When you want to get rid of rats, traditional rat snap traps aren’t always a great idea to use around the house when you have children or other animals/pets wandering around. Both kids and pets are well-known for their overwhelming need to find and then investigate new items in a space, often drawn to things like rat traps within hours of them being put into position.
Traditional rat traps aren’t always the best type of rat trap to use outside, either. This is because it could easily trap animals that it’s not meant to trap, such as the paw of your neighbor’s cat or passing opossum.
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Thankfully, there is a rat trap for virtually any occasion these days — and we’re going to tell you what we will personally recommend for use outside if you have pets. Also check out pest control halifax as well.
OUTSIDE RAT TRAPS TO AVOID
You should avoid – at all costs – rat or rodent traps that use poison. It is likely to be ineffective, potentially fatal to other wildlife, and you could also contaminate water and soil sources.
You should also avoid glue traps. Just as with traditional snap traps, you have zero control over what animal gets stuck to the trap, plus it’s not really the most humane approach to rodent control. The glue doesn’t kill the animal, but it does cause the animal to become firmly stuck in place — and become more stuck as they wriggle around and try to get free. Rodents have been known to chew through their own limbs in a bid to get away from traps such as this, so we do not recommend using them at all.
OUTSIDE RAT TRAPS WE RECOMMEND
Electrical traps can be a great tool to use against rats in an outdoor space, often running on batteries. With small holes that only small animals, such as rats and mice, can get into, an electric shock is delivered when the rodent is inside, killing it instantly … in most cases.
Just one of the downfalls of devices such as these is that cheap, poorly-made, cheaply-produced devices can deliver an electric shock that is less than what is required to kill the rodent. The rat or mouse is then left in a lot of pain, shocked, and possibly permanently injured to a level where it will then go on to die a long and rather painful death.
Traditional rat traps that are contained within box-style units can be an easy and relatively inexpensive choice for many, offering the benefits of regular rat traps but without the unsightly mess of dangers associated with leaving them outside. Rodents are often slightly more cautious about entering these, but time and patience will eventually see them doing the job they’re designed to do. Just remember to check these as regularly as you would check conventional snap traps, and empty/reset them where necessary. Rats are unlikely to enter the trap if dead rats are already inside.
If you aren’t sure which rat traps would be right for your property, why not get in touch with us? We have a range of tricks up our sleeves that we’re willing to share with you, and you might just find that our competitive prices are too good to pass.