Do-it-yourself rat trap: how to catch a rat at home, effective homemade traps

Rodents cause great harm to humans. Rats are the most dangerous of them because they are intelligent and cunning. They carry diseases, damage property and destroy food. Once a rat appears in the house, it is not easy to get rid of it. Sometimes conventional traps do not bring results, and new models have to be invented. At home, you can make effective rat traps with your own hands from available items.

Why do rats start

The relationship between rodents and humans has never worked out; pests spoil food, gnaw clothes and walls in the house, and most importantly, like many centuries ago, they become carriers of diseases. The conditions for the appearance of rats and mice in the home can be the following factors:

sufficient food;
normal room temperature (heated object);
location of a landfill or trash can nearby;
lower floors of high-rise buildings - uninvited guests come from basements;
unsanitary conditions in a certain apartment can become a nursery, a place where tailed animals spread throughout the house;
the presence in country houses and sheds where domestic animals live - rats find a constant source of food and steal food from pets.

Ingenuity is man's main trump card in destroying parasites that spoil property and spread life-threatening diseases.
It is not always possible to immediately understand that “gray” robbers have settled in a home. Rats are cautious creatures, of course, if their colony increases, then they will be noticeable visually. You need to pay attention to the following aspects:

specific smell in small rooms;
fussing under the floor, behind the walls or squeaking;
rodent droppings in different rooms and under furniture;
spoiled food;
holes and gnawed walls, wooden products;
"sewn" paper.

Making a trap yourself is quite simple, the main thing is to follow the instructions and “don’t reinvent the wheel.”

Important to remember. Rats are carriers of the following diseases: tetanus, leptospirosis, typhus, etc. They are dangerous for both country houses and city apartments. Catching pests is the key to the health of your family!

Precautions

Rats

Now you need to consider ways to protect yourself.

In fact, there are quite a lot of options, you can adapt each method to your situation, it depends on the conditions.

Natural enemies. We must not forget about cats, mouse and rat hunters. Many people get cats for this very purpose. You should remember that. That wilder cats are better at hunting. You should not take purebred pets for this not so simple mission. You also need to remember. That some cats are good at catching mice. But they can't handle rats. These breeds include the Sphynx

An important condition is to vaccinate your pet against diseases transmitted by rodents in order to protect it. Repellent

Not always effective, but deterrents such as smell or sound can still be used

Rats have very sensitive receptors, especially for odors.

Therefore, you can use substances such as ammonia, vinegar, kerosene or acetone. If you take sound into account, the most effective method is ultrasound. A person is unlikely to hear anything since he simply does not perceive these frequencies, and the rats do leave, but not for long

Poison. Not an effective method, but you can try. Rats are considered quite cunning rodents; their vitality often amazes even scientists. One of the main disadvantages of this method is that after death the rodent leaves behind a persistent smell of decomposition. Traps. Quite a radical method, but it is really effective. After using traps, a person will immediately understand that the rat no longer poses a danger. It cannot be ruled out that over time animals learn to bypass traps that have a guillotine mechanism.

To summarize, we can say that rats and mice cause great harm to people, so it is important to take care of your safety measures and protect yourself from meeting them. To do this, you need to make traps for them or order them online if there is no other option. https://www.youtube.com/embed/m0lmXTIznuU

How to make a rat trap with your own hands

DIY rat traps are by far the most effective way to catch those pesky rodents. The main thing you need to pay attention to is that the trap should be quite durable and of medium size. You need to take into account the fact that tailed animals can even chew through some types of concrete. In addition, an animal “backed into a corner” becomes as aggressive as possible. A small creature is able to withstand a huge (for these individuals) person. This means that the rat trap must be reliable, and the hostile creature must not, under any circumstances, injure a person.

The main advantage of a homemade trap is that you yourself know how it works, how it works, and you can also make a number of changes and modifications yourself.

A homemade device is sometimes more effective against rodents than purchased models. You can put your creative ideas into the mechanism; in addition, rats are curious and are attracted to incomprehensible designs.

In order to make a trap with your own hands, you do not need to create “high-tech” units; clear and simple designs that do not require specific materials are the most effective. And if a novice engineer-master shows a little ingenuity, you can create a formidable “machine for destruction.”

Most often, these are rather simple designs for catching rats, which can be made by spending a minimum of time and materials on manufacturing.

Note. If you hope that when several individuals appear, you should not take radical measures, you are deeply mistaken. One pest is capable of breeding about twenty cubs per month. Therefore, only total destruction is the right way out of the situation.

Tipping

This method is catching “tailed robbers,” which means that the animal will approach the bait and fall into a deep space.

Alternatively, you can make a rat trap with your own hands based on a tilting bar.

One of the popular options for creating a “tunnel”:
we attach the tunnel structure to the edge of the table (tape, glue, etc.), the upper part of the device should hang over the “abyss”, and the bottom should be cut off;
at the very edge, inside the pipe there should be a “treat”;
where the table ends, you need to place a deep container of water;
the rat runs along the passage towards the bait and falls down.
You can also catch annoying animals using another overturning method: place a falling bridge with bait on the edge of the barrel, and bring a ladder (board) to it.

Thus, the rat, tempted by the treat, will end up in the bucket from whichever direction it enters.

Additional Information. Any container: bucket, barrel, can - must be filled with water, so the rodent will not be able to get out.

From plastic bottles

In order to make a trap from a plastic bottle, you don’t need many different materials - one of the simplest methods used in practice. There are a huge number of types of these devices, but their main principle of operation lies in the functional use of the bottle.

This is probably the simplest and cheapest option for a DIY rat trap, and does not require much ingenuity.

Let's look at the most effective traps:

“Closing trap” - classic type:
the cut part is pierced with a straight pin or a wooden stick - this is the fastening for the harness (rubber spring);
a similar pin pierces the inside of the container - also a kind of fastening;
two rods are connected with an elastic band or a tourniquet;
the release mechanism is attached to the bottom, the bait is hung on it, the pest pulls the bait, the mechanism is triggered, the rat is caught!
“Spinning trap” - made from an ordinary plastic bottle:
the finished mechanism is lubricated with sour cream;
the entire apparatus is attached to a barrel (large bucket);
a ladder (board) is needed to reach the barrel;
the animal jumps on the bottle, it turns and the voracious creature flies into the abyss.

An animal sneaking behind the bait will turn the bottle over and fall into the bucket.

Covering live trap

This method of controlling rodents has been known since time immemorial.

The simplest device is a jar (pan) and a coin. Food is scattered near the trap, the jar is placed on the “money”, the rat will certainly touch the coin when it runs near the trap. The main thing is that at the moment when the stylized trigger is touched, the animal is inside the device.
More modern option:
We install a rod inside the container and tie a thread with bait onto it;
the thread should also be attached to the coin (sometimes a cardboard corner is used, and the bait is placed on it;
the mammal pulls the thread, the stand falls, the “glutton” is caught!

You can make such a rat trap with just a jar, bait and a coin.

Cage traps

Homemade products of this type have proven themselves very well in pest control. For some people, this design may be a heavy option, requiring iron materials and a drawing of the mechanism. Of course, if you want, you can master this method too - this is not a “high-precision converter project”, but an iron rat trap.

a sufficiently strong steel cage is required;
on the one hand, a door is attached to the cage, which is lowered using a spring;
at the end of the fence food is attached to the trigger mechanism;
The tailed one grabs the treat, the device works, the doors close!

Not the most common, but one of the most effective options for catching small pests.

Tunnel trap

This design is very often used to exterminate not only rats, but also mice and moles in summer cottages; it is not like a tunnel-type rat trap that tips over; it operates on a completely different principle:

you need a piece of pipe (plastic) or other product sealed at one end;
needles are attached to the end and are directed inward;
the bait is placed inside the trap;
the individual enters inside unhindered, cannot get out, the needles kill the animal, or it will remain inside the trap.

An interesting type of homemade rat trap.
Cylinder traps work on the same principle, but without needles. The animal climbed inside and couldn’t get out because of the smooth walls.

Silky

To be honest, this method of catching rodents is quite troublesome. The reason is the small size of the animal. But, if you get used to it, you can successfully complete your hunt. Here's everything you need to make such a trap yourself:

nylon cord;
a piece of fishing line;
insulating tape;
sinker;
stationery rivets;
nuts, bread for bait.

An ancient method that was invented a long time ago by hunters who hunted small forest animals.
For this unit to work successfully, you need to clearly select the load in mass equivalent. If it is too light, the tourniquet simply will not tighten with the required jerk. And the object of the hunt will run away.

Let's get started:

you need to make a loop from the cord;
the imitation noose must be attached to any wooden surface;
the bait must be attached to the same surface, the path of the animal must clearly pass through the noose (you must also take into account that the rat must remain in the middle of the loop while capturing the bait);
we attach a fishing line to the “treat”, stretch one end to the noose;
We hang a sinker in the center on the fishing line;
the annoying rodent grabs the bait, the sinker pulls down, the noose tightens.

Place the loop and bait so that when the rat reaches for the food, the loop is in the middle of the pest's body.

Note. This technique is universal and suitable for individuals of different ages.

Zürner trap

This technique is very similar to classic overturning traps, but with its own characteristics.

visually the trap resembles a wooden toy house;
there are two entrances;
a narrow corridor where there is a bait station at the central point of the canopy;
the floor is hinged on both sides;
a small creature wants to feast on a delicacy, but instead falls into the “basement” of the house, and the floor boards return to their original position.

The classic trap, the principle of which is used in many similar traps, is not necessarily for rats.
It is unlikely to purchase a unit in a store; all elements must be made independently. Due to the troublesome nature of the project itself, such a trap is rarely used in practice.

Additional Information. This device gives you a chance to catch several rats.

Glue traps

There are many rat traps of this type on sale, but it is not always possible to purchase the device. For example, in the countryside or in small shops these products are often not available. It’s easy to make such a trap yourself. You need to buy specialized glue that attracts animals with its smell. We take a sheet of cardboard and spread it with glue, and put complementary foods in the middle. A floundering creature, attracted by a peculiar aroma, will completely stick to the surface.

In household or hardware stores, you can often see glue with images of rats or mice on the shelves. This is a special glue for catching rodents.

Important! There are significant disadvantages of such devices: the animal, as a rule, does not die immediately, but gets nervous and screams, which is very unpleasant for susceptible individuals. A cat or dog can also get caught in a trap, and then it takes a very long time to get them out of the uncomfortable situation.

Electric rat trap

Models of electrical devices are quite popular today. They are not as difficult to make as they seem:

you need plywood on which holes are made for the wires;
We cut out several rectangles from aluminum cans and make holes in them;
we stretch the wires through the slots (we make different polarities in the wiring);
you need to output two common wires to the structure (plus and minus);
we attach rectangles on plywood (with glue), in one row, at a short distance (we connect a phase to one plate, and a zero to the second);
you will need an electronic unit, which can be borrowed from an insect racket; we place it on plywood, short-circuit the electrodes in order to remove the existing charge;
add a capacitor;
cut off the bottom of the plastic bottle, install it in the form of a house on top of the aluminum rectangles;
food is poured inside the house;
we plug the trap into the network, the animal receives an electric shock when it touches both plates.

A relatively humane method for those who do not want to look for options on how to kill a caught rodent.

Wire noose

The trap of such a device can exactly replicate the structure of a snare. Just use steel wire instead of a cord. You can also make an imitation of a hunting snare, attach a steel noose to the surface near the bait, so that the animal that reaches for the bait has a deadly noose on its body.

An interesting option for catching parasites, often used when hunting small animals living in burrows.

In order to fix the animal in the hole, a wooden beam is made with several “holes” and spring mechanisms.

Plastic trap pit

To set up such a trap, it is enough to have a container (from five liters), you can use a bottle:

on the open space, place a Whatman paper cut in the middle using a ribbon method or a regular sheet of paper (with a cross-shaped size);
the paper is secured with tape;
bait is suspended above the container;
a bridge is made from a board to the top;
the animal jumps on the paper, trying to reach the treat and falls into the “abyss”!

The rodent will reach for food and fall down into the trap.

Tin Can Trap

Very similar to the Spinning Bottle design, only here we use a beer can. The mechanism turns and the rodent is in the bucket!

Versha

To catch rats, they use tops, similar to fishing gear. A cage with a cone entrance: the animal runs inside, but cannot go back out - the second entrance is a dead end. You can't go back either, the door only locks in one direction. The general meaning is that there is an entrance, but no exit!

The rat will climb inside the trap, and the mesh behind it will return to its previous position, preventing the rat from getting back in.

How to catch a rat at home? Today there are plenty of options: you can get a cat, use chemistry, but it’s better to make a rat trap with your own hands!

Bucket and tin barrel trap

There are several options for rat traps for rodent control, which can be made from a bucket and a tin barrel. They do not require much time or large expenses.

For example, you can build the following device from a bucket:

You need to pour a solution of salt into the bucket;
You need to pour a layer of sawdust on top. Due to the fact that there is salt water in the container, the sawdust will not drown;
A fragrant bait is placed on top of a layer of sawdust;
Place a board next to the container so that the rat can get to the bait;
As soon as the rodent gets to the treat, it will fall through the sawdust and drown.

You can make the following device from a tin barrel:

A tin barrel is placed next to the table;
A board is placed on the edge of the table. One edge of this element should protrude above the container;
It is worth placing a fragrant treat for the rodent on the edge;
The animal, sensing the smell of the bait, will approach it, and as soon as it steps on the edge of the board, it will fall straight into the barrel.

How to install correctly

Most successful rat catchers say that traps should be placed in the habitats of the animals. You can not immediately set a trap, but lull the wary animal’s vigilance by placing bait on an unspecified trap. A constant diet will make the rat less cautious and the success of the enterprise is guaranteed.

Traps should be installed in places where pests appear; they can be identified by a large accumulation of excrement.

After use, the trap must be cleared of the smell of the deceased creature, so as not to scare away new “candidates for capture.” The trap must be installed against the movement of the “tail”.

Additional Information. The rodent does not like illuminated areas and moves near walls and not in open areas - this must be taken into account when installing trapping devices.

The advantage of handmade

The main advantage of a homemade trap is that you yourself know how it works, how it works, and you yourself can make a number of changes and modifications aimed at improving the performance of the trap for rodents. Most often, these are rather simple designs for catching rats, which can be made by spending a minimum of time and materials on manufacturing. The appearance of these parasites, unfortunately, is not uncommon in apartment buildings with a garbage chute. I myself often encountered a tailed beast jumping up the steps of a flight of stairs. It is best to deal with this type of problem yourself to be sure of the result.

The best bait for a rat trap

The diet of rats is varied; traps can be loaded with the following baits:

cheese;
grain crops;
bakery;
cottage cheese;
sausage;
smoked meats;
sour cream;
nuts;
sunflower oil and seeds;
salo;
even beer, etc.

Animals love fresh and smoked food most of all; rodents should not be underestimated, they are quite selective.

And also a few words about commercially available lethal rat traps (traps)

All of the homemade rat traps described above have an important feature - they allow you to catch the animal alive (the so-called live traps).

However, you can also effectively fight rats using commercially produced traps that will kill rats. For example, among the most popular are the following:

A standard trap-press (popularly often called a mousetrap) - it can have several modifications;
Tunnel trap similar to Clean Kill Mouse Trap from Victor;
Electric rat trap (battery-powered, and there are models that automatically place a killed rat in a special compartment, allowing you to destroy several rodents at once).

In conclusion, it is worth noting that the effectiveness of a particular trap, be it homemade or industrially produced, largely depends on the correct choice of bait. Read more about choosing baits in a separate article: The best baits for rats and mice.

There should be no rats in the places where we live and work. Rodents spoil food, clothing, cause damage to property in the apartment and carry more than 70 different diseases, some of which are dangerous to humans. There are many ways to catch and kill pests, and if you don't want to use poisons, you can make your own rat traps. However, simply making a rat trap is not enough, because rodents are very smart animals and require a special approach to catching them.

We will give you some effective tips on how to catch a rat at home using a homemade trap:

For the trap to work, you need to prepare the bait. Cheeses, cottage cheese, bread, sausages, boiled rice and so on are suitable for this. The food should be as fresh as possible and have a tasty smell, otherwise the rodent will not dare to approach the rat trap.
It is advisable to place a rat trap where there are the most rodents. Ideal if you can place it in a hole. First, determine whether pests live in it or not. To do this, crumple up a piece of paper and place it at the entrance. If in the morning you find that the paper is scattered, it means the mink is inhabited.
The rat trap should be installed against the movement of pests. They often move along walls in places where light does not reach.
Rodents are very clean, so they will always walk along a clean path if the opportunity arises.
The trap must be kept clean at all times. Wash it regularly with a solution of ash lye or regular soda. Be sure to ventilate it after washing. Do not neglect this recommendation, otherwise the rat trap will begin to emit an unpleasant odor and will repel rats.

The best commercial rat traps

The following commercial traps can be distinguished:

Press traps.
Tunnel traps.
Electrical devices.
Mesh traps.
Ultrasonic repellers, etc.

For many, ultrasonic repellers have already become an excellent alternative to other control methods that involve killing animals.

"Versha"

A similar trap, installed to catch rodents, is very popular among hobbyists. In the drawings it looks like a small cell with a cone-shaped entrance. Another entrance is installed in the trimmed base of the cone-shaped structure. As a result, the rodent ends up in a dead end, the base of which is a bottom made of a metal plate. It is secured with a wide base, but it can easily rotate on a hinge.

The plate is attached to the cone below, a counterweight is obtained, and a possible exit for the animal is hidden. It is imperative to place one or another bait in the trap; the rat will definitely smell it from afar and become interested. As a result, she will try to go inside the structure made for her. Getting to the bait will be easy. The rat will see that he can get out. The rodent will then fall into another cone. The structure will lower under the weight of the animal, and the rodent will fall to the bottom of the trap.

The main feature of the “top” is the ability to catch not just one rat, but several. To remove them from the trap, you only need to open the door.

What to do with a rat trap and a caught rat

Of course, a person is no longer a medieval barbarian, but in relation to a caught rat, there is only one solution - liquidation. This can be done as follows:

add water to the container so that the animal drowns;
a precise blow to the head with something like a bat;
shoot the pest if you have a suitable weapon;
if it is possible to transfer the animal into a sealed container, you can send the “criminal” to the gas chamber. Mix soda and vinegar in a cup, pour into a container, the animal will suffocate (this is considered a humane method of punishment).

The methods described seem terrible, but a person cannot, like the Pied Piper of Hamelin, control animals with a pipe, so there are simple methods of elimination.

Still, the best way would be to choose a trap that does not cause any injury to the animal and subsequently release it away from the area.

Option #5: Tunnel Trap

The entrance hole of the tunnel rat trap is made in the form of a valve with sharp petals. The operating principle of such a device is as follows:

Such structures are often used to catch courts, mice and rats in garden plots - in this case, the structure is made from a piece of pipe, at each end of which a valve is installed. The trap is then installed in the underground wormhole. In the end, it doesn’t matter from which side the mole (or rat) approaches the trap - the animal will still be caught.

Here is another example of a trap of this type:

Preventing the appearance of rats in the house

For preventive actions to prevent the appearance of rodents in your home, you need to follow the following recommendations:

seal openings and cracks in the house;
get a cat;
throw away garbage on time;
tidy up the apartment;
Do not flush food waste down the toilet;
find a separate place for products and cereals, where there is no access for pests.

Cats are an effective rat repellent.
Rodents really don't like the smell of cats. Homemade products for fighting rats have proven themselves to be excellent. They are effective even in comparison with some factory products. If “uninvited guests” appear in the house, there is a way out - the complete extermination of the entire colony using simple, homemade devices!

Option number 6: snare

Generally speaking, catching rats with snares is quite problematic due to the small size of the animals. However, if you try, you can still catch the pest, and there is even a small life hack that allows you to make such a rat trap with your own hands from improvised means.

For this you need:

Cable tie;
A piece of fishing line;
Heavy load - for example, a wrench;
Paper clip;
Bait - for example, a crust of bread.

This is how a homemade rat trap made from a cable tie works in practice:

When making this trap, it is important to choose the right weight of the load. If it is too small, it will not tighten the tie with the necessary force, and the rat will run away. If the load is too heavy, then using such a structure as a live trap will not work - the animal’s ribs will be broken by the loop.

Fishing principles

Rats get used to one familiar bait. This means that it should not be kept in a rat trap for more than 3 days in a row.

It is better to replace it with a new bait more often in order to lure it out and not cause alertness or suspicion in the rat. Despite the fact that the animals are omnivores, they still like to give preference to their favorite foods, rushing into the trap. If mechanical traps are used, it is important to place them near the walls and block access to them for children and pets. It is worth keeping rat traps clean at all times. Handle them only with gloves. Regularly remove food products from the kitchen, leaving no food sources other than a mousetrap. Store cereals in glass or metal jars.

Ways to fight

If you notice signs of the presence of rats, action should be taken immediately. There are three ways to fight:

Biological. Many people prefer to just get a cat. But this solution is not always acceptable;
Chemical. Using poisonous baits is effective, but unsafe, especially if you have pets.
Physical. To exterminate rodents, a rat trap is installed. Stores offer a variety of rat traps, but homemade rat traps are no less effective.

Read on topic - The dog ate rat poison - what to do

Ultrasonic repellents

Rodent repeller

Ultrasonic repellers are available in two main types: with ultrasound frequencies up to 50 KHz and up to 75 KHz. It is believed that the latter are more preferable, since mice are able to hear ultrasound up to 75 KHz.

Repellers of the Electrokot series

Repellent "Electrocat Turbo"

Repellers of the Electrokot series

A series of repellers with frequencies up to 50 KHz. They are used to protect buildings with an area of up to 200 square meters. The device is installed on the wall and operates in two modes: day and night. The device has a radiation angle of 110°.

A modified version of the repeller (Turbo) operates in the same frequency range, however, the frequency constantly changes during operation, which creates additional discomfort for rodents. In addition, in addition to ultrasound, this device is equipped with a more powerful transmitter and a bright LED that affects the vision of mice. The area of the room covered by the operating device is 400 square meters.

Tornado Repellers

Repeller Tornado-400

Repeller Tornado-1200

Tornado Repellers

Currently, the series is represented by several models: Tornado-200, Tornado-400 and Tornado 1200. The digital index indicates the operating area of the device. All repellents operate at frequencies above 70 kHz.

The latest model (Tornado-1200) is a semi-professional device. In addition to having the highest power, the emitter also has a circular orientation. Additional options include 7 operating modes and light indication. For ease of operation of the device, a remote control is supplied.

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