PHOENIX, April 7, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- SenesTech, Inc. (NASDAQ: SNES), a developer of proprietary technologies for managing animal pest populations through fertility control, today announced the Company's support of the efforts by community health officials and business leaders to respond with aggressive programs to control high rat populations that are emerging during the COVID-19 pandemic.

This increase in rat population is due to the staggering rate at which they reproduce. A single pair of breeding rats can produce hundreds of offspring in the space of a year. SenesTech is supporting these efforts by offering ContraPest, a birth control for rats. ContraPest works in both male and female rats to reduce fertility, thereby decreasing the number of offspring produced. By targeting reproduction, a root cause of rat infestations, ContraPest dramatically shrinks the rat population and keeps it from coming back.

"The COVID-19 precautions that closed bars and restaurants in urban centers also brought the large rat populations present there into the daylight," said Ken Siegel, CEO of SenesTech. "Rats normally feed at night scavenging food scraps near restaurants.  Now, as has been reported in the media, closed restaurants are forcing rats into the streets and potentially into residential locations in a desperate search for food. As hunger deepens within the rat community, they will become more visible and aggressive in their search for food and water. Additional tools are needed to reduce rat populations and the risk they pose to human health."  

Typically, rat populations are managed by health officials using lethal rodenticides to kill the feeding rats. However, with their high reproductive capacity, rat populations soon rebound to high levels.

"Rats reproduce very quickly, limiting the long-term effectiveness of traditional rodenticides that do not reduce fertility," said Steve Krause, Ph.D, EVP of Sales and Marketing.  "ContraPest works as a rat birth control, significantly lowering the birth rate of rats.  As part of an integrated pest management (IPM) program with existing rodenticides, ContraPest is a perfect supplement to any program looking for additional tools to help maintain low rat populations. SenesTech continues to work with municipal partners interested in deploying ContraPest fertility management within their rat IPM control programs.  Results to date are very positive. In addition, SenesTech is now making ContraPest directly available to consumers to help protect their homes."

ContraPest is available to Pest Management Professionals or Do-It-Yourselfers through the SenesTech Online Store at https://store.senestech.com/.

About SenesTech 

SenesTech is changing the model for pest management by targeting one of the root causes of the problem: reproduction.

ContraPest^® is an innovative technology with an approach that targets the reproductive capabilities of both sexes in rat populations, inducing egg loss in female rats and impairing sperm development in males. Using a proprietary bait delivery method, ContraPest^® is dispensed in a highly palatable liquid formulation that promotes sustained consumption by rat communities. ContraPest^® is designed, formulated and dispensed to be low hazard for handlers and non-target species such as wildlife, livestock and pets, where the active ingredients break down rapidly.

We believe ContraPest^® will establish a new paradigm in rodent control, resulting in a decreased reliance on lethal options. For more information visit the SenesTech website at www.senestech.com.

Safe Harbor Statement
This release contains "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended and such forward-looking statements are made pursuant to the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. "Forward-looking statements" describe future expectations, plans, results, or strategies and are generally preceded by words such as "may," "future," "plan" or "planned," "will" or "should," "expected," "anticipates," "draft," "eventually" or "projected." You are cautioned that such statements are subject to a multitude of risks and uncertainties that could cause future circumstances, events, or results to differ materially from those in the forward-looking statements, including the risks that actual results may differ materially from those projected in the forward-looking statements as a result of various factors and other risks identified in our filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Forward looking statements include, but are not limited to, our expectation regarding sales commitments, our expectation regarding the conversion of sales commitments and programs to revenue, our belief that our product is more humane, less harmful to the environment and more effective than traditional methods, and our belief that ContraPest will establish a new paradigm in rodent control without environmental effects of rodenticides.  All forward-looking statements contained in this press release speak only as of the date on which they were made and are based on management's assumptions and estimates as of such date. We do not undertake any obligation to publicly update any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of the receipt of new information, the occurrence of future events or otherwise.

CONTACT: 

Investor: Robert Blum, Joe Dorame, Joe Diaz, Lytham Partners, LLC, 602-889-9700, senestech@lythampartners.com

Company: Tom Chesterman, Chief Financial Officer, SenesTech, Inc., 928-779-4143

SOURCE SenesTech, Inc.