Getting rid of rats in your home is always a tedious job. Hiring a professional is the best way to go in getting rid of any pests in your home, but if that is not an option, you can do it by yourself with some effort. While it is always a difficult job, with the right equipment in hand, it can be relatively easier, and you will be able to save a lot of time as well. Rats are swift on their feet and instinctively good animals at hiding. Therefore, you need to have lots of patience in your process to trap a rat. The following equipment and practices are important when you are planning to set up a trap for your rat problem.

Gloves and Masks

Your own safety comes before everything when you handle house pests on your own. You need to cover your hands with thick gloves and keep a mask to protect yourself from any harmful chemical smells you might be using when setting up the trap.

A Trap (Snap or one-door)

You can purchase rat traps in your local store which usually come in two main varieties. Snap traps which close the door and cage the mice in once they are in or one-door traps which are set up near entrances to their nests.

Bait

To attract the rat into your trap, you need some kind of bait. The smell of the bait food item should be strong and attractive to the rodents for the bait to be successful. Keep a large portion of the bait since that will increase the smell and easier for the rats to find it. You can increase the smell by slightly roasting the bait.

Vacuum Cleaner / Disinfectant

Once the rat/rats are trapped inside the cage, you need to clean the surrounding area and their primary nesting place to get rid of any smells, feces, and traces of rats which may attract others of their kind. Always use a disinfectant after cleaning the area to further assure your safety since rats can be extremely disease ridden animals. This is especially important if you are using rat poison. Make sure you safely dispose of any rat carcasses in an environmentally-friendly manner.

Set up your traps at night since that is usually the time when rats come out from their hiding places to hunt for food. Once you set the trap, avoid going around that area for a while since if you constantly check it, the rats may get scared by your presence and avoid the area where the trap is set in. If you are planning to release the rats to the wild once you capture them in a cage, make sure you drive at least 5-10 miles before you release them into a non-residential area since they are likely to find their way back if you merely release them near your house.

Read the How to get rid of rats page for helpful information and to learn more about What Equipment Is Needed to Trap a Rat?