Washington DC is launching a $130,000 pilot program aimed at reducing the city's rat population through a unique approach involving birth control. The initiative will begin in the Adams Morgan neighborhood, which has a high concentration of restaurants and, consequently, rats. DC Health will utilize a combination of edible fertility-control bait and traditional lethal methods over a three-week period, coinciding with the rat gestation cycle. The program aims to eliminate adult rats using poison and prevent future births with a liquid contraceptive. If successful, the city plans to extend the program to Barracks Row and Chinatown. This is not the first attempt at using birth control for rat control in the U.S.; New York previously tried a similar method in 2013, but it was unsuccessful. However, advancements in technology have prompted renewed interest in such strategies, as noted by New York's Deputy Commissioner Joshua Goodman.