Humane rat traps or live catch rat traps are designed to lure the pest rat into an enclosure using a poison-free trap bait or attractant. When the rat enters the trap it activates a mechanism that snaps the trap's entrance door shut behind them.
Once the user has trapped the rat(s) then they have the choice of releasing the rat outside (well away from the affected building and any other neighbouring properties) or humanely dispatching the trapped rat and disposing of it.
Humane rat traps / live catch traps are economical in that they can be re-set and re-used time and time again.
In accordance with the Animal Welfare Act 2006 (UK) any animal trap set should be checked every 24-hours and the trapped animal either released or dispatched humanely.
If you are considering a humane trapping policy to overcome a rat or mouse infestation on your property, prior to commencing, be sure to have adequately proofed your building against the re-entrance of the trapped rodents, see our Rodent Proofing section
Trapping pest rodents is an ideal solution where the use of poisons is not possible. This could be due to food / stored product hygiene laws, or the risk of secondary poisoning or when there is a risk of a poisoned rodent dying in an inaccessible building void and causing a bad odour as it decomposes. Trapping also allows the pest controller to accurately monitor the numbers of rodents being removed from the property, rather than guessing with the use of rodenticides
With the advent of the new 35 day rule governing the length of time that rodenticide (poison) can be left down and the banning of permanent baiting, the use of rat and mouse traps as part of an overall programme of rodent control is set to become increasingly important
