I have rats in the attic. I was told that I have rats by an exterminator that was taking care of a bee problem (he saw droppings), and just recently I found a cable chewed through in the attic, and have heard definitely scratching sounds from the ceiling (we just had the first hard rain of the season, so I suppose they’re sheltering).
I prefer a relatively humane solution and have a pretty low ick tolerance. I know that snap traps work, but I’m not sure I could bring myself to handle one afterward. I’m not sure what I could do with a live-trapped rat, and suspect that the end result would just be a more extended death. I’d prefer something quick. Obviously, glue and poison are right out.
I see that there are now electronic rat traps on the market that electrocute the rat. At least some of them seem to get reasonable reviews. Has anyone used one of these?
Get over it; they need to be dead. Seriously. Rats are a health hazard, as are rat droppings. They’re damaging your home and putting your health in danger. Call a pro and get them remove ASAP.
I got the Victor brand mouse version (also on Amazon) for the few mice that sneak in as fall gets colder, which was highly recommended and worked great, even after humane catch-traps got nothing previously. Still, I wouldn’t mess with rats either and would get a pro if you can afford it, otherwise check for the Victor version electronic rat trap.
My concern with them is always that what if you don’t catch the rodent right around the neck? You could just injure it and cause a slow death, or if it’s still mobile, it could drag the trap off and die somewhere that you can’t find the body (and believe me, those smells are terrible and long-lasting). The electronic traps are supposed to be fast, at least, and avoid the ‘just injured’ part.
Not if you neglect to regularly check them. I had an employee who wanted to switch to “live” traps. I relented and bought a few. She initially checked them daily and took the traps somewhere, where she released the mice. After several days without mice she became lax in checking. Investigating odor, I found a trap full of dead mice that starved/cannabilized each other.
In our barn I have a few of these plastic snap traps.. They are perfect, you never handle the rat. The electronic traps still need to be emptied, just like the snap trap, plus you eventually have battery drain leading to annoyed/live rats.
Yeah, I weighed those options and chose the one I thought was the best. Not sure if there’s a “good” way to do it unless they develop a snap-trap that guarantees a neck-shot.
The newest version of electronic rat traps have a small room containing a small screen with GTA V on in. The rats get so caught up in playing they forget to eat.
you want to check traps often and take out the animal because others will eat it. you can handle a trap with gloves. throwing out a fresh animal is not as bad as a stinky or half eaten one.
Sorry, but I’m not going to set up a situation where a rat chews through its own legs to free itself. Nor do I want a dead rat decomposing in my walls. I’ll use snap traps if it comes down to it since I know they’re pretty quick, but was hoping someone had used the electronic traps.
I live in a condo and in fact can get the HOA to pay for a pro. Problem is that seems like it’ll be pretty inconvenient. I don’t really see any solution other than the guy coming over several times to check on the traps. I’d rather just try to handle it myself.
I live on the third story and the rats are getting in via nearby trees. I’m hoping that the migration rate from the ground is low enough that a trap will be effective.
On the other hand, if you call a pro, they’ll find out where the rats are getting in and block off their entry points. That’ll prevent more rats from getting in so you don’t have an ongoing problem.
I thought about this, but it’s only partially true in this case. The attic space is semi-shared with several other residents (it’s partitioned, but not completely sealed). It’s possible or even likely that the rats are arriving via some other entrance in the building. If the problem got bad enough, I’m sure we could the HOA to pay for a whole-building inspection, but it might get annoying to set up.
There’s one other nice advantage of the electronic version that I can think of:
My attic is pretty hard to get into, since there’s no real ladder. Ideally, I’d rather not have to check the trap every day. The electronic traps have an indicator light that I can wire up to email me if it’s been triggered. Assuming it works, of course…
My husband tried an electronic mousetrap. It did successfully electrocute a mouse at some point, but the batteries then died and the light failed to light up and then the mouse rotted, and…well, those familiar with dead-rodent smell know the rest. It’s now sitting out on the deck in pieces waiting to go into the trash. It was just the latest in a long line of experiments that started with me thinking I could just live-trap the adorable l’il buggers and take them out to the road to be set free.
We now use a combination of an indoor cat with farm genes and plastic snap traps in places the cat can’t get to. If one survives the snapping, we toss it into a 5-gallon pail with 6 inches of water in it and let it drown. We also do annual inspections to find entry points, but there are always some to be missed on a 112-year-old farmhouse with steel siding over wooden clapboards.
I think your only lasting solution will be to go with a professional, who can deal with the existing rats and find the entry points into your attic. He or she can specifically look for entries from the neighboring units in addition to direct access from outside. If they are indeed coming up from overhanging trees, the trees need to be cut back to prevent this, but be aware that rats and mice can climb up downspouts and use the rain gutters/eaves troughs as highways around the building.
You pay HOA fees (I assume) for a reason, and I think this is one of those times you and your neighbors need to get together and demand a solution that will benefit the whole facility. Of course, you could also buy some live traps and start a small business selling rats to snake owners.
we live the foothills of a large city so we have mice, rats, racoons, yada yada I tried the electronic traps and they worked good. I diligently checked them but discovered when a rat or a mouse is electrocuted they urinate on the step pad. I would wash it out but with each rat or mouse caught more urine was let. Eventually it rotted out the connection and the trap failed. When turned on it would hummmm and making snapping/popping sounds, not something I wanted to be left alone in the attic. I went back to quick set plastic large rat traps, easy to load with bait and easy to set and easy to dispose of. I tethered the trap with 80lb fishing line so it could not be drug off by a wounded rat. In retrospect it was too much work. If you can afford it, hire an exterminator. As someone mentioned, killing them in the attic is just one issue, finding their entrance points is key to ending the problem.
and plastic snap traps in places the cat can’t get to. If one survives the snapping, we toss it into a 5-gallon pail with 6 inches of water in it and let it drown. We also do annual inspections to find entry points, but there are always some to be missed on a 112-year-old farmhouse with steel siding over wooden clapboards.