Rat Trapping Tips
Datetime:2015-06-09 Hits:
You can use live cage traps, and trap them live, and let them go outside. This is possible. And I do very much like to be humane to animals, and rats have feelings too. You can use cage traps instead of snap traps, or worse, glue traps, or even worse, poison. You can use exclusion instead of trapping at all.
The top rule for using any rat trap is to use plenty of traps. You may need more traps than you think is warranted when trapping rats. Usually, the population is larger than expected.
Make sure that you are trapping rats and not mice. A typical mouse trap is not big enough to trap rats.
Place rat traps in high-activity areas of the rat colony. These areas may include darkened corners, along walls, behind appliances and objects, and all areas where droppings are evident. Since rats need to touch surfaces as they move, place them accordingly.
Place rat traps spaced from 15-20 feet apart. Remember to place them touching a wall, since rats like to run along walls in order to avoid detection.
Position rat traps to maximize the chances of rats to cross over the traps during their natural travels along their runways. Set snap traps extended at a right angle from a wall with the trigger end almost touching the wall. If rat traps are set parallel to the wall, set them in pairs with triggers situated to intercept the rats from either direction.
You may be able to solve a rat problem without even using any traps at all. If you can successfully find out how the rats are getting in and out of the building, and seal off all but ONE popular entry/exit hole, you can set a one-way exclusion funnel or door on that hole. Rats are less likely to push their way out of a spring-loaded one-way door, but a funnel cone, made out of steel mesh, to just the right size, can do the trick.
