ABSTRACT
The theoretical and applied feasibility of chemosterilants for rodent control has been the subject of numerous papers, yet progress in this area has been less than overwhelming. Chemosterilants also encompass a variety of other descriptive terms that denote specific modes of action, such as spermatocides, embryocides, and gametocides. Reproductive inhibitors of chemosterilants as a means of rodent control are more compatible than toxic rodenticides with certain religious philosophies and human lifestyles, as well as more acceptable to environmental and protectionist groups. The proliferation of new antifertility compounds and the development of potential chemosterilants directed at humans which provides extraordinary possibilities for future chemosterilants for rodent control. Chemosterilants that produce only temporary sterility or are short-term in effect will necessarily have to be used with great regularity to avoid nullification by the compensation principle. Chemosterilants may be useful in suppressing rodent populations out-of-doors that are a source of diseases, such as bubonic plague, murine typhus, and others.
