Mouse and rat control is a lot easier than most people think. Preventive maintenance such as keeping lids on trash cans, eliminating entry points into your house and most importantly, sanitation, are crucial to controlling these pests. Uneaten pet food and piles of debris in and outside the house are havens for rodents. Sometimes elements outside your control, like having slobs for neighbors, or new construction in the area can easily attract rats and mice. So, when it's time to get rid of mice or rats, mouse traps and rat traps are the best way to rid your home of these nasty creatures.
Before you implement a rat or mice control program, it's always best to know the signs of a rodent infestation. Seeing a mouse or rat run through your garbage is an obvious sign, but more telling signs you have a mouse or rat issue are rub marks along walls, strong urine odors, gnawing and droppings.
What to use for bait it also key. Most people believe cheese to be the best, but unless you're trying to catch Jerry, use peanut butter on mouse traps; Fig Newton's work great too. Using raw hickory smoked bacon has proven to work great for rats.
Below you'll find the best traps to kill and get rid of mice and or rats. Using traps, if positioned and used correctly, is the best form of mouse and rat control, especially if you have animals and or children.
1. Paper and Tray Glue boards - This is, hands down, the easiest and safest mouse and rat trap. Especially if you have children and pets. Just place these traps along a wall or in a corner until a mouse or rat comes along.
2. Mouse / Rat Snap Traps - There are many types of snap traps on the market, but the most common are the basic pull back and set style, and the all so popular, and very effective expanded trigger versions. The wider trigger paddle increases the catch rate immensely.
3. Auto Set Snap traps - These are great for the people who are deathly afraid of setting the standard snap traps. The easy quick set mechanisms make this trap ideal for the novice mouse hunter.
4. Bait stations with T-Rex - Basically a black box with a trap inside. Mice and rats never see it coming. The most popular bait box / station trap combination is made by Protecta with a T-Rex trap. The bait box acts as harborage and safe haven for mice and rats, and this style of trap plays a safety role when children and pets are present.
5. Tin cat - This trap acts as a monitor / mouse trap that uses the peel off mouse glue board by Catchmaster. Widely used in used food packing plants and stores, but can easily be used in your home. Tin cats are enclosed which helps you to avoid have the rodent being stuck to an exposed glue board.
6. Ketch-All wind up - A wind up multi catch trap that doesn't kill, at least most of the time. Mice crawl into an opening and the spinning paddle swoops them into a holding cell.
7. Live trap - A lot like the Ketch-All, a live trap is a lot smaller version of standard live cat and dog traps. A Fig Newton or peanut butter in the back behind the trigger plate does the trick every time.
8. Cube Tilt Trap - A cube trap is a gravity trap with a door on one end. When the mouse enters, the cube tilts causing the door to close. Peanut butter at the back of the tube works great.
9. Electric Trap - This trap speaks for itself.
10. Homemade - This is for the guy who wants to make a better mouse / rat trap, or wants to try something different. The most common is the 5 gallon bucket and soda can with wire stretched across the top. Don't forget to place the board on the lip of the bucket (AKA plank), before you send the local mice and rat populations to their death.