By
eHow Home & Garden Editor
Difficulty: Moderately Challenging
Step1
Determine what kind of rodents you have creeping around your home. The most common perpetrators are mice and rats.
Step2
Choose your trap. There are a number of humane trap-and-release devices on the market now that allow you to entice your four-footed foes inside with a tasty treat and release them back into the wild after they are caught.
Step3
Try a quick kill trap called a snap trap, which is the run of the mill old fashioned wood trap with a spring. These do kill the rodent but they are seen as humane by many because they kill quickly, snapping the neck or spine with brute force.
Step4
Go with the lowest form of trap on the humane totem pole, but one that is incredibly easy to use--glue traps. These low shallow pans of sticky goo entice the rodent to a treat and then immobilize them (and often suffocate them) in the glue.
Step5
Bait your trap. Cheese may be the cartoon cliche, but it does work well. Peanut butter is more aromatic and many feel it is the most enticing to the unwanted pests. Nuts, bread, and cereal may also be used. If you are serious about catching the rodents, try peanut butter smeared on cheese topped with a nut. This makes a veritable rodent sundae that no rat or mouse could resist. Keep your portions small, however as you want them to try to make off with the entire treat, not sit around and nibble. One hard bite is more likely to trigger your trap than gentle grazing.
Step6
Place your traps where rodent activity is heaviest. Look for places you saw droppings, destruction or smelled urine. Place several baited traps along walls or furniture. Rodents run along straight paths using the baseboards or furniture edges for security.
Step7
Check your traps. After sitting overnight, your traps should have netted you a rodent or two. Release them far from home or dispose of the dead or dying rodents appropriately.
