Humane Rat Traps

Andrew Flexing

Hi all,
does anyone know where to buy Humane rat traps....can hear the feckers in the attic.

[mods: didnt know where to put this thread...relocate if you want].

Dtp1979

Andrew Flexing wrote: »

Hi all,
does anyone know where to buy Humane rat traps....can hear the feckers in the attic.

[mods: didnt know where to put this thread...relocate if you want].

http://www.amazon.co.uk/The-Big-Cheese-Cage-Trap/dp/B000QVSCH6

CJ Haughey

If you do have success in catching a live rat release him straight as he will eat his tail and bleed himself to death.

slimjimmc

http://activehuntingireland.ie/pest-control-traps-snares-pest-control/pest-control-traps-snares/monarch-rat-trap.html apparently can catch multiple critters unlike the type with a falling gate

BTW are you sure they're rats not mice? There's plenty of info on the web on making a bucket trap for mice.

Andrew Flexing

slimjimmc wrote: »

http://activehuntingireland.ie/pest-control-traps-snares-pest-control/pest-control-traps-snares/monarch-rat-trap.html apparently can catch multiple critters unlike the type with a falling gate

BTW are you sure they're rats not mice? There's plenty of info on the web on making a bucket trap for mice.

Its just that the sound is quite loud of them running around I just thought they were bigger than mice. I'll Google the bucket trap thing. Thanks a lot!

slimjimmc

Check for droppings.
http://www.guardianpestcontrol.co.uk/the_house_mouse.html
http://www.guardianpestcontrol.co.uk/rats.html

The Red Ace

the type advertised on Amazon are very effective, make sure if you get one of those that you attach a strong string for lifting , brown cooking chocolate used as bait is brilliant

Derrydingle

Has anyone got one that I can have for a day or two till I get one on line or if you know of anywhere in Dublin I can buy one from a store

sky6

You also need to identify where they are getting in and block it up. Otherwise you will have the same problem again next winter.
I've also found the electric sonic alarms very effective also.

roroliam

Go to a good hardware shop. Rat cage. Bate with penut butter.

Pkiernan

Have a nate who has a humane rat trap cage.

I asked him where he releases them when he catches them.

He said :" I don't release them, I drown them in a bucket"

di11on

Pkiernan wrote: »

Have a nate who has a humane rat trap cage.

I asked him where he releases them when he catches them.

He said :" I don't release them, I drown them in a bucket"

Yikes!

The only logic I can see here is that it is a cleaner way to dispose of them at the expense of greater suffering on the part of the critter (I assume?).

geordief

I once caught a standard sized rat in a mouse trap. It got its snout inserted and that disabled it enough to immobilise it.

Imagine my consternation at the possibility of having this wounded creature escape into the house (it was indoors).

My solution was to run downstairs and come back with a pair of secateurs with which I cut off its head whilst still (alive) in the trap.

It was an unpleasant operation.

I can't see much point to "humane " traps and I use poison blocks attached to an anchor and so that birds cannot get to them (the birds will even get caught in outdoor mouse traps by the way unless well covered)

pawrick

mice make a lot of noise so it's easy to mistake the sound for rats in the attic. see if there are any droppings as they can be distinguished easily looking online for a comparison.

Used both types for mice but if it is a rat where are you going to release it that would be ok to do so? I caught 2 mice since xmas in my own attic using peanut butter as bait.

Satriale

In my experience, with about 10 minutes to make one, a bucket trap baited with peanut butter is the best way to deal with rodents, water optional.

mad m

CJ Haughey wrote: »

If you do have success in catching a live rat release him straight as he will eat his tail and bleed himself to death.

Jesus.....you learn something new everyday..

rubadub

Pkiernan wrote: »

Have a nate who has a humane rat trap cage.

I asked him where he releases them when he catches them.

He said :" I don't release them, I drown them in a bucket"

Some say this is better than letting them out in a remote area. I think some animal groups say the old snap trap is more humane than many "humane traps" as it kills them instantly. Glue traps are meant to be amongst the most inhumane.

If you drive out to some woods and let them out they are meant to be all confused and die off slower.

http://www.humanesociety.org/animals/mice/tips/solving_problems_mice.html?referrer=https://www.google.ie/

Live Trapping
There’s a large variety of live traps at hardware stores or on the web.

Keep in mind a mouse who comes from generations of mice who have been born and only lived indoors isn’t likely to do well outdoors. There is every reason to believe that the chances that a live-trapped indoor mouse will survive outdoors are very low.

doghound

I can only give advice from 40 years experience in pest control in England.
First identify what is making the noises you are hearing. Commonly, mouse droppings are about the size of rice grains and will be found all over the place, even under the insulation. Most common site is usually over a source of heat, like a hot press or boiler.
Rat droppings will usually be about the size of a date stone, tend to be around the edge of the loft or along joists. Also with rats you might notice worn pathways through insulation.
Mice are pretty easy to deal with in lofts if using poison baits, just be sure to keep the bait toped up until no more has been eaten for several days. Traps are fine, but once a trap has sprung it stops working until reset. Mice will quite happily enter from the house next door, climb walls or climbing plants or cables to get into your nice warm dry loft. They will find a meal from almost anything.
If it is rats that you have in your loft, then you need to find how they got in. They will have a regular route they use several times a day to get safely from your loft to their food source. rats are not as likely to climb up the outside of a building - too risky, unless they have a safe route like a climbing plant or a hole at ground level giving access to a cavity wall. If that is the case then the food source will be very close and is often a bird table.
Unfortunately, the most common route for rats to enter a loft space in my experience is from the foul drainage system. I have no experience of drainage systems in Ireland, so apologise if this is not relevant, but the old cast iron soil pipes which vent above gutter level have caused no end of problems. Foul sewer systems throughout the world support strong colonies of brown rats, who are provided with an endless supply of edible titbits. I have had rats climbing three stories up a soil vent pipe to a safe dry bed in a loft. Often with rats the noises are heard at fairly regular intervals, as they can be creatures of habit.
Trapping rats, whether with breakback traps or cages can be very hit and miss.
With either species, catching them is only part of the solution, Exclusion should be part of the plan.
Don't forget that the word "rodent" comes from the Latin "to gnaw" and either one of the little beggars will damage wiring, contaminate water tanks and stored items.
I wish you every success in solving your pest problem and hope the above has been of some interest.
Sorry if I have prattled on

doghound

brianiac

jumping on hoping someone has some experience that can help me out!

so live in a tillage area (countryside) and have seen the odd rat in the day - pretty big fellas. saw one scooting through the back yard one evening and decided i'd do something about them. my dad years ago killed a barnowl inadvertently by leaving rat poison in the meal shed, - it evidently ate the dead rats. never used poison again. we have some buzzards in the area i love seeing - so not using poison myself. got an endorat cage trap, set it, baited with some chicken breast, and 3 hours later heard it go off. big effin rat in it. put on my gloves, went out to it and before i could pick up the cage, it butted its head against the door and gone! clever/determined/lucky f@*%$r!

are there heavier duty traps? any other ideas for rat traps?

Kristopherus

brianiac wrote: »

jumping on hoping someone has some experience that can help me out!

so live in a tillage area (countryside) and have seen the odd rat in the day - pretty big fellas. saw one scooting through the back yard one evening and decided i'd do something about them. my dad years ago killed a barnowl inadvertently by leaving rat poison in the meal shed, - it evidently ate the dead rats. never used poison again. we have some buzzards in the area i love seeing - so not using poison myself. got an endorat cage trap, set it, baited with some chicken breast, and 3 hours later heard it go off. big effin rat in it. put on my gloves, went out to it and before i could pick up the cage, it butted its head against the door and gone! clever/determined/lucky f@*%$r!

are there heavier duty traps? any other ideas for rat traps?

Ask in your local hardware shop, or farmers co-op for a heavy duty rat trap. The big one with a little plate where you place the bait. It will kill a rat more or less instantly. Humane is a word I would not use in referring to the control of rats. They are filthy fu**ers.

doghound

Without a doubt, the best available,and most effective if used properly, trap would be the MkIV Fenn ( also available as the Mk IV Springer or Solway).
They must be set in a tunnel. No ifs or buts, it is the legal requirement for their use and makes them most effective.
They do not need baiting, just checking every day ( preferably twice).
A simple tunnel can be made from scrap board, 3 pieces about 2 foot long and 7.5 inches wide will do. Or you can use logs or bricks with a board or some slates on top.
The trap comes with a chain so it can be secured. This stops foxes and badgers from nicking your trap with a rat in.
The MkIV's will cost about 10 euro and are legal for use in both Ireland and UK.
I have used these for over 40 years in every version and have absolutely no hesitation in recommending them.
There are a number of very informative sites on using these and on making tunnels.
For anyone who keeps a few fowl, they are a much better option than poison bait and the safest treatment around pigs if the tunnels are properly sited
hope this helps

doghound