Build your own rat trap with bait

Rats are disease carriers and for many people they are simply disgusting. Nobody wants them in the garden, let alone in the house. Since numerous remedies that are supposed to help against rats don't really work or only work once, it's not easy to get rid of them. Even a rat trap is not a 100% sure thing. The animals are extremely trainable and once a rat is caught, the others will avoid the trap, no matter how many times you move them around. If you are dealing with a single animal, the trap can be very helpful, but with a whole family it becomes difficult.

A distinction is made between snap and box traps. Snap traps kill the rats, usually very quickly, without torture. Box traps are more humane, at least as long as they are checked regularly so that the animals in them don't starve and die of thirst. The important thing is to place the traps on the paths of the rats. These can be recognized by smears on the walls. Rats prefer to move along walls.

Although commercially available rat traps are fairly inexpensive, these are usually rat-killing traps. Live traps cost a lot more, which is why many hobbyists prefer to make them themselves. These traps have the advantage that the rats are allowed to live on. They are released into the wild, as far away as possible from human habitation.

build a rat trap

You can build fairly simple traps with few resources, but also more complicated ones with a little more materials. Since you need different traps for a rat family anyway, it makes sense to try them all.

Simple models

The easiest way is to take a tall container like a metal bucket and place it upside down. Smooth walls are important. The rat must not climb up them. Bait must be placed in the bucket. Rats don't eat cheese that reliably, fruit is better, but the animals really like something sweet like chocolate. Their favorite is Nutella, it's hard for them to resist. In order to get in, an entrance must be created. A small wooden board or thick folded cardboard will help. You can also build them a staircase out of boxes. It is best to put a few small baits on them, so to speak, to feed them. The rat gets on the edge of the jar, jumps down and is stuck.

• Larger tall vessel with smooth walls so the rat cannot climb out
• A large bucket, made of metal if possible, is beneficial
• Bait, preferably Nutella, alternatively fruit or chocolate
• A staircase, made of cardboard, a wooden board or thick cardboard

Alternatively, you can try something else with the bucket. To do this, an empty plastic bottle is placed on a stick. Of course you have to make a hole in the bottom and in the cap for this. The stick must be long enough to put it over the bucket. It is easy to attach with string on both sides, but in such a way that it can rotate. Alternatively, you can drill two holes for the stick in the bucket, or you use them for the handle. Spread sticky treats around the center and around the bottle that won't fall off immediately when touched by the rat. Nutella, on the other hand, works well. The bottle must rotate freely. When the rat tries to get the treats and steps on the bottle, it spins and the animal falls into the bucket.

It is important that the rat has good access to the bait, so you have to build a "ramp" again. The bottle on top can be placed in two ways, in running direction when the animal comes up the ramp then it can just keep walking. However, it is better if the rat has to jump onto the bottle, i.e. if it is placed against the direction of movement or simply across. Once the rat lands, the bottle spins and the rat falls.

• Plastic bottle "glued" with bait
• Threading rod
• Bucket, if possible with detachable handle (two openings for the stick)

You need some skill for the next trap. This also requires a larger vessel, as well as a small wooden stick. The bait is speared onto the rod, preferably a piece of bacon or bread. Then this is leaned against the wall in a "rat path" with the bait down. The vessel is placed upside down so that the rim rests on the wooden stick. To get the bait, the rat has to pull it away. The stick falls over and the jar slams onto the floor. Of course, it must be heavy enough that it cannot be lifted out and must not get caught on the skirting board. The problem is how to get the rat out of there. You have to slide a thin piece of wood under the container and then turn them over together, but in such a way that the rat cannot jump out. Alternatively, thick cardboard or a piece of wood can be placed before the trap is set up.

• Larger vessel, such as a saucepan
• Wooden stick, such as a chopstick or pencil
• Bait, something to spear

These two solutions are really easy to implement.

More complicated traps

It is a bit more complex to build the rat trap out of a box. This should be a bit longer, at least twice as long as a rat. An entrance is created at both ends. The box is divided in the middle and a grid is installed. This ensures that the rat can enter from both sides and is then trapped. A mechanism that closes both doors would be quite complicated. A small hole should be drilled in the lid of both "departments" to allow a look inside. The bottom of the box is sawn out. It serves as a rocker to trigger the lock that closes the exit. Store the seesaw towards the center of the box.

The entrances on both sides should be about 60mm in diameter. They can be closed from the inside with a metal lid. When empty, a mechanism keeps it open. If a rat enters the interior and the installed seesaw, it moves the mechanism with its weight and the tin cover falls in front of the entrance.

The mechanics are simple. The movable floor is connected to a shaft made of iron wire at the bottom. The shaft must look out on one side as a lever. The bottom is fitted in the box so that the shaft is movable, otherwise the seesaw cannot tilt. The tin lids must of course close the opening tightly, i.e. be large enough. It is good that they are quite heavy so that the rat cannot push them open. It is better to attach a small latch as a safeguard, which prevents it from being pushed open. It is important that the opening is accessible from the outside so that the trapped animal can be released at a suitable place.

• Box at least twice as long as a rat
• grid for separation
• 2 tin lids
• Iron wire shaft
• lever
• Small handle

Live traps are much more humane, even if it's only for rats. They are absolutely intelligent animals that are good for more than laboratory animals. They can be tamed and trained, not many animals can do that. You don't have to have a lot of manual skills to build a trap. There are very simple options. It always depends on the intelligence of the rodents how well they can be caught. What is certain is that the animals are capable of learning. If you catch a rat from a family, no member of that family will fall into the same trap again. You have to come up with something new. Necessity is the mother of invention. The right installation site is important, on a rat path.

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