Rats eat our food, ruin our stuff, and get us sick. Any person who sees a rat wants it gone as fast as possible. But while we’re obsessing about getting rid of them, the rats are hiding out, doing it like crazy, and having babies within the blink of an eye.
Want to get rid of rats fast? Killing them is only part of the solution. You also need to stop them from breeding. But it’s not as simple as sitting them down for “the talk.” In fact, what you really need is just to put them on rat birth control and let them go about their business. Here’s how to get rid of rats with a two-approach strategy.
What Kills Rats Fast?
We still haven’t invented a better mousetrap. Snap traps are fast and kill the rat in one clean stroke. But the bad news is, that’s just one rat. The kill might be quick, but until you reset the trap, other rats could gather for the funeral in hordes with no risk. Plus, it might be a process of trial-and-error to figure out where the best places are to position the traps. That means some traps are full, others aren’t catching rats, and meanwhile the breeding boom continues.
The desire to kill lots of rats faster is why some people turn to rat poison. But what poisons a rat will also poison children, pets, or livestock. Did you know the State of California outlawed many forms of rodenticide in 2020? Rat poison sitting out doesn’t just make the environment of your home or farm more toxic, but that impact can spread outward to wildlife too.
Killing rats fast is nasty work. Before you take it on, it’s important to know your efforts will get the job done. If rats are breeding faster than you can kill them, you’re really not making a difference. So how fast would you have to kill rats to get rid of them completely?
Female rats can start having babies only 5-6 weeks after they are born, while the males can bang up to 500 times in six hours. Given that the females ovulate every 4-5 days, the pairs don’t take long to become pregnant. Three weeks later, the female has an average of 6-12 rat pups--or maybe as many as 22. Not only can the mother rat get pregnant again 24 hours after giving birth, but it’s only a matter of weeks until any females in her litter start their own legacies.
Basically, if you’re not constantly killing rats, the chances are they will never really leave your property. Unless you stop them from breeding completely, you are simply a legendary enemy to the survivors of endless generations of rats.
How to Get Rid of Rats Without Killing Them
Getting rid of rats for good can only happen if they aren’t having babies. But putting them on birth control today doesn’t stop them from existing. If you want to get rid of rats quickly without killing them, here are some common tips to keep rats away:
Inspect Infested Buildings: Look around inside and outside for damaged drains, gaps around vents, foundation cracks, and more. Remember, an adult rat can squeeze through an opening the size of a quarter! When you find the gaps, take steps to seal them up and prevent the rats from getting in.
Keep Your Backyard Clean: Fallen fruits, vegetables, and even piles of wood and leaves can be sources of food and shelter for rats. If the areas right outside your buildings are looking like attractive real-estate to rats, you’ll never be able to evict them.
Don’t Leave Out Food: The same tip applies to food for outdoor pets and livestock. Make sure not to leave chicken feed, dog food, bird seed, or other kibbles and kernels out at night. That’s basically a 24-hour buffet to the rats. For the same reason, don’t forget to do the dishes and put away the leftovers before going to bed! With good sanitation practices, the rat birth control ContraPest will be the main buffet for the rats.
Blocking the rats from food and shelter is a good starting point to get rid of them. But some of these things just aren’t in your control. How can a farmer not grow crops? How can an apartment resident get rid of outside trash and dumpsters? This is why poison or traps may be required in the short-term. But in the long term, rat birth control is the way.
ContraPest® is the Best Way to Get Rid of Rats Fast
Sometimes, it’s a rat’s world and we’re just living in it. But if you’re wondering how to get rid of rats permanently, turn to ContraPest. Our rodent fertility control solution is a revolutionary liquid bait that lets rats keep doing it, just without making babies. Both female and male rats will have limited reproduction as long as they are ingesting ContraPest. This humane solution is okay to use around livestock, easy to maintain, and stops the endless cycle of violence against the rat population. Because really, wouldn’t it be better if they had never been born to begin with? With ContraPest, that degree of rat fertility control is at your fingertips.