How to Trap a Rat
If is a rat in the vicinity of--or worse, inside--your home, your first instinct may be to call pest control. However, doing so can cost a substantial amount of money, and it is possible to do it yourself. With patience, time, some bait and some rat traps, you can catch rats at a vastly reduced price from what pest control would cost. Expect to set aside about 2 weeks to catch a rat. Does this Spark an idea?
Things You'll Need
- Rat traps
- Peanut butter
- Rubber gloves
- 2 plastic bags
- Outside garbage can
- Bleach
Instructions
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1
Lay a rat trap where the rat droppings have accumulated the most (see Resources). Do not set the rat trap yet. Leave the rat trap there for 4 days.
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2
Put food on the rat trap on the fifth day. Continue leaving it unset. You want to make the rat used to the trap so it does not avoid it. Clean the rat trap with bleach before using it again.
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3
Set the food, such as peanut butter, on the rat trap. Set the trap and carefully set it down.
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4
When you hear the rat trap go off, immediately put on rubber gloves. Put the rat corpse in a double-bagged plastic bag. Seal it and put it in an outside garbage can.
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5
Repeat Steps 1 through 4 for other rats. Continue until the rat population is eliminated.
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1
Tips & Warnings
Peanut butter works best as bait, since it sticks to the rat trap.
Make sure you are well-protected with rubber gloves before handling the rat corpse. Rats can carry diseases that are deadly to humans.
Resources
- Photo Credit http://mkweb.bcgsc.ca
