How To Catch A Rat
Summary: Catching rodents takes patience and some brains. Mice are easy to trap, but a full grown rat is intelligent and not easily tricked.
If you ever have to deal with trying to catch an adult rat you will find you are up against a clever adversary. With all the daily inherent dangers that a rodent must face in order to survive, it's no wonder that trying to catch one of these rascals is no easy task.
First, you must understand that rats are very suspicious of new surroundings. If they find their way into your property they will use utmost care when exploring their environment. Even when facing hunger or thirst a rat will not indulge itself on the first food or water it finds. It will approach any new food source with caution, often tasting only a small sample to see if it can be safely digested. With this in mind you need to know how to pre-bait your traps.
The next day return to see if any of the food has been eaten and look for fresh rodent droppings. Don't despair if you find fresh droppings, but none of the food has been eaten. Remove the old food and replace it with fresh. Rodents will only eat fresh, clean food.
Once you find that the rodent is eating the bait you must continue to repeat this process for another few days until you are sure you have noticed a set pattern of feeding. Then, and only then, can you set the trap with assurance of catching your prey. Trying a shortcut will result in a prolonged bout of hide and seek.
Comments
Jennifer
08 Jul 2009, 09:48
08 Jul 2009, 09:48
I have a few rodents in my house, rats, mice and squirels. We have used
snap traps, and pre baited them and have only caught the mice. The rats and
the squirels won't touch them. They have so many entry and exit points and
we know we can't find them all. Is there something else we can try? They
are eating holes thru my drop ceiling, and they are coming out of the walls
behind appliances at night. Please if there is something else that can be
done, we would greatly appreciate it.
Ask the Exterminator
08 Jul 2009, 11:51
08 Jul 2009, 11:51
You won't trap squirrels inside. You need to set squirrel traps outside the
house on the roof or on the ground below the trees they are using to move
around.
Rats are difficult to trap. You need to use large rat traps and do the pre-baiting for several days. Make sure the rats are taking the bait three days in a row before actually setting the trap trigger.
Rats are difficult to trap. You need to use large rat traps and do the pre-baiting for several days. Make sure the rats are taking the bait three days in a row before actually setting the trap trigger.
Bella Ostafin
16 Jul 2009, 00:00
16 Jul 2009, 00:00
I thought I only had 1 rat and finally I caught it on a spring trap, then I
noticed another one and another one and another. Well at this point I have
caught about 8 and thought now maybe that was it but I went to my kitchen
the other night and 3 jumped out of my pantry when I entered the kitchen. I
have used spring traps and glue traps and they don't seem to work anymore
because the rats know what they are. So what advise if any do you have on
my situation?
Ask the Exterminator
16 Jul 2009, 09:03
16 Jul 2009, 09:03
First, find out where the rats are getting inside. You're trapping may
never end if you don't know where they are coming from. You may be fighting
a broken sewer line.
BN
19 Jul 2009, 18:00
19 Jul 2009, 18:00
We have caught and released a rat. How do we know there was only one rat?
We released it in a park over the road about 20/30 metres away from our
house, was this far enough away?
Ask the Exterminator
20 Jul 2009, 11:13
20 Jul 2009, 11:13
Not far enough. Your rat will be back and he'll be next to impossible to
catch again. They learn from their mistakes.
Stephanie
23 Jul 2009, 23:50
23 Jul 2009, 23:50
My exterminator set 4 large rat traps with peanut butter this morning in my
attic. We found their entry point to be where the A/C unit hose goes into
the brick. We filled it with expanding foam that hardens. Tonight there
were rats in all the traps but one. Upon checking the traps, a few babies
scurried off into the attic insulation and couldnt be found. We removed
the dead rats and reset the traps, will the babies go for it or die
somewhere in the attic?
Ask the Exterminator
24 Jul 2009, 10:21
24 Jul 2009, 10:21
Only time will tell. You may want to put out some mouse traps (smaller)
since the rat babies are small, like mice.
ann chin
27 Jul 2009, 07:03
27 Jul 2009, 07:03
First I had mice, I managed to snap trap them, they came back again and
again. The locals tell me that it is natural when the weather gets colder,
they come inside the warm house.
Then we started getting rats. We caught two without prebaiting. We went away for almost 3 weeks, and the rat have chew through carpets, doors, and made nest in my clothes in my cupboard. I mistakenly left a wheat bag in there.
4 days ago, I bought some Australian made BASF poison. There were 4 donut looking bait. The baits were huge, 1 and 1/2 inch in diameter. The rats took them all within hours. one even during the day. I am supposed to wait for 4 to 7 days for the blood thinners to work. I regret buying the baits as I worry the rats might die in the house.
Last night, they were chewing the door again.
Is it too late to pre bait? Some one tells me that they saw their brothers get trapped and are too smart to be trapped.
Tonight, I am baiting them with the most foul smelling Malaysia prawn paste.
It is winter here.
Then we started getting rats. We caught two without prebaiting. We went away for almost 3 weeks, and the rat have chew through carpets, doors, and made nest in my clothes in my cupboard. I mistakenly left a wheat bag in there.
4 days ago, I bought some Australian made BASF poison. There were 4 donut looking bait. The baits were huge, 1 and 1/2 inch in diameter. The rats took them all within hours. one even during the day. I am supposed to wait for 4 to 7 days for the blood thinners to work. I regret buying the baits as I worry the rats might die in the house.
Last night, they were chewing the door again.
Is it too late to pre bait? Some one tells me that they saw their brothers get trapped and are too smart to be trapped.
Tonight, I am baiting them with the most foul smelling Malaysia prawn paste.
It is winter here.
Ask the Exterminator
27 Jul 2009, 08:51
27 Jul 2009, 08:51
You need to start your rodent control program from the outside. Trapping
rodents once they get inside may go on and on forever. Try to discover the
source of the rodents. It may be a broken sewer line or a nearby burrow.
You need to close up the entry holes to stop them from entering your home.
Darin Martinez
04 Aug 2009, 12:58
04 Aug 2009, 12:58
I live on the third floor in a condo. There are 3 large Palm Trees about 6
to 10 feet away from my balcony. I have seen a rat climb up and down one of
these trees a few times. I have been visited OFTEN for about the last month
or so, generally at night by what appears to be a large rat. The droppings
are large. I have many potted plants out there and all seem to be un harmed
or tampered with. I have left several types of food out there in an attempt
to find out what this rodent likes, with no success at all. I also have a
baited trap that has been filled with peanut butter, bacon, nuts, spam,
fruit,etc... This rat does not seem interrested in ANY foods I have offered
it wether it be in the set trap or just laying on the balcony. The only
thing that I can thik of, is that it is coming for water in the saucers
under my potted plants. What do I do???
Ask the Exterminator
04 Aug 2009, 13:06
04 Aug 2009, 13:06
Remove the potted plants from the balcony for a night or two and leave a
saucer of water inside a live cage trap.
ann chin
05 Aug 2009, 05:32
05 Aug 2009, 05:32
I think the baits worked. The buggers took 4 big baits. After the third
day, they stopped coming into the house and gnawing the doors. I pre bait,
and they didn't take them.
There is no smell. I read that the blood thinners would make them go outside. Thank goodness for that.
I was told, we in Auckland New Zealand has a lot of volcanic rocks which people use for walls in the garden. These rocks have lots of holes which the rats love. My back garden had a volcanic rocks wall.
I will be vigilant and bait every now and then.
Would a strong aspirin work?
Thanks,
Ann
There is no smell. I read that the blood thinners would make them go outside. Thank goodness for that.
I was told, we in Auckland New Zealand has a lot of volcanic rocks which people use for walls in the garden. These rocks have lots of holes which the rats love. My back garden had a volcanic rocks wall.
I will be vigilant and bait every now and then.
Would a strong aspirin work?
Thanks,
Ann
mg
24 Aug 2009, 04:20
24 Aug 2009, 04:20
I have a pesky rat that I have been trying to catch for a week now. I have
done everything from prebaiting to actually setting my spring traps, as
well as baiting my glue trap. I heard my dog barking about 1 in the morning
and when I looked down from my window the rat was siting on the glue trap
eating the penut butter when I when down stairs to bag him up he was gone.
What other methods can I try?
Bill
24 Aug 2009, 18:51
24 Aug 2009, 18:51
I have a nice one.
ann chin
26 Aug 2009, 01:35
26 Aug 2009, 01:35
The Glue trap is useless. Snap baits are useless. They are not strong
enough. We used bait, a lot of them. They took thebait, 4 giant sized one.
They didn't come back.
Diane
28 Aug 2009, 00:15
28 Aug 2009, 00:15
i recently moved into a modular home and it seems to be infested with rats.
I have found lot sof droppings and cleaned them up. I put out poison and
even bought those electronic plug in thingys and I thought they were gone
but then tonight when i was watching tv i saw one climb up the side of the
garbage can. I am terrified of these pests getting on me and my children
while we are sleeping and biting us. How common is that? How do I get rid
of them? I have lived here a week and I am ready to move.
leo
04 Sep 2009, 23:03
04 Sep 2009, 23:03
about 2 0r 3 weeks ago we caught 3 mice on 2 traps. havent heard any thing.
Now out of no-where at this very moment as im typing this i hear a mouse
scratching under the lazy-suzy in the kitchen. the owner "re-did" the
kitchen and there's open spaces very small but small enough for a
mouse/mice. i have traps laid out what can i use to cover up the slight
opening?
Reina
17 Sep 2009, 11:46
17 Sep 2009, 11:46
We think it got in from the sliding door one late night (small hole in the
screen) was under the stove to an open area under the cabinet. Caught the
big rat, my husband though it was PG, sure enough when he was going to
clean out the caught big rat, he saw a smaller one running. Caught that two
days later on a glue trap. Then two days later, heard a regular trap go off
in the AM when I was getting ready for work and found nothing till my boys
got up to get ready for school and saw it run (even though I checked
everywhere!) Caught that small one too after chasing it that morning! How
many more do you think there could be if it indeed had babies?
Debb
17 Sep 2009, 20:08
17 Sep 2009, 20:08
i've got this lil mouse that obivous has grown an inch or 2 cause just
three wks ago i caught what i thought was the baby rat...turns out it was a
bigger one...so i know this one is smart because i have laid bait after
bait along w/peanut butter...i'm smearing and smudging the trap...when i
check back...the trap is so clean...got me thinking this mouse got
skillz...untensils or something.Now every now and then when i appear in the
kitchen(day or nite) it's like it's waiting for me and then it runs along
the counter's edge along the sink on this inch-size backsink as if to let
me know it's in control...well for some reason...i'm beginning to want to
just catch em' and study him as a pet maybe...any suggestions how i can get
it caged..?
Ray
02 Oct 2009, 11:39
02 Oct 2009, 11:39
I have trapped 3 rats (all of them - I hope, but I've come a substance
which is semi-solid & reseambles bird droppings rather than rodents - what
is it?
Lee
21 Oct 2009, 04:35
21 Oct 2009, 04:35
We have a problem. I have only seen one rat tonight but have heard it
before. I'm not sure how it is getting around but I did see it run back in
through a hole underneath my dishwasher. The problem is we live in terrace
level apartment. One half is underground and the other has windows/doors.
There is definitely a space between a wall where they get in. The rat is
large and I'm not sure what kind of trap to use to catch it. We once tried
to catch a something that was in the wall with a sticky trap, but I think
it was too big and got away. Any suggestions? The thought of rodents
running around makes my skin crawl. Any chance there is only one of them??
honghong
28 Oct 2009, 11:49
28 Oct 2009, 11:49
i m trying to cacth a rat at the night. have set a trap but not sure
whether should open up the light or close it.any idea? does rats come out
when it is all dark or the other way?