How quickly does a rat die in a typical rat trap

[Bill Keefer]

I hate to kill them - but I have to. Do they die quickly when the big rat traps spring?

I'm not talking the little mouse traps - but the larger classic Victor rat traps.

[Cheri]

Mine have died quickly due to the trap catching across the neck with a pretty powerful spring bar. I'm not crazy about killing them either, but I'm not going to put up with the damage they do which can be quite extensive if left unchecked.

Cheri

[Jim Elbrecht]

Quickly most of the time. If You're squeamish get an electric cat. They zap them and it is all over in an instant-- or they live to chew your wing and burn your house down.

I've used them for mice-- never had a rat problem-- knocking wood.

Jim

[Frank]

No rat, but mouse experience.

They probably die quickly but not necessarily from a broken neck, but suffocation as their chest is crushed.

I had the experience of coming into my family room one night to hear a mouse trap snap in the furnace room. It was a cold night and rather than toss the dead mouse out the door I put him in the toilet where he immediately revived and tried to escape. A quick flush dispatched him.

Not sure how often this could happen but don't assume instantaneous death in the trap.

Glue traps are definite torture to a mouse as they struggle to get off them. I saw one nearly gnaw off his own leg to escape. After this, I don't use them.

[RonB]

If the work as designed they kill pretty quickly by breaking their neck.

But I cannot imagine hating to kill a rat. They are disease- spreading, they will bite and they will destroy wiring and other parts of your house or vehicles. If the trap doesn't do the job a hammer of firmly planted heel with take care of it.

And I agree with the comment about glue traps. They basically facilitate starvation or exposure to predators.

RonB

[Steve Barker]

why does it matter? and why would anyone hate to kill them?

[Harry K]

Same here. Used one once, swore never again. They cn only be described as animal cruelty.

I find that Dcon and the like is the best solution. I had them in this old house when I bought it. Traps, etc. no cure, D-con did it. I keep 'bait boxes' with mouse size holes baited. Occasionally find a dead one. Oddly, mice that die from dthat stuff do not have that godawful 'death smell".

Harry K Harry K

[Frank]

I'll use the poison in my attic but not the house. I had one die in the ceiling and smell for several days. Usually they just die and desiccate without smelling but one bad incident was enough to make me stop using it.

[Dan Espen]

Personally, I'm impressed and heartened to see the number of posters that care.

For the posters that showed some degree of compassion, I say, good show.

As for rodents in the house, you really have to get rid of them somehow. I don't know any reliable way to live trap them so I don't feel deep guilt for killing them. Best is to have a cat. The terror instilled in the rodent is balanced by the joy felt by the cat.

Those big spring traps can catch the rodent anywhere but they're designed to hit the back, head or neck and the poor rodent never knows what happened.

[Home Guy]

About a year ago a friend set out 2 of those big rat traps next to his driveway which was next to his neighbor's garage. A remote video camera placed there indicated a couple of rats were living under the garage.

He recorded the trap events and e-mailed me a copy of the video. Probably not the sort of thing you want to put up on you tube.

The two rats seemed to be male and female. The male was larger, and he was caught first. He flopped around quite a bit - probably 2 full minutes. He (and the trap) ended up about 6 feet away from where it was originally placed (beyond the field of view of the camera). It took about 20 or 30 seconds for the smaller rat to die - I don't think there any flopping around in that case - just twitching. Death was marked by a last, final deep breath.

[bob haller]

Have had rats here in the house.:(

Have dogs so I dont want to use poision..... Might make a dog sick or kill it. dogs are my kids.......

One died in a rat snap trap. I heard the snap and a blood curdling death scream. at least it was over fast..... I didnt sleep the rest of the night......

Live havahart traps, the rats didnt go near them:( planned on catch and release in a rural area. I DONT like killing anything!

The neighborhood is over run. They probably moved from a nearby wooded area now cleared for more shopping centers:( We also aquired a herd of deer... that live among the homes

Anyway the neighbor started shooting rats and used poision bait. we cleaned up the yard a lot.......

one key to minimizing rats is have nice clean yards with nothing sitting around.......

[EXT]

Actually, cats are not good ratters. They are mousers. Possibly a very large cat could take on a small rat but rats are the domain of dogs. Certain small breeds are created to catch and kill rats.

[RonB]

I found a good way to overcome any worry about putting rodents to death about four years ago. My wife and I took off early one morning for what was to be a 200 mile trip in her car. I turned on the defroster blower and it sounded like it was coming out from under the dash. Took the car home and traded vehicles. When we got home a couple of days later I climbed into the car to check the blower and almost puked. When the blower came on it filled the car with death- smell. I managed to keep my stomach together long enough to get the blower out and found out the nylon blower, the blower housing and the main plenum were full of hair, blood and tissue. It took three hours of cleaning and disinfecting to get most of the smell out. Then, as I looked around the lower, air intake near the front of the car I found it was chewed on, an engine wire harness had much of the insulation chewed off and several hoses showed signs of chewing. About $200 later I repaired the damage I could see.

I ended up buying some of the D-Con bars with the center bored out and wired them to the air intake and to one of the bundles that had been damaged most. As far as I'm concerned the little farts can die rather than spread the disease and destruction that they can.

RonB

[Dan Espen]

Another key is to make sure no neighbors are feeding them. Some people seem to think it's okay to feed cats outside or to feed the cute deer or racoons.

Instant population explosion.

[Dan Espen]

Agreed. But I have had cats that have killed rats and even squirrels. But the best was a pheasant. When it dragged the pheasant back, the bird was substantially bigger than the cat.

[krw]

I had a bunch of turkeys in my back yard while I was mowing the other night. A cat going after those would be a sight to see. ...or a goose. ;-)

[Steve Barker]

where else would you feed the cats? They live outdoors. duh.

[Norminn]

Regret at killing rats is absolute insanity. Transport them so that they can multiply elsewhere? Regret a slow death, but do away with them. I once had a neighbor who had a large dog, pinscher mix, tied to a tree in their yard all the time. He would knock over his bowls of food and water, and I'd go over to refill his water on occasion. Watched one day as rats came out of the brush behind their yard, grabbed a bit of dog food and ran back to the brush. Yuck! Pet food and waste are invitations to rodents to come and party! Rats and roaches eat anything and everything; all the more reason not to allow them entry to house.

Few days ago, son and grandson were getting the lawn mower ready to mow. It has been the practice for several years for mice to live in the mower in the shed, so they were checking it carefully. Out popped a mama mouse and a baby, and both scurried off to a dark corner. Son continued removing their nesting material from the mower and out pops another baby. Second baby fell to the floor of the shed and the mama ran out, grabbed it by the nape of the neck, and took him back to her safe corner. The shed has been home to feral cats, mice and several generations of groundhogs. Saw a possum checking out the yard a couple of days ago, but don't think he's in the market for a shed. :o)

[Harry K]

I keep a D-Con pack in the trunk and one under the seats. I dthink I will add one under the hood.

Harry K

[jimmydahgeek]

Get a Rat Zapper. I got mine on Ebay. Put a couple of pieces of dry dog food in it and when they enter zap they are dead. I have only used them on mice but have gotten several two for ones... They claim the big one also works for rats. Worth every penny. Quick and easy.