How to catch a rat....Do not click if you can't handle it.

[WNYresident]

I bet you all thought I was gonna make a joke about a local political party...


Not this time..

Couple of weeks ago I thought I spotted a rat tail near a bush my yard. Didn't really pay attention because it could have been a pale snake. Couple of days later I was told by my woman we got rats. 1 mom and 4 kid rats all peeking out from a air vent along the foundation of our house.

I could have went and complained at the town board that we have a rat issue in town but instead I went to Valu Home center to pick up the world famous Victor rat traps.


https://valuhomecenters.com/shop/law...ack?SKU=769851


These are my favorite

Victor Rat Traps


Now if you want to shop through Amazon here are the best selling rat traps

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Natural finished woodbase snap trap. Metal trigger and a safety catch for use in setting.

I don't like the sticky traps or poison. I could have used a live trap and taken them for a ride but didn't.

First off wear gloves. Mice and rats can smell your scent on the trap and on the bait. Plus you should protect yourself from germs.



I like to use peanut butter topped with an apple just like this. You really don't need the apple but seeing it's their last supper you might as well be nice. Be very careful when setting the trap. You can really hurt yourself.

[WNYresident]

We got a winner.. Didn't take long.



Put your gloves back and place the rat in a plastic bag before putting it into your garbage.



Reset the trap and wait...

[WNYresident]

Bagged 3 more over the next few days....

[WNYresident]

The last one was clever. I have no clue how he did it but he got the food and didn't spring the traps. TWICE! I had two traps setup. I knew I wasn't dealing with the average rat.





I reset the traps but bent down the pointy part that held the bait. I can't just picture a rat being delicate enough to physically pull two apple pieces including licking the peanut butter clean.

Well that worked.

The last one. It has been a week and haven't got another since the 21st.





My question is why did we get rats. We do have a bird feeder but it has a tray to catch seeds. I did have a neighbor replace some steps on a porch so I'm wonder if they were under that porch and traveled over.

These are miniature rats. The ones my grandfather and I used to catch on Lovejoy were way bigger.

[Dan Roman]

You're supposed to buy several million dollars worth of totes and equipment to get rid of rats, not simple rat traps 😀

[gorja]

When your woman said, "we got rats. 1 mom and 4 kid rats all peeking out from a air vent along the foundation of our house. ", did she mean they were inside looking out or outside looking in.

I called the county on Monday because my neighbor saw a rat by his shed. The woman from the county ask me where I saw a rat.
I told her that I didn't but my neighbor 56 ft away saw one by his shed. I told her he was calling to be baited also. She asked me for his address and she looked it up. She said yes, he has filed a complaint but she advised me not to have them bait at my property. She said the county baiting them would bring them to my property. I thought that made sense.

I would have liked them to come and see the property in the other direction which looks like a rat habitat. There must be no less than 20 wood pallets stacked, a pile of old bricks and all kinds of crap just laying there.

[WNYresident]

I wonder why people just can't handle their own issues. I could see the town handling rats on town property, town dump or at sewer entrances. As home owners or renters you would think they would just take care of it themselves. If you have a neighbor who is the food source let them know. If you have rats because of it they most likely do to. What I'd do is catch them and give the neighbor a bag of rats.

There is nothing wrong with being a good neighbor. If you have someone elderly living next to you it wouldn't hurt to help them take care of their rat issue. I think it took me no more than 15 minutes to set the traps and just a few minutes each morning to check them. Do put fresh bait each time you reset the trap. What would you rather eat? Nice juicy apple or a dried out apple chip.

You should really take care of the issue the moment you think you have rats. They grow fast and breed very fast.

This weekend I'm going to figure out the best way to seal up the area they used. Most likely some heavy screen mounted behind the air vent.