Having a rodent in your home can sometimes feel like a living nightmare. It might be tempting to break out the rat poison, but you should think twice before using it. Rat poison and other rodenticides are a significant risk to children and pets. Learning how to catch a rat like a pro, whether you bait a snap trap or build a bucket trap, is a safer route to travel. Read below to learn more about how to catch a rat like a pro.
How to Catch a Rat With a Trap
The best way to catch a rat is with a trap. Rat traps contain enticing bait that will attract the rat. When the rat goes to take the food, it will trip the trap’s trigger and set off the trap. What the trap does depends on whether it’s lethal or humane.
Step 1: Choose Your Trap
When you’re picking out your trap, make sure it’s specifically designed for rats. Mouse traps will not work on a rat. You have the option of either humane live traps or lethal snap traps.
Live traps allow you to release the animal outside your home without killing it. However, live traps are not recommended by the CDC due to the risk of exposure to diseases the rat is likely carrying. If you decide to use a live trap, you’ll need to release the rat at least 5 miles away from your home so that it doesn’t return.
If you choose a lethal option, the best rat trap is a classic snap trap. These kill the rodent instantly, so there is no suffering.
Finally, avoid using glue traps. Glue traps are also not recommended by the CDC and are banned in many countries due to excessive cruelty.
Live and lethal traps are effective no matter the rat species, whether it’s a Norway rat, pack rat, or roof rat. If the rat is bigger than normal, you may need a larger trap.
Can’t decide on the best trap? Here’s a comprehensive buyer’s guide on the Best Rat Traps.
Step 2: Choose Your Bait
Once you have your trap, it needs bait. Rats are attracted to high-protein foods that are rich in calories. You may be tempted to use cheese, and it is indeed an option if it’s soft and fragrant, but by and large, the best rat trap bait available is peanut butter. Peanut butter is fragrant, high in protein and calories, and it’s viscous, which means that rats can’t steal it off the trap easily. Your other options include marshmallow, bacon, or dried fruit.
Step 3: Placement
When it comes to catching rodents, proper placement of your traps can be the difference between success and failure. Place them anywhere you’ve noticed signs of the rats or their nests. Rodents don’t like open areas, so traps are most effective along walls in areas with low light. They tend to use the same routes over and over again, so if you can find them, they’re an excellent place to put traps.
Use multiple traps and space them out every few feet for a greater chance of catching the rats. Place the trap perpendicular to the wall with the trigger and bait end touching the wall (this ensures the animal cannot run around it). All of these rules apply no matter the location, whether it’s the attic, garage, or elsewhere.
Pro Tip: Regardless of what kind of trap you use, you can leave them baited but unset for a few days so that the rats get used to them. That way, they’re more likely to fall for the traps once you set them. This will especially help when dealing with smarter rats and trap-shy species such as Norway rats.
Step 4: Monitoring
Once your traps are set, you need to monitor them. Whether they’re humane or not, check your rat traps at least once a day. Dispose of any dead rats and safely release any live ones away from your home.
Step 5: Dispose of or Release the Rat
Once you’ve trapped your rat, you need to figure out what to do with it. If you’ve used a live trap, release the rat a minimum of 5 miles from your house so that it doesn’t just come right back. Try to choose a wooded area and leave some food if possible to ensure you’re releasing it as humanely as possible.
If you have a dead rat, regardless of whether it’s in a trap, you need to use a different protocol. Once you’re sure that it’s dead, spray it with disinfectant to kill any bacteria and diseases it was carrying. Next, put it in a bag so that you can dispose of the dead rat in an outdoor garbage can.
Always wear gloves when handling a wild animal, and if you use something to pick it up, like a tool, disinfect it as soon as you can. To keep yourself safe, always wear protective clothing, including long-sleeved shirts, sturdy jeans, thick gloves, closed-toed shoes, and an N95 mask.
After you dispose of a dead rat, you should get rid of the smell to prevent harmful effects. Keep the area ventilated and air it out with fans. Until it’s gone, you can cover the smell with air fresheners.
When Rat Traps Don’t Work
Of course, rat traps are not fool-proof. Rats are clever creatures, after all, and many homeowners know the pain of stolen bait and empty traps. It’s possible that traps will work initially, but the rats will learn to avoid them. If you find that your traps aren’t working, it’s time to change tactics.
- Firstly, examine the area where you placed the traps. The placement may be less than ideal. Make sure the traps are on the rats’ trails and that they’re spaced out by a few feet. It’s possible that the rats have simply learned to avoid the area. In that case, move the traps to a new location.
- Keep any and all food away from your traps. Rodent traps only work if they’re the most enticing thing around, so if there’s more or better food available nearby, rodents are more likely to avoid them.
- If the rats have learned to avoid your traps, use a different kind and see if it works.
- Finally, adjust your bait. Try using less of it, so that rats can’t steal it off the trap as easily, and try a different bait. Switch to peanut butter if you aren’t using it already.
If you’ve tried everything and rats are still not falling for your traps, you’ll likely need to hire a professional to get rid of the rats in your home.
How to Catch a Rat Without a Traditional Trap
If you need to catch a rat without using a snap trap or live trap, consider building a bucket trap. If you’ve used this DIY trap in the past for mice or other rodents, it’s the same basic concept but with a bigger bucket. Here’s what you need to get started:
- A 55-gallon plastic barrel
- A strong metal dowel
- An aluminum soda can
- A plank of wood
- Peanut butter for bait
- A drill
Note that you cannot use a typical 5-gallon bucket for this trap. Rats can easily jump out of it. Your barrel’s interior should be smooth so that rats can’t climb up it. Get a heavy-duty barrel if you can to reduce the likelihood of them chewing through it.
Once you have your materials, you need to set up the trap. Here’s some step-by-step instructions:
- Drill two small holes in your can, one in the top and one in the bottom.
- Drill two more holes in the rim of the barrel, one opposite from the other.
- Put the dowel through both the barrel and the can so that the can is suspended above the center of the barrel.
- Place your barrel trap wherever you believe it will be most effective.
- Bait the trap by smearing peanut butter on the can.
- Place the wood against the barrel so that it creates a ramp for the rats to climb up.
If you’ve set it up right, rats will climb up the ramp and go for the peanut butter. When they reach the can, it will roll and deposit them in the barrel. As long as you’ve used the correct barrel, they will be unable to escape, which means that you can release them away from your home at your leisure. Take them to a wooded location and tip over the barrel to release the rat. Get out of the way quickly so that it doesn’t attack out of fear.
DIY traps need to be checked just as often as a regular trap, once daily. Otherwise, the rats may starve or dehydrate inside, which is excessively cruel.
Caution: Catching a rat by hand is never advised. They are too fast and small for it to be effective, and they’ll likely become aggressive. Rat bites can transmit diseases such as hantavirus.
How to Catch a Rat Outside
Of course, rats won’t limit themselves to the indoors. Rats can infest your outdoor space just as easily as your home. When you see them, it’s important to get rid of rats outside before it’s too late. Thankfully, catching rats outside isn’t too different from doing it inside.
Set Outdoor Rat Traps
Place live traps along outdoor walls or fences and near their burrows if you can find them. Set the traps at night, when rats are active but many animals that might also get caught in them are not, such as birds. Avoid lethal traps outdoors, as they can harm other wildlife, such as raccoons and opossums.
Caution: Never use poison traps or rodenticides outdoors. They can do serious harm to your local wildlife or outdoor pets. Even the best rat poisons should only be used indoors, and even then only as a last resort and inside a bait station.
How to Catch a Rat In Your Car
As unsettling as it is, rats can nest in your car. If you have rats outdoors, and leave your car in the driveway overnight, they could possibly use it as a nesting site. Examine your car carefully and look for any signs. You may need a mechanic to tell you if they’re nesting in your engine or body.
Here are a few steps that will help you get rid of the rats in your car:
- First, do a deep clean. Remove any food and moisture in your car, along with any garbage or debris that the rat may use as nesting material. This will make your car inhospitable and encourage the rat to move on.
- Ensure you leave a window open overnight so that they have an escape route.
- Set traps specifically designed for cars. Place them on and behind the seats, in the trunk, and on the tires. Bait them with peanut butter and wait.
Once you’ve gotten rid of the rats in your car, you need to get it professionally cleaned and examined by a mechanic. Rats can do serious damage to your vehicle, and the last thing you want is to have the engine fail while you’re driving because of a rodent.
Signs of Rats In Your Home
If you suspect there’s a rat in your home, there are signs you should look for. Rat signs can be very similar to mouse signs, but there are some key differences. For example, rat droppings are shaped differently than mouse droppings, their nests are larger, and the holes they’ll use to access your home are bigger as well.
Here are a few signs of a rat infestation to help your search:
- Droppings: Rats leave droppings and urine in their nests and other places to mark their territory. You should be able to find it throughout your house. Rat droppings are round and light brown in color, whereas mouse droppings look more like dark grains of rice.
- Tracks: You may notice tracks where rats navigate your home. Rat tracks are small and will likely appear smudged. Look for prints in dust or dirt tracked in.
- Nests: A clear sign that you have a rat infestation is a nest. Rat nests are small, round, tightly woven structures made of materials like fabric, cardboard, or anything else they can get a hold of.
- Odor: You may be able to smell the rats’ droppings, especially in their nests where they’re more concentrated.
- Noises: If you suspect you have rats, listen for scratching, squeaking, and pitter-pattering.
- Pet Behavior: If you have rats, your cats or dogs may behave unusually. Watch and see if they’re focused on a particular spot. If they are, that may be where the rats are nesting.
- Holes: Rats chew holes in exterior walls and foundations to access your home. Check your home’s exterior and the basement, if you have one, to see if you can find any.
- Damage: Rats will gnaw on many things to get nesting material. Cardboard boxes, wooden furniture, and more may have teeth marks and erosion if you have rats. You may also notice damaged food, which should especially help you identify rats in your kitchen so you can get rid of them.
- Sightings: Another clear sign of a rat infestation is visual confirmation. Rats are social animals, so if you see one, whether the rat is alive or dead, there’s likely more.
How to Prevent Rats in Your Home
If you want to prevent rats, it’s fairly easy. As long as you keep up with home maintenance, rats will be less likely to move in, so your focus should be on eliminating conditions that attract rodents. Here are a few simple rules to follow to make your home less attractive to rats:
- Clean up any clutter around your home so that rats can’t use it as nesting material.
- Seal any cracks or holes in your home’s exterior and foundation so rats can’t use them to get inside. Caulk is an effective sealing agent for this purpose. To prevent them from gnawing through it again, cover the sealed hole with steel wool
- Use repellents with scents that rodents hate. The best rat repellents include eucalyptus and peppermint.
- Keep your food, for both humans and pets, in sealed containers so that it doesn’t attract rats.
- Keep outdoor structures and plants a good distance from your home’s exterior so rats can’t use them as cover to gnaw their way inside.
- Keep lights on in places where rodents commonly make nests in your home.
- Install features specifically designed to keep rats out of certain areas. Your home’s crawl space may need a rat slab to keep rats out of your crawl space, for example, or your home’s deck may need a rat wall.
- Don’t plant any new plants, and move any that you’re able to indoors. Otherwise, rats may eat them.
- Remove any water sources like bird baths or leaky outdoor faucets to deprive rats of water.
- Clean your yard and garden, mow the lawn, and trim vegetation to reduce cover.
- Remove potential nesting sites by keeping your gardening supplies indoors.
- Keep lumber and wood piles off the ground and away from your home’s exterior. This will especially help you get rid of roof rats if you’ve identified them, as they’re arboreal and like dense shrubbery.
- Screen any windows that don’t have it already and repair any existing screening that’s damaged.
- Install sweeps on exterior doors.
- Cover your chimney with a spark arrestor.
How Much Does Rat Removal Cost?
The average cost of a professional rodent exterminator is $245 to $430, but your final price will depend on a wide variety of factors. The size of the infestation and your home, as well as things like the extermination method, will affect the cost. You will also need to pay for professional deep cleaning once they’re done to remove all of the biohazards the rats leave behind.
FAQ About Rats
How long does catching a rat take?
If you’re trying to catch a rat yourself, it may take a few days. Rats will be wary of traps. On the other hand, if you hire a professional, it should be much quicker. They may be able to quickly identify and get rid of a rat in your walls, basement, or other infestation site.
What do rats eat?
Rats prefer fruit, nuts, and seeds in the wilderness. However, they are not picky in any sense. Given the opportunity, rats will eat just about anything. This is why it’s so important to keep food locked up, because anything left out will become a meal for a hungry rat.
How do you tell the difference between a rat and a mouse?
The biggest difference between mice and rats is size. Rats are about 10 inches long and weigh 1.25 pounds, whereas mice are only 3 to 4 inches on average and weigh 0.4 to 0.9 ounces. Rats also have shorter tails, smaller ears, and a stockier body than mice.
Hire a Rat Pro
Catching a rat can be tricky, but as long as you know what you’re doing, you should be able to do it without much trouble. The most important thing is that you stay safe.
If you’d rather not deal with your rat problem yourself, contact pest control professionals near you. They can rid your home of rodents so that you and your household stay safe.
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