What is the best way to kill a rat that may survive the trap?
1667037
I have never had that happen. If it does happen, just hit it with a shovel. Gross, I know, but rats can cause thousands of dollars worth of damage to your home.
1538113
You need to buy the bait, we bought it at the same time on Amazon but it didn't look like the rats were going in the trap. We nailed pieces of the bait to the trees at night and removed it early in the moring. That work very well we no longer have a problem but we do check often to see if we need to treat again.
2167381
won't do either. you need to kill grubs, the source of food for moles. gophers have to be trapped with hav-a-heart trap (cantaloupe works well as bait) and taken a couple of miles away or shoot them. i've had some luck throwing rat poison down the gopher holes.
2202760
Assuming your trap has 2 doors, leave one of the doors shut and place the bait between the shut door and the trip plate. This forces the "critter" to walk onto the trip plate with its full weight to get to the bait and more likely trip the mechanism.
1522797
I work with rodents - biggest issue you will have is that a rat would shred that to pieces - the rope and wood would be gone pretty quickly. Rodents like to either run on a wheel or hide and move inside plastic tubes etc.
1897041
It depends on how the rats get killed. I had one that cleanly snapped a neck, so I was able to reuse it. Another was covered in gore so it was thrown out with the body.
1604189
Squirrels may be too quick to kill them every time but I expect it would work pretty well. I know cage type traps used to work really well for my grandparents.This one is just two metal plates on the bottom, if their front feet hit one and back feet the other it'll send out electricity for 3 minutes. Either the squirrel will get away in the first second after it touches the plates or it will die. I've had one or two mice set it off without dying out of about 10.
2053550
Not sure, I might use a formal electric rat trap, the chipmunks might get stuck in this machine.
1143577
Mice just walk by the unit and laugh at it poison and sticky traps work the best, just put box of poison down with sticky traps around it with no gaps gets them every time
765206
Just got two rats the other day. It doesn't work after a kill sometimes. I had to set up another trap. And oh, by the way, they break sometimes even before you set them up. The kitty that roams around the neighborhood knows to come and check my front yard for fresh kill.
128925
I've caught critters in mine that I didn't want to harm also. The best thing for getting them free is to carefully pour cooking oil (like canola, corn, whatever you have) onto the glue, letting it coat the glue. If it's face is stuck down, just be careful not to "drown" it with the oil. Rock the trap gently to allow the oil to float under the trapped parts. It only takes a few minutes for the oil to free what's caught. Good luck. That's the only downside to putting these traps out. We have them for scorpions that get into our home and garage, but unfortunately have also caught innocents. I've caught critters in mine that I didn't want to harm also. The best thing for getting them free is to carefully pour cooking oil (like canola, corn, whatever you have) onto the glue, letting it coat the glue. If it's face is stuck down, just be careful not to "drown" it with the oil. Rock the trap gently to allow the oil to float under the trapped parts. It only takes a few minutes for the oil to free what's caught. Good luck. That's the only downside to putting these traps out. We have them for scorpions that get into our home and garage, but unfortunately have also caught... » Read More I've caught critters in mine that I didn't want to harm also. The best thing for getting them free is to carefully pour cooking oil (like canola, corn, whatever you have) onto the glue, letting it coat the glue. If it's face is stuck down, just be careful not to "drown" it with the oil. Rock the trap gently to allow the oil to float under the trapped parts. It only takes a few minutes for the oil to free what's caught. Good luck. That's the only downside to putting these traps out. We have them for scorpions that get into our home and garage, but unfortunately have also caught innocents. « Show Less
1871589
I had rats in the attic. I just threw some around where I saw the hole under the eves of the roof. I wore disposable gloves. Good luck!
1214549
I had the same question when I got it and was even tempted to stick my hand in it to see if it work. Obviously that's not a good idea. After the first kill I knew it worked. Word of advice don't putt to much feed in it especially if it's fruit or anything squishy because if it touches all the plates the trap will set off giving you a false kill. I used rabbit food which is very light and the trap won't set off and rats are very attracted to it. The trap was very affective catching small and big rats so it works. I am now rat free and still set the trap in case any more enter my home. It's worth it. I had the same question when I got it and was even tempted to stick my hand in it to see if it work. Obviously that's not a good idea. After the first kill I knew it worked. Word of advice don't putt to much feed in it especially if it's fruit or anything squishy because if it touches all the plates the trap will set off giving you a false kill. I used rabbit food which is very light and the trap won't set off and rats are very attracted to it. The trap was very affective catching small and big rats so it works. I am now rat free and still set the trap in case any more enter my home. It's... » Read More I had the same question when I got it and was even tempted to stick my hand in it to see if it work. Obviously that's not a good idea. After the first kill I knew it worked. Word of advice don't putt to much feed in it especially if it's fruit or anything squishy because if it touches all the plates the trap will set off giving you a false kill. I used rabbit food which is very light and the trap won't set off and rats are very attracted to it. The trap was very affective catching small and big rats so it works. I am now rat free and still set the trap in case any more enter my home. It's worth it. « Show Less
917368
I do have large rats in my outside building I keep rat poison in there I bought a metal pole at the hardware store and raised it sorta high just to be safe,but then they started jumping from trees to feeder,being heavier than feeders would close,I am T
855256
That would be possible, but unnecessary. A rat will detect the soft bait at the rear window and find no direct access to it from the outside. Then the rat will explore to find a route to the bait. That is how the trap is designed to work. Be sure to use the trap in a non-wet area.
1822358
I would say only mice, or maybe a baby rat. the opening to the trap is small.
473519
We tried peanut butter first and it was licked clean without setting off the trap. I talked to an exterminator who recommended a small (1/4") piece of Slim Jim or beef jerky. By hooking the tough meat on the metal trigger, it forces the mouse or rat to tug at the meat, setting off the trap. That's been very effective.