Chicago rat birth control pilot program now in Albany Park
A Chicago pilot program that feeds rat birth control to curb the city's rodent problem is now expanding into Albany Park.
The program was initially launched in 2025 by the Wicker Park Bucktown Chamber of Commerce. This year it expanded onto the North Side, in Lincoln Park, a move spearheaded by 43rd Ward Ald. Timmy Knudsen in February.
Now it's in Albany Park, where volunteers hope the rats will feed on the pellets which, in turn, will prevent them from reproducing.
The concept in all of these pilots programs is simple: boxes are baited with the rat birth control delivery food –which are safe for any animal to eat – then the rats come in, chow down, and fewer rats are born on the streets.
"I would rather do this than put poison out for them," said volunteer Jorge Benitez. And he confirmed rats are a problem in the area. "My daughter says she saw one that looked like her cat."
The Albany Park program is run by the North River Commission, developed off the success seen in Bucktown and Wicker Park.
"It is an issue and we thought why not try it, right? If Wicker Park has seen good results. Other neighborhoods have launched it," said Farah El-Nahal of the North River Commission.
El-Nahal is leading the charge in Albany Park, which is using a different bait than some of the other programs.
"it's a plant-based sausage with cottonseed oil, which just acts to reduce the fertility of male and female rats," she explained.
She said the rollout has cost about $12,000, and is funded by Special Service Area project money designated for both Albany Park and Irving Park. Everyone putting the 40 boxes and the bait throughout the neighborhood are volunteers.
"There's no harm for the rats, for the wildlife, for pets, El-Nahal said. "There will be a benefit to the people who live here as well."
Rats can have up to 12 litters a year, and can reproduce immediately after delivering. The city's Bureau of Rodent Control has around 20 baiting crews throughout Chicago during peak season, and in the past have responded to more than 100,000 service requests per year.
They expect to expand their work with the passage of the 2027. But that work is separate from the birth control programs, which hope to cut down rat complaints one little sausage at a time.
"We are very and excited to see the response from community members who are really concerned about this issue and excited to be a part of it," said El-Nahal.
It takes three to six months to start seeing a difference, like other neighborhoods in the city have reported.
