Many people have heard about electric rat traps, but not everyone fully understands how these devices work, how effective they are and when, in general, it makes sense to replace more traditional means with them. Well, we’ll talk about these traps in more detail and look at a number of interesting nuances related to their use in practice.
As you can guess from the name, the operation of an electric rat trap is directly related to the use of electric current. Moreover, we are talking specifically about the destruction of animals, and not about their capture alive. An important question that should immediately arise is: isn’t such a trap dangerous for other inhabitants of the house, including people? After all, electricity... We will also talk about this later.
In general, it can be noted that electronic rat traps are very simple and convenient to use, and the effectiveness of such devices is quite high - if used correctly, they can be used to exterminate even a large population of rats in a given area...
Operating principle of electric rat traps
The operation of an electric rat trap is based on a simple principle: an animal, climbing into the rat trap and trying to pull the bait out of it, closes an electrical circuit on itself. A high voltage current passes through its body, which leads to almost instantaneous death of the animal.
In some types of traps, contacts are made on the animal's paws when it climbs into the rat trap. In other devices, the rat receives an electric shock when it touches a baited feeder. Theoretically, in the first case, the rat has a chance to escape, but there is no practical difference in efficiency between devices with different circuits: rats are equally reliably destroyed by traps of both types.
It is clear that for reliable destruction of the pest, the voltage on the electrodes of the device must be high enough. To do this, voltage converters are often used, which make it possible to convert low voltage from batteries into several thousand volts at the output. So, in some traps, a rat or mouse receives an electric shock with a voltage of up to 8000 V (although the voltage can be lower - the standard 220 V is also quite “enough” for a rat).
Due to voltage converters, some electric rat traps are autonomous, run on batteries or rechargeable batteries and do not require a connection to the network.
Why catch rats?
They carry diseases Rodents or their stool can contaminate your food with harmful bacteria that can cause dysentery, salmonella, gastroenteritis and many other diseases. Rats carry more than 60 infectious diseases. They can cause a fire in your home. They bite through various surfaces, including wires, both inside your walls and in living areas.
This creates a potential hazard that could result in a fire. Rats are dangerous to people. Rats treat people the same way they treat other animals or livestock. Namely, like food, only moving. They reproduce quickly, leading to a serious infestation within a few months. Rats can breed all year round. A pair of rats can produce up to 6,000 offspring during their lifetime. Rats chew everything they see, sharpening and grinding down their teeth. Why? Because their teeth grow at a rate of almost 14 cm per year! As a result, their teeth are so sharp that they can chew right through cement or cinder blocks—and even lead pipes. It is difficult to catch rats on your own, because... they are practically invisible and elusive. Therefore, the sooner you start catching them, the less likely you are to face serious consequences. And the Owltra electronic rat trap will help you with this!
The main advantages of such devices
One of the main advantages of an electronic rat trap is the “hygienic” nature of its use. This compares favorably with poisons, which have to be spread throughout the apartment (and then be afraid that neither the product itself nor the rat poisoned by it will be found by pets), as well as mechanical traps, which, when triggered, often leave dried blood stains on the floor.
In addition, electric exterminators are for the most part very effective: in practice, with their help it is often possible to get rid of even the most cautious rats (who are wise with experience and no longer touch the poison and bypass ordinary crush traps).
Other advantages of electric rat traps:
- The compactness of the device, the ability to install it in fairly secluded and hard-to-reach places;
- Humaneness (compared to some other types of devices) - the animal dies in a trap almost instantly, without suffering from pain. This makes electric rat traps significantly different, for example, from glue traps, in which a rat can die for several days;
- Ease of use - the trap does not need to be prepared for a long time, and even disposal of the animal’s corpse is very simple and takes less than a minute (you don’t even have to touch the animal’s corpse).
Meanwhile, with all the above advantages, the electric rat trap also has certain disadvantages...
Reviews about the drugs
- One morning I saw a large rat sitting on a trash can in the kitchen. She was not very willing to run away from my movements. Living on the second floor of a nine-story building, I immediately went for a means of dealing with a dangerous, unpleasant animal. The first product I came across was “Tsunami”. Having laid out the pink tablets in accordance with the instructions, near the water pipes in the kitchen, I noticed their disappearance the next day. The rat did not appear again. The place is difficult to reach. I take the pills often. Marina .
- Infestations of rats and mice in the country are common. Especially at the beginning of autumn. I spread rat poison on the veranda and kitchen. Everything was eaten. I didn’t find any corpses, but the rats didn’t appear again. In the spring there were no signs of rats. Valentina.
- In late autumn I used Zookoumarin powder. I forgot a bucket of water on the veranda. Arriving at the dacha two weeks later, I was horrified to find a full bucket of swollen corpses. I had to bury it urgently. Perhaps this is one of the particularly effective methods of struggle. I didn’t see any more rats in the dacha. Only small autumn mice. Lyudmila.
Disadvantages of Electronic Rat Traps
Like any electrical device, electronic rat traps can pose a hazard to pets and humans if not handled correctly. However, in fairness, it must be said that many modern models of electric rat traps powered by batteries, even with a gross violation of safety regulations during operation (for example, if you stick your fingers inside), are not capable of causing serious harm to human health.
The most dangerous devices to use are those made by yourself and powered by a 220 V mains voltage. Often, the circuits of such homemade products do not provide any protection - at best, a fuse that will not save you from a life-threatening electric shock.
In general, simple mechanical rat traps with a powerful spring can be considered much more dangerous to use than modern battery-powered electric rat traps. A trap can easily break a child’s finger or a cat’s paw, while electronic rat and mouse exterminators are designed in such a way that you cannot reach the electrodes with your fingers (or paw).
Pied Animals
Pets are used to kill pests. The most famous rat catchers are cats. Predators hunt small animals and quickly destroy them. Residents of private houses resort to the help of mustachios. The kitten must be born to a rat-catcher cat. His mother will teach him to look for and catch mice.
Cats living in apartments rarely hunt. They have enough food and do not need to hunt for food. Pedigree cats most often do not know how to catch mice. But their owners claim that the cat smell discourages pests from settling in the house.
Interesting!
Dogs are wonderful rat catchers. Terriers monitor the safety of the home. They are able to quickly find an enemy and kill him with one bite.
Ratcatchers include snakes. The snake strangles the victim and then eats it.
It is difficult to choose the most effective remedy for rats and mice. Everyone chooses for themselves the best method of exterminating pests. Some people prefer to use store-bought chemicals. Others resort to catching mice using traps. But it’s better not to wait for uninvited guests to appear and take preventive measures. Do wet cleaning of the premises, seal cracks in the floors, and prevent debris from appearing near the entrance.
Brands of electric rat traps
Perhaps the best known electric traps in Russia are electric traps from the Victor company. There are several models, differing in design complexity and price:
- The simplest Victor trap is mains powered. After catching the animal, you need to unplug it and throw the catch into the trash can. The price of this model is approximately 3,300 rubles. Analogues are Sititek Antirats and Ecosniper GH-190;
- Victor Rat Zapper
Also on sale you can find imported electronic rat traps Rat Killer Yutec and Rat Zapper 2000 - analogues of the Victor Rat Zapper Classic and Victor Electronic Rat Trap, respectively.
Today you can easily buy Victor rat traps in online stores, with delivery throughout Russia. Occasionally, imported electronic rat traps can be found in physical retail outlets.
“I bought myself such a bomb thing in Moscow - an electric rat trap. The device is not cheap, I was a little worried that it would be a waste of money and there would be no effect. But no, in three days I’ve already killed two rats...”
Physical means
Electric Trap Rat Killer
Conventionally, they are divided into exterminators and repellents. The former are needed to destroy rodents, the latter - to scare away. Conventionally, exterminators are divided into traps and traps. In the first case, the destruction of the rodent occurs at the moment it touches the bait, in the second - after capture. Sometimes traps are intended only to catch a rodent, and the owner will decide for himself what to do with it next.
Traps
Classic mouse trap
Plastic mousetrap
Traps
A standard mousetrap can be made in different ways. The basis of the mechanism is a spring kept in a cocked state. When the rodent takes the bait, the spring straightens and the impact mechanism is activated.
The impact mechanism is not necessarily made of metal. It only takes a little force to kill a mouse, which is why plastic traps have become popular lately. After removing the rodent's corpse, the trap can be cocked again and repeated many times.
This is a simple, convenient and very effective tool. The intelligence of mice does not allow them to understand the danger of such structures, so the use of such mousetraps is very effective.
The disadvantage of such designs is that you will have to deal with numerous corpses of mice , some of which (if the staple successfully hits the rodent's head) will have a very unattractive appearance.
Traps
Sticky traps
Electronic mousetrap Victor
Universal Rat Zapper Trap by Victor
Traps
Traps come in a variety of types, from homemade structures made from plastic bottles to small electronic chambers or holes that electrocute rodents. This group also includes sticky traps coated with especially adhesive compounds, both containing poison and not containing it.
Recently, devices from Victor, which are boxes with a high-voltage source powered by ordinary batteries, have gained great popularity. The mouse is attracted by the smell of the bait, crawls inside and receives an electric shock.
At the same time, unlike traps, there is no mechanical damage to the mouse’s body and there is no need to wipe the floor stained with entrails: the corpses of mice are removed from the trap without physical contact with them. The power of traps can be very different, and they exist in various modifications: not only for mice, but also for rats.
Electrical traps
This is a new development and it is only gaining popularity among users. The method belongs to the category of humane. Once inside, the rodent is shocked and dies instantly. The structure emits light signals. They help determine whether someone is in the mousetrap or not.
The advantage of the trap is that it can be used repeatedly. The disadvantages are that the mousetrap depends on mains power. Those owners who keep pets need to be especially careful with it.
Attention! The possibility of small animals falling into the trap together with rodents or instead of them cannot be ruled out.
We offer a list of the most famous devices:
- RatZapper.
- Victor Electronic Rat Trap.
- Multi Kill system.
- RAT Trap Victor.
- Rat Killer Yutec.
It is advisable to place the device where pests are most often found, for example, next to walls. You can stop setting mousetraps when there is no droppings or fur of small pests in the room. This means you managed to remove the mice, and you can celebrate your victory.
Glue traps
The adhesive strips work like mousetraps. Such paths are impregnated with a special aroma that attracts rodents. It could be the smell of seeds, bacon, peanuts. Having stepped on such a surface with its paws, the animal cannot leave it without outside help. Making efforts to break free, he only loses strength and becomes even more stuck.
Important! The disadvantages of this type of trap are that they are cruel to rodents. The mice become exhausted and die painfully from dehydration and hunger.
In addition, it is unpleasant to remove half-dead pests from the sticky tape. The advantage of Velcro is that they can be placed anywhere. Together with mice, it is possible to catch cockroaches, snakes and other creatures that you do not want in your home. Device rating:
- Rat & Mouse.
- "Rodentoff".
- "Kotofey"
- Expert Catch.
- "Force site".
"Live traps"
Despite the creepy name, this type of trap is the most humane, since the animal remains alive. The structure is designed in such a way that once a rodent gets into it, it cannot get out on its own. If your plans do not include killing the pest, then this option is for you. The animal will not enter the cage voluntarily, so it needs to be lured with something tasty. Considering that mice and rats are wary of new things, a clever approach with food bait will lull their vigilance.
Attention! To free the trap from a pest, you first need to place it in a bag, then open the door, and when the animal jumps out, you can safely take it out and release it.
The only downside is that mice can come back. You will have to check the device quite often so that the animal inside does not die.
Chemical
The most effective repellents for rats and mice are chemical ones. They are sold in the form of various preparations and baits with an attractive aroma for rodents. Contains poisons. After consuming the drug, rapid death occurs. Use can be continued until the entire colony of rats and mice is eliminated.
Attention! If you do not find out the exact reason for the appearance of pests on the site, they may appear again. There are many types of chemical poisons for rats and mice, sold in different forms. Some products not only kill animals, but mummify them, so the appearance of a corpse odor is excluded.
Before using the drug against rats, you need to understand that they can adapt to the drug. After all, rats understand that these are poisons. As a result, the fight becomes more complicated, and if the rodent remains alive after consuming the bait, then the chemistry will no longer have an effect on its body and its offspring. Next time the summer resident will have to buy poisons with other active substances.
Attention! When treating premises, you must carefully follow the instructions and be careful. To do this, it is necessary to use protective equipment and install bait in places where pets and children cannot reach.
Powders
Poison in the form of powders is not the most convenient for use at home or in the countryside. A person needs to personally prepare the bait by adding rat repellent to it.
There is a danger for the people themselves. After all, the drugs collect dust, and it is possible that they are inhaled and poisoned.
Aerosols
Gas or aerosol preparations for rats and mice work well. They are most often used on an industrial scale. They can be used in non-residential premises, strictly according to the instructions. Aerosol agents for baiting parasites at home are not applicable.
Briquettes
The consistency of briquette poisons is similar to plasticine. They attract rats because they are visually similar to meat, but they are unattractive to mice. However, they are convenient to use. They are sold in bright colors, which allows a person to distinguish chemical briquettes from ordinary food.
Sugar mixtures
The products are convenient against mice. They attract rodents with their sweet smell and are often sold in granule form. Rats may also be effective. They are convenient to use, the main thing is that your pets do not eat the poison.
Testox
Testox product
Testox
A universal remedy against rats and mice. The mortality rate of the latter is 100%. The active substance is bromadialone at a concentration of 0.005%.
The poison is in the form of red briquettes weighing 10 g. A flavoring with the taste of peanuts, cheese, vanilla or sunflower is added to the briquettes.
Testox is laid out in places where rodents are active, 2-5 briquettes at one point. The distances between bookmarks vary from 2 to 15 m. Bookmarks are updated every 1-2 days during the week.
The effect of the drug is similar to those discussed earlier. On the 3-4th day, rodents begin to show anxiety and come out of hiding. After a few more days, they die from paralysis of the respiratory muscles.
Lanirat
Lanirat packaging
Lanirat
A chemical based on bromadialone (concentration 0.0055%). It is a grain bait treated with an active substance. The grains used are wheat or sunflower.
The product can be used both indoors and outdoors. Application rates indoors range from 10 to 50 g per planting, in the garden or vegetable garden - up to 10-15 g per hole or about 0.2-0.3 kg per hundred square meters.
Rodent mortality occurs within 10 days. Lures are updated daily.
Drug Storm
Appearance of solid briquettes Storm
Drug Storm
German product from BASF. One of the best remedies currently. The active ingredient is flocumafen at a concentration of 0.005%. Produced in the form of blue briquettes with light inclusions.
An extremely effective product. For one residential premises with an area of up to 100 sq. m. You only need 1 or 2 briquettes. They should be placed in areas where rodents come from. The bait has a strong attracting effect, so there should be no problems with attracting rodents. Moreover, the manufacturer does not recommend laying out too many baits to avoid the arrival of rodents from other places.
Lures are updated every 1-2 days. Untouched baits are transferred to new places. The manufacturer guarantees the destruction of rodents within a week.
The storm is extremely toxic. You can only work with it while wearing gloves. You should also avoid inhaling its vapors for too long.
Warat bait
Warat bait
Warat bait
Granular bait with a small fraction of pale pink color. Used primarily against mice. Can be used both indoors and for treating garden plots.
The active substance is brodifacoum (concentration 0.005%). The product should be placed in small containers of 10-15 g per point. Bookmarks in rooms are made with a consumption of 10-20 g per 1 sq. m., bookmarks in gardens or vegetable plots - up to 2 kg per hundred square meters or 8 g per mouse hole. The interval between bookmark updates is 1-2 weeks. Death of rodents occurs within 2-3 weeks.
Seeds treated with poison
This product is sold in the form of grain soaked in poison. Suitable for eliminating mice, although sometimes it also helps against rats.
Pastes
They are similar in efficiency and action to briquettes. The main difference is that after the paste or gel there may be traces left on the floor, so it is easy to determine the habitat of rats and mice.
It is recommended to look for the best anti-rat remedies based on blood anticoagulants. More often, chemical preparations for baiting are made in the form of granules and briquettes. The first type comes in different shapes: tablets, dragees, cylinders.
Rules of application and safety measures
Electric rat traps are quite easy to use. To catch a rat you need:
- Place bait in the device - for this there is a special feeder on the inside of the back wall of the device;
- Connect the rat trap to the network or insert batteries into it - depending on the model;
- Install the device where it can be easily reached by a rat or mouse attracted by the smell of the bait. It is advisable to choose a place to install the trap where pests are most often (where they leave their traces);
- From time to time (but at least once a day) check the indicator signals in the rat trap. Each model has its own mode of operation of the indicator, described in detail in the instructions;
- After catching a rat, you simply need to tilt the trap so that the animal falls out of it. If the corpse needs to be removed from the device by hand, the power in it is first turned off. In a model with a storage chamber, only the chamber itself is cleaned.
The Victor Rat Zapper Ultra is sold complete with a remote indicator that can be placed in an easily accessible, visible location. This is very convenient: the rat trap may be somewhere in the pantry behind a box of potatoes, and it will be difficult to look there regularly. It is enough to put the indicator on a shelf in the room and only check it. The rat catcher will only need to get it when the corresponding light comes on, indicating that the rodent has been captured.
Minced meat with onions, smoked sausage, scorched lard or bread lightly moistened with vegetable oil are good baits for rats.
Electric rat traps should only be used in areas where children and pets are not present. The exception is the Victor Multi Kill Electronic Mouse Trap, which is well protected and does not pose a danger to pets and humans.
Electric traps should also not be used outdoors. Here harmless and sometimes very useful animals - shrews, birds, hedgehogs, lizards and snakes - can climb into them and die. In such cases, the harm to the site will be greater than the benefit from destroying the pests with a trap.
Smart Rodent Detection
The trap is equipped with two infrared sensors, one at the entrance and one near the bait. Owltra only activates when it detects a rodent inside the trap, preventing false alarms and protecting children and small pets.
Is it possible to make an electronic rat trap with your own hands?
It’s easy to make an electronic rat trap yourself from readily available radio components. An important task in this case is to find a reliable housing in which, in fact, all the elements will be placed and which will serve as the trap itself. The easiest way for this purpose is to use a regular food container, in which a hole with a diameter of 6-7 cm is cut out for the animal to enter.
Next, two metal plates are placed on the bottom of the container so that the distance between them is more than 1 cm (more than the length of the rat’s paw). This will avoid a situation where the animal “locks up” only one paw, it gets burned, but does not die and runs away. If there is one or more paws on one plate, and another on the other, then the current will flow through the animal’s body, which will lead to death.
An option is possible when power is supplied to one contact at the bottom of the rat trap and to the hook on which the bait hangs. In this case, the likelihood of the rodent dying when the trap is triggered will be even higher.
The drawing below shows one of the options for the electrical circuit of the device:
Such a trap is installed where the rat is likely to find it. After catching the animal, the rat trap must be unplugged from the outlet, the capacitors must be discharged with a conductive object (insulated from hands), and then the animal’s carcass must be removed.
It should be understood that the danger of such a homemade device for humans and pets is incomparably higher than in the case of using a factory device powered by batteries.
“We bought a Victor electric rat trap, it looks solid, right for the money. We put it in the nightstand under the sink, where the trash can is, and began to wait. Nothing in the morning. In the evening, too, nothing, but no one climbed into the bucket. Every other day in the morning I open the bedside table and the tail is sticking out of the trap. I took it, turned it over, and the rat fell out. Everything is fine, no blood. It’s a good rat trap, it works.”
Options for replacing an electric rat trap with other types of traps
No matter how simple and convenient electric rat traps are, in many cases one or another of their shortcomings does not allow home owners to use them.
In such cases, more traditional means can be used with the same reliability:
- Conventional mechanical traps are much cheaper and about as simple and effective to use. When installed in a special bait house, they will not harm anyone. If it is not a problem for you to remove a rat with a broken spine or a crushed skull from a trap, then such devices can be used;
- Tunnel strangler traps are completely safe, but they work well mainly only for catching mice;
- Live traps - these devices are suitable for situations where there are pets or children living in the house, and you don’t want to risk their health. They are good if you do not want to kill a rat or mouse, but only plan to catch it, take it away from the house and release it;
- Rodent repellent glue and glue traps based on it are perhaps the most undesirable and inhumane means of fighting rats. Stuck rodents will die for a long time on the sticky surface, or you will have to finish them off yourself.
A good option (if used correctly and carefully) is poison for rats and mice. They are very inexpensive, effective, and if placed in bait houses, they are quite safe - neither children nor pets can get them.
If you have personal experience using electric rat traps, be sure to share the information by leaving your review at the bottom of this page.
Classification of funds
Means for fighting mice
Conventionally, means for fighting mice can be divided into three large groups:
- physical means (mousetraps, traps, traps, scarers, etc. this also includes the natural enemies of mice - cats);
- chemicals (poisonous substances in various designs - from powders and aerosols to poisoned baits in the form of treats);
- folk remedies ; are physical or chemical means, or combinations thereof, made in an artisanal way
Depending on various conditions and circumstances, it is necessary to use a specific type of remedy or a combination of several. For example, if there are pets in the house, it is better not to use poisonous baits, etc. Let's describe the different types of mice repellents in more detail:
Useless purchase
I really hoped that by purchasing this rat trap, I would solve the problem with rats. I was especially inspired by the video on YouTube, where a rat runs into a rat trap and... then the rat is already on its side and doesn’t run anywhere else.
Alas. Having spent 2600 rub. +300 rubles to buy a trap and bring it by plane to the place of fishing, I was bitterly disappointed. The rat entered the trap, enjoyed the bait and... calmly left
