Trying to catch a smart rat

A little history here. Last year we noticed some rodent evidence in our garage. I was thinking it was a mouse so I put out some small Victor mouse traps and loaded them with peanut butter. I also set up my game cam so I could enjoy the action. It didn’t take long and POW, it lit him up. It was too low of a charge to kill him but he sure as hell put on a break dancing clinic. Afterwards he wouldn’t come near a trap. After I removed the grass seed in the garage I though he moved on. Fast forward to last week, I pulled the cover off my grill and he has set up shop under the cover and made a mess of it. I have a bird feeder in the yard and that’s what been keeping him around. I put out a Tomcat Secure Kill but he hasn’t touched it so it makes me believe it’s the same rat. The bird feeder is now empty but I know he’s still around. I’ve been dropping some sunflower seeds and he’s eating them. I know I could just remove the food source permanently but I want some revenge. I’m avoiding poison because of my dog and a three year old. To date I’ve blanked on the victors, tomcat and the guillotine style traps. I’d be willing to build something. Lots of ideas on YouTube but I thought I’d at least ask here too. TIA.

What about the sticky traps? Just attach to some sort of board with small nails or staple gun.

Try one of those bucket traps

Pile of bird seed and a pellet gun. Sometimes going old school is the best. At least you can pretend it is deer season and that rat is a ten pointer.

Man that brings back memories of the old shop rat tournaments. Fun as it gets

We’ve caught some in a chipmunk size havahart trap. We’ve also waited till dark and got one of those green lights and killed the hell out of them with a pellet gun. One night we killed 11 in under 15 minutes. When the neighbor cut his field they would run to my house and set up shop. We’ve also used something we mixed with water that seemed to make them disappear. I can’t remember what it was called. The pellet gun is the way to go and it’s fun

Bucket or 55 gallon drum, rod and coke can. Cut out top and bottom of coke can. Place rod through coke can. Attach rod on top of bucket or drum. Put cheese or PB in middle of can. When the rat runs across the rod and jumps on the can. The can will roll and he will fall in bucket. This is how I was taught and has worked at grandads barn for years. But if you wanna have some fun go the pellet gun route.

×2

If he is eating sunflower seeds, get a 5 gallon bucket and fill it up about halfway with water. Pour in some black sunflower seeds so they cover all the water. Lean a 2x4 up against the bucket, and put some of the wet sunflower seeds on the 2x4 . Rat finds them, runs up the 2x4, sees all the seeds in the bucket, jumps in and eventually drowns.

That kills the mess out of chipmunks too.

That's a nice refinement. How long will the Sunflower seeds float ?

Mix baking soda with your peanut butter. Rats can’t get rid of gas so the baking soda builds up gas in there bellies and they die. Just make it into balls and leave it out for them.

This. I had a slippery rat I couldn't nab with traps around the house once. Little bastage chewed my ignition wires in half on my truck. Set up a bucket just like this and he was in there dead as a rock the next morning.

A big Folgers can with about 3-4” of half and half water/burned motor oil has caught a truck load of garage mice and rats for me. No clue why it works, but it does. Used to just keep it in the corner, and they’d climb themselves in. Had 9 or 10 dead in it at one time once.

A couple days. Then you have to swap them out.

When ever they show up in my barn I put a little seen in my ATV spreader. Makes you feel good when hear the critter running 300 RPS in the bottom of the funnel. Found that trick out after leaving some seed In the spreader for a week and the barn reeked. Had a whole family of dead ones

Just One Bite. Tie the dog and kid to a tree in the front yard so the rat has a chance to kill itself.

Cat

That guy needs about 10 more traps. Jeeez!