Photo: Getty Images
One Arizona-based company is helping to control the rat population with a special birth control. ABC 15 reported that the contraception is called ContraPest and is made by SenesTech Inc.
Kim Meagher, founder of Wildhorse Ranch Rescue in Gilbert uses the liquid to control the rat population. Meagher said, "It's a sweet milk and they love it. They absolutely love the taste of this stuff. They fight over it."
So how does the liquid work?
Meagher explained, "It is a monthly birth control. It means they can’t have babies. They can go on 'dates' all day long, but as long as they stop at the 'rodent date bar' and have a few 'cocktails', then no babies come out after this. That’s the only way you’re going to control the population."
Nicole Williams, Director of Strategy for SenesTech, said, "About 10% of [rats] body weight every day [is from[ consuming liquid. So they go in, they drink and they have absolutely no physical impact, aside from the fact that they cannot reproduce."
Meagher said that her property used to be full of rats and mice but since using the ContraPest, she's gotten rid of the population. Rats can typically produce up to 15,000 descendants in a single year, according to ContraPest, so it's important to help control the population.
Meagher said, "We don’t believe in poisoning or killing them. We’re an animal rescue. And a lot of other places have contacted us from all over the world."