Just two rats, once sexually mature, could account for about 15,000 rats within a year. Can a contraceptive succeed where traps and poisons have failed?
With California and other states restricting the use of highly toxic rat poisons, cities around the country have turned to a new method to try to control their rat populations: birth control.
Rather than a pill, the contraceptive, otherwise known as ContraPest, is deployed in bait boxes as a liquid that is high in fat and water content and targets their reproductive capabilities, preventing them from contributing to the already-existing population.