Table of Contents Show
For centuries, rodents have existed (and often thrived) alongside humans, largely thanks to their versatile and highly adaptable nature. Rats and mice have long ago learned how to live, eat, and most importantly, reproduce, living alongside us. Which naturally, causes quite a few problems for homeowners today.
So, if you’re now asking yourself how to trap a rat, then you’ve come to the right place because, in this article, we’ll discuss everything you need to know about rodent removal.
First Things First, Discover the Attraction
We know that the first thing on your mind if you’ve seen a rat scurrying about the house, will be how to get rid of him. However, it’s worth keeping in mind that the rodent is on your property for a good reason, and as long as you don’t address that, then you’ll keep running into nuisance wildlife problems.
The main reason why wild animals are flocking to human homes is that they offer one of three things (or all three, sometimes!):
- Food;
- Water;
- Shelter
So before you focus all of your attention on removing a problem, make sure you remove the attraction, also, otherwise you’re just inviting a repeat.
How Do You Get Rid of Rats and Mice?
Figure Out the Rodent’s Path
First of all, before we move on to discuss the actual removal method, you’ll need to figure out where the rodent’s spending most of their time. See, rats and mice tend to follow set patterns and pathways around the house, as it improves their chances of being safe (since it’s already explored territory).
So the first thing you want to do is establish a path, so you know where to plant your chosen rat removal method. Speaking of…
Read Also:
Try Live Trapping
Perhaps the most popular rodent removal method at present is live trapping. This is a method in which we place a cage alongside the rodent’s natural path, with a little bit inside (peanut butter works particularly well), and wait.
The rat or mouse will eventually be attracted inside, and once there, it will step on a motion plate, causing the doors of the cage to fall, trapping it inside.
Make sure you check the trap regularly, so as not to cause the rodent unnecessary stress or suffering. Once the rodent’s been trapped, the cage will allow you to transport and relocate it to a safe location, where it won’t be able to bother you anymore.
Careful, though, make sure you don’t release the rodent in an area where it might become a problem for your neighbors, or other people, as that would just be impolite.
Should You Use Poison?
While poison continues to be a popular rodent removal option, it does have a couple of drawbacks. First of all, there’s the inhumane nature of the kill that’s largely unnecessary when you could get rid of the rat in more humane, non-lethal ways.
Secondly, the trouble with poison is that it tends to be slow-acting, taking hours for the rat to die (in agony, we might add). During this time, the rat is likely to seek shelter inside your property, often inside the walls, or other difficult-to-access places.
Once it dies there, it will cause an unpleasant odor, which will in turn attract other nuisance wildlife. So this is probably not something you should be going for.
Lastly, poison is troublesome as it runs the risk of also infecting native wildlife, your pets, or even your children. There are special rat traps that use poison while prevent bigger animals from getting to it.
Hire A Professional
If you ask us, the best thing you can do to get rid of a rat or mouse that’s bothering your home is to just hire a professional at frankswildlife.com. Hiring a wildlife removal pro carries a number of benefits:
- It guarantees 100% efficiency;
- They can help you prevent future infestations;
- Many wildlife removal companies also offer sanitizing and repair services, to remove all traces of the rodent’s damaging presence.
At the end of the day, hiring a professional wildlife removal company just saves you a lot of time and energy while also getting rid of your rodent problem.
