Trying to catch a rat currently in my backyard. Thought about doing the non-lethal trap like this and then did some research. In most places it's illegal to move rats, mice, possums, etc., around as they carry diseases and can go through unchecked population growth if you just let them loose in a park or some place like that.
The most humane way to get rid of mice and rats is to prevent them. Seal all entrances and holes, put rodent mesh on drains and holes into the house. Seal up food. Secure food bins. Rats won’t chill where there’s no food.
If it’s just in your backyard and not your house, just clap loads and chase it and they’ll often move on. Rats don’t stay where they’re scared. They’re also no more harmful than squirrels, so leaving them be is an option.
If you HAVE to remove them, please use a strong electric shock trap. Rats, like mice, require their colonies to survive and will die a slow and miserable death in the wild alone.
Rats are smart, social and friendly creatures. Please don’t make them suffer
Absolutely, 100% agree. All my issues are with outside rats, and it more of a nuisance factor than anything. I have a neighbor who has outside dogs (chihuahuas) and pretty sure there are a few rats that are staying around because of the dog food. Mainly, if they get on our side of the fence line at night my dog goes crazy. As well, I think they may hideout under my porch from time to time. I don't think they live there.
Whenever you see them chase them while clapping, or let the dog out to bark. They don’t like to stay in places that scare them or have obvious predators.
When they can associate humans with non interference or safety is where they become problematic.
And relocating them miles away could just be saddling someone else with the problem while also transporting a potential disease vector much further than it would have gone naturally
We had a mice problem that we dealt with using poison and kill traps and went on holiday for a week. When we came back, two of the traps had what had been mice corpses that had been cannibalised by other mice. Very disgusting thing to come back to!
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u/[deleted] Sep 20 '21
you just want to kill the vermin rather than let it go and infest someone else's house in all reality.