.