How to Trap Mice & Rats

Rats make for unsanitary living conditions in a home.

Whether you have noticed holes chewed in food bags and boxes in your cupboards or have discovered droppings around your home, if you find signs of a mouse or rat infestation it is important to remove the disease-carrying pests. Traps come in a variety of forms --- from lethal glue and snap traps to non-lethal box traps, which enclose the mouse or rat inside the trap where it can safely be relocated.

Things You'll Need

• Mouse traps
• Cheese
• Peanut butter
• Rubber gloves

Instructions

1. Select the type of trap you will use.

2. Inspect your home for signs of rats, such as droppings. Determine where they are congregating.

3. Place unset traps in the vicinity of the mouse or rat activity. Ensure a higher success rate by allowing the pests to get comfortable with the traps before they are baited and set.

4. Place multiple traps throughout your home to ensure the best results.

5. Catch mice that try to jump across the traps by positioning lethal traps in pairs, 1-inch apart.

6. Vary the baits in your traps. Entice mice and rats with foods such as peanut butter or cheese.

7. Check your traps regularly. Track the decline in catch-rate to determine if the problem is gone. Relocate your traps if numbers fall while droppings continue to appear.

Tips & Warnings

• Prevent disease by wearing protective rubber gloves at all times when handling traps containing mice or rats.

References

• Total Wildlife Control; Trapping Rats And Using Mouse Traps
• Do Your Own Pest Control; Mouse and Rat Snare Control
• Victor Pest; All About Mouse Traps How-To Expert Tips