Rats are an annoying and potentially health-hazardous pest to have around the home.
They can be difficult to get rid of if you don’t have the right tools.
Fortunately, there are multiple affordable rat trap options that you can use to solve this problem.
You can find most types of traps available online for about $20 to $30 dollars at the store.
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5 Affordable Rat Traps That Work
Here are some of our favorite options to catch rats in your house:
Basic snap traps are the most affordable rat trap option, coming in at around $2.00 a trap. You can get the classic snap traps in sets to place at multiple locations around your property.
You can reuse these traps, but they will experience wear with each animal that it traps.
Glue traps also come in affordable sets. Rather than using a snap mechanism, a glue trap is a flat surface covered in a sticky glue, designed to catch rats by trapping them in the glue.
Glue traps are nonlethal, allowing you to release the rats from the glue if you choose. However, they are not reusable.
Depending on your needs, you may want to use a trap that is guaranteed to be pet and child safe. A covered trap is essentially the same as a snap trap, but the mechanism isn’t accessible to those who aren’t its target.
A cage trap is another non-lethal trap option. It’s great if you’re looking to catch and release rats or other rodents on your property, like possums or raccoons. They come in multiple sizes and are highly effective.
The electronic trap is the least affordable trap option, but it definitely has its benefits. The electronic trap effectively traps rodents and humanely kills them with a high-voltage shock.
The mechanism also allows you to dispose of any trapped rats without having to touch them at all.
The Most Effective Rat Traps
All of these traps are highly rated by pest control professionals and you should choose the one that fits your needs best.
If you don’t have kids or pets to worry about, the classic snap trap or the glue may be great options for you.
The cage trap is known to be very effective/versatile and can be used to trap many types of rodents. The cage can also be used more easily than other types of traps outside to protect gardens and landscaping.
(Since it is less affected by the elements).
If you’re more concerned about exterminating the rats quickly, the electronic trap may be better for you, since it is guaranteed to be lethal and very easy to reset. With this one, you just have to make sure the batteries are still charged so that it keeps working.
It would be extremely frustrating to find the bait gone but no rat in the trap.
What Food is Irresistible to Rats?
It is recommended that peanut butter or cheese are the best baits to leave in a rat trap. These baits have a bit of smell to attract a rodent.
You can also use pet food, like a dog or cat kibble. Rats are known to break into pet food containers to eat it.
From a distance, it will look and smell like a tasty treat waiting to be claimed. The promise of this prize can easily lure them into a trap.
Can Rats Learn to Avoid Traps?
Rats are quite intelligent and capable of learning to avoid rat traps. Fortunately, it’s not too hard to outsmart them.
Rats are popular choices in lab science experiments because of their ability to learn skills and remember facts. Bearing this in mind, you have to teach the rats in your home to be comfortable with a trap rather than teaching them to avoid it.
One way to do this is to leave bait on a trap without setting it and allowing a rat to come to eat the bait. Based on this experience, the rat will believe the trap is a safe place to expect snacks to appear.
Once you start successfully trapping rats, they will learn to avoid them. To keep outsmarting them, you can change the locations of the traps and even change the type of traps to catch them.
How Do You Draw Rats Out of Hiding?
Rats like to dwell in hiding spots, and when they do come out they generally stick to the walls of a room, rather than crossing the center of the floor.
You won’t have much success placing traps in open spaces. Instead, place traps along the wall.
Not only will they be much more likely to encounter the path, they will choose between going over or through the trap versus going around it.
Rats prefer not to go around something in their path if it pushes them towards the center of the space and it’s conceivable that they can simply climb over or through it.
If you spotted a rat running along a specific path in your home or garden, your best bet is to place the trap in that path.
Where Do Rats Go During the Day?
It’s also important to know that rats are nocturnal. They sleep in their nests during the daytime, usually in a carefully hidden spot to ensure their safety while resting.
Because of this, you usually won’t catch a rat during the daytime. Better to set the trap during the day, and then check the trap in the morning after you wake up.
If you’re using a nonlethal trap, you need to check it consistently so that the animal is not trapped for a long period of time.
Written By Fitzwilliam Marty
Fitzwilliam is a highly experienced residential pest control expert and part-time writer with The Doorstep with over 15 years of industry experience. He is a certified professional who has helped countless homeowners get rid of unwanted pests from their homes. Fitz has a passion for safe and eco-friendly pest control methods that are not harmful to animals or the environment. His expertise includes handling common household pests such as ants, termites, rodents, bed bugs, and more.
