Can somebody recommend good rat traps?

I think using glue boards outside in fall could be not that effective - we have pretty strong winds now and leaves, needles, and dust flies around.Would be glue covered with them in an hour and lose their glue ability?

Which Tomcat? I found many different ones. What works for you?

How do you know if they actually dead? I mean in summer they didn’t pay any attention to the poison bait with plenty of other tasty food to eat in my garden. Now I see the bait partially eaten, but how do you know if it works? I will only see real damage next summer, so how I can tell it got them all or they just smart enough not to eat it anymore?

I have had good results with a bucket trap.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OijRH-lduq4

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If using the small bait blocks put them in a pice of pvc pipe so your pets can’t get to the bait

Thank you all! I will let you know the results next year :slight_smile:

I think the temperature also has an effect on how sticky the glue is. I caught our chihuahua in one during warm weather but when it was cold out I tried to catch a rat I one and it would just pull a little hair out.

https://www.amazon.com/Tomcat-Rat-Snap-Trap-1-Pack/dp/B001AZJK46

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Thanks!

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I’m going to try that!

They have a folding cardboard cover

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Originally available only from Gemplers at six bucks each, but now seen in hardware stores, is a kind of trap that I consider much better than the wooden Victor type that requires the rat (chipmunk where I am) to press a little narrow lever, and are tricky to set. These have a cup in the center to hold the bait, but there is a wide platform all around it; all the rat has to do is step on the platform, and the snap comes down. Much of the time the bait hasn’t even been touched yet, so all you have to do is raise the snap to get rid of the body and then reset it–don’t even have to re-bait it. And they are made of plastic, not wood, so they can be left outdoors without warping and becoming useless. Most of the year I can’t use peanut butter because ants find it and carry it all away in hours. (It’s just me, but I don’t like glue traps on the grounds of often having the rat die a lingering death. I bear them no grudge, just want them dead, and I prefer more of a euthanasia.)

Is this is the one you talking about?
Snap-E Rat Trap

Yep, that’s the one. They also have a smaller mouse-size one.

You can see pictures in this thread Getting ready for winter- so are the varmints! of how to use the tomcat trap I posted the link for. The victor type traps caught 1 rat to every 10 traps. The tomcat caught 5 rats for 5 traps 100% until the traps walked off. I think I need to drill a hole for a small chain and screw them down. They never miss!

Thanks, All!

I see that Gempler’s has a rat-sized battery trap. I’ve used these in the mouse size and they do actually work

Victor has a trap that’s like the Tomcat one, but it’s $3.14 at Home Depot. I’ve been using them lately because you can open them up (to drop the dead rat out) without touching the snap bar.

I’ve been catching rats with snap traps for many years. Peanut butter always works, and I sometimes use roasted peanuts . Although rats are definitely smarter than squirrels, and I’ve especially noticed that when they get caught in my havaheart traps…but unless they go to rat school when they’re young, they’ve probably never seen a rat trap before. And all they know is the delicious smell of peanuts means dinner is served. What would make them smarter would be a near miss from a snap trap. Those would be the hardest ones to catch.

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You might want to look at this thread of one of the rats I caught that I took a picture of which was over a foot long using a tomcat trap Rodent control - #18 by clarkinks. Kansas rodents look very healthy from eating grain all summer in the fields. They are very intelligent and work in groups. Consider @Sam method for inside a shed it’s highly effective but this time of year it will not work because water freezes.

I came across an interesting tip. If you have rats and can locate their burrows, dry ice is very effective and will clear all residents out in a single treatment. It can be found for about $5 for 5 lbs. You put the dry ice in the holes and seal them, it turns into carbon dioxide which is heavier and goes down the holes. The rats, usually asleep during the day simply go permanently asleep.

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@LoveThoseTrees

My Kansas rats have multiple exits in case a snake shows up. They like to exit in brush or underneath something so the exit is hard to locate. If you want to save money run a pipe from your exhaust into the hole. Carbon monoxide is effective. Pack rats nest is above ground usually in a thorny thicket of brush like blackberries. They build nest readily inside the shed sleep inside. Friends regularly burn the nest or shoot them causing the rats to exit. Best control is large snakes.

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