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Rats carry a wide range of unpleasant and hazardous diseases, and it is generally a good idea to avoid developing rat infestations around your home, farm, restaurant, or other location. In order to do that, you are going to want to make sure that you get the best rat trap that you can find as soon as you discover an infestation, as rats can breed very quickly, producing up to 22 babies per litter! There are many different types of rat trap on the market in 2022, and understanding which is the best option for your particular personal needs is an important first step towards exterminating a problematic rat infestation.
We have researched a wide range of rat traps in different categories in order to find out which models are the best rat traps of 2022. Below, you will find our best rat trap reviews, exploring all of the information you need to know about each of our top 10 rat traps, as well as a guide to introduce you to every important aspect of buying a rat trap that you should consider before starting to buy one.
Related: 10 Best Rat Poisons in 2022
View the Best Rat Trap, Below.
12 Victor Metal Pedal Rat Traps
Abco Tech Electronic Humane Rodent Zapper
Trapro Humane Rat Trap Cage
Catchmaster AA1170 72MAX Pest Trap
Made2catch Fully Galvanized Rat Traps
Rat Zapper RZC001-4 Classic Rat Trap
Tomcat Rat & Mouse Killer Refillable Bait Station
CaptSure Original Humane Rat Traps
1. 12 Victor Metal Pedal Rat Traps
The powerful metal spring on these traps is strong enough for the quick killing of rats, but can also cause serious injuries to your hands while setting the traps if you are not careful in the process. You should only hold these traps by the sides of the wooden base, and ensure that your fingers do not stray towards the spring and trigger mechanism.
As there are 12 traps in the Victor Metal Pedal Rat Traps set, this is one of the most cost-effective methods for dealing with a large infestation of rats, as you can easily set traps out across your home without major expense causing problems.
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1.1 x 4.1 x 10.2 in per Trap
2. Abco Tech Electronic Humane Rodent Zapper
ABCO Sports' new Electronic Humane Rodent Zapper is an effective electronic rat trap that kills rats, mice, squirrels, and chipmunks quickly and humanely with an electric shock for efficient and pain-free extermination with no risk of collateral damage. This trap comes with 4 D cell batteries included, as well as an AC adapter that enables you to power the trap with an electrical outlet if there happens to be one near enough to where you plan to place the trap.
The Abco Tech Electronic Humane Rodent Zapper features a helpful indicator light that tells you when the trap is set and active, ready to catch, and a blue flashing LED and warning tone that activate once something has been caught, notifying you that it is time to empty the trap.
The Abco Tech Electronic Humane Rodent Zapper is a quick and clean way to dispose of rats and other pests, and can even be run on AC power if you have got an outlet close enough to wherever you want to set up your rat trap.
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Suitable for other animals such as squirrels
LED and sound indicators
10 x 12 x 28 In
3. Authenzo Mouse Rats Trap
Containing 6 small, compact snap trap style rat traps, the Authenzo Mouse Rats Trap set is an efficient way of quickly and safely killing numerous problematic rodents with ease. These plastic rat traps are easy to clean and easy to reuse, as they do not absorb any of the blood and odors that traditional wood-based traps often absorb in the process of killing rats and other rodents.
The most significant advantage of these traps, however, is that they eliminate the need for direct finger contact when setting the traps, reducing the risk of hand injury as well as ensuring that you do not have to touch any dead rodents in the process of removing them from the trap.
The Authenzo Mouse Rats Trap is designed to avoid the most significant problem with most snap traps: the risk of injury to fingers while using these traps. This helps them to stand out from the crowd as one of the safest snap trap designs available.
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5.1 x 2.9 x 2.7 in per Trap
4. Trapro Humane Rat Trap Cage
If you do not want to kill the rats or other pests that are causing you problems, then the Trapro Humane Rat Trap Cage is a great choice. This humane no-kill rat trap is made from a durable steel mesh that promises a long lifespan and no opportunities for the rats to escape. In addition to this, it features an ultra-sensitive trigger mechanism to ensure that it always catches its rat and a secure latching mechanism to keep the rat firmly entrapped until you undo the latch in order to release it at the end.
You will have to find somewhere to release the rats, mice and other rodents you have caught, ideally far from your home to prevent them from returning, but this trapping method ensures that you do not have to kill any creatures.
Thanks to its large size, the Trapro Humane Rat Trap Cage is easily able to capture any type of rodent that is causing you problems, from small mice to larger rats and squirrels.
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Suitable for use indoors or outdoors
Suitable for other animals such as squirrels
10.5 x 4.5 x 5.5 In
5. Catchmaster AA1170 72MAX Pest Trap
The Catchmaster AA1170 72MAX Pest Trap is a pack of 72 individual glue traps for rats. These are a slow, unpleasant, and inhumane way to dispose of rats, but the number of sheets included in this pack makes it one of the most economical and affordable options for dealing with a more significant infestation of rodents efficiently.
The adhesive used on these boards is specially scented with peanut butter, acting as both an adhesive and a bait at the same time for easier and less messy setup. The low profile of these glue boards allows them also to be used in conjunction with other trap methods as an added form of bait, should that be needed for more problematic infestations.
Thanks to the appealing scented glue used for the Catchmaster AA1170 72MAX Pest Trap, no bait is needed for these traps, making them easier and less messy to set than any other type of trap.
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6 x 9 x 6 in Pack
6. Victor Electronic Rat Trap
When the Victor Electronic Rat Trap catches a rat, mouse, squirrel or another animal, it activates a green indicator light that continues to flash for up to 24 hours, notifying you that something has been caught and that you should empty the trap. This is an effective and easy to use option for quickly and painlessly killing rats and other animals via electronic shocks, with a high kill rate that promises no rat will be able to leave the trap alive. This electronic rat trap is more effective than many other electronic rat traps, offering impressive performance for even larger rodents and other pests.
The Victor Electronic Rat Trap is one of the most economical electronic rat traps available on the market in 2019, promising approximately 50 kills per battery charge (although batteries are not included).
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Can kill 50 rodents with a single charge
Suitable for other animals such as squirrels
8.5 x 3.5 x 4.5
7. Made2catch Fully Galvanized Rat Traps
Comprising a pack of 4 fully galvanized steel snap traps for rats, the Made2catch Fully Galvanized Rat Traps are built on a classic snap trap rat trap design, but with a metal base plate instead of a wooden one for added durability and reusability. These sturdy traps are built with a heavy-duty spring for faster and more humane killing, although this spring is powerful enough to be able to cause serious injury to your hands and fingers when setting the trap if you do not handle it with sufficient caution.
The galvanized metal used for these traps is rust-resistant and can be used safely outdoors as well as indoors, as well as being non-absorbent to keep it odor-free as long as you remember to wipe it down with a damp rag before and after each use.
While many classic style snap traps feature bases made from wood or other absorbent materials, the made2catch Fully Galvanized Rat Traps are made entirely from durable galvanized steel, which does not absorb odors or blood from caught rats.
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6.6 x 3.5 x 0.9 in per Trap
8. Rat Zapper RZC001-4 Classic Rat Trap
The Rat Zapper RZC001 4 Classic Rat Trap is one of the fastest and most effective electronic rat traps available on the market in 2022. This is generally reviewed as one of the best overall rat traps available, and it can catch a large number of animals without requiring the batteries to be replaced or recharged.
Thanks to a handy LED catch notification light, you can easily see at a glance whether you have caught anything without needing to check inside the trap and can save a great deal of time, emptying quickly and efficiently as soon as something is caught. It is worth noting, however, that this trap is not waterproof, and therefore is not recommended for use outdoors, despite its high level of effectiveness in indoor situations.
Smaller than many models of electronic rat trap, the Rat Zapper RZC001-4 Classic Rat Trap is no less effective than larger models. This is an efficient and effective humane rat killing option that is great for indoor use.
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Suitable for other animals such as squirrels
Compatible with rechargeable batteries
12 x 4.3 x 4.5 In
9. Tomcat Rat & Mouse Killer Refillable Bait Station
The Tomcat Rat & Mouse Killer Refillable Bait Station is a versatile rodent killing option with a focus on safety and security, suitable for a wide range of different situations. This compact rat trap comes with a set of 15 poison bait blocks, each of which can kill up to 3 rats, allowing you to kill up to 45 rats before needing to buy any bait refills.
The safe, secure bait station design of the Tomcat Rat & Mouse Killer Refillable Bait Station keeps the poison bait safely locked away from children and pets, keeping them safe from accidental exposure to poison and only allowing rats and mice to encounter the poison. This allows for efficient extermination of indoor and outdoor pests without any need to worry about risks to pets and children.
If you are using poison-based traps, then the risk of children and pets becoming accidentally exposed to poison is a major disadvantage of most poison traps. The Tomcat Rat & Mouse Killer Refillable Bait Station keeps the poison safely away from pets and children, making this an excellent choice for parents and pet owners.
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Suitable for indoor and outdoor use
Protects children and pets from accidental exposure
Each bait block kills up to 3 rats
17.5 x 6.4 x 9.8 In
1 Station, 15 Bait Blocks
10. CaptSure Original Humane Rat Traps
Comprising 2 humane no-kill rat traps, the CaptSure Original Humane Rat Traps are a humane option for capturing rats without killing them. This means that you will have to find a safe location to release the rats in, ideally far from your home to reduce the risk of them coming back, but it is easily the most humane option for removing rats and other pests from your home.
The large size of these traps allows them to catch larger rats and other animals such as squirrels, while the transparent plastic from which they are made is easy to clean and will enable you to see when you have caught something at a glance, eliminating the need for careful and time-consuming trap checking.
The CaptSure Original Humane Rat Traps are 100% humane, no-kill traps with the added advantage of a translucent design so that you can see when you have caught something, reducing the risk of leaving a rat in the trap to starve to death.
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Safe around children and pets
8.3 x 6.5 x 3.3 in Pack
Buyer’s Guide To Rat Traps
Pets and Poison Rat Traps
If you are a pet owner with cats, dogs, or other free-roaming pets, then there is a risk that your pets might encounter the poison bait of a poison-based rat trap directly, or that they might eat the rats after they have been poisoned. If you have free-roaming pets such as this, you should avoid using rat traps that rely on poisoned bait.
The risk of collateral damage is significant with almost every type of common rat poison used in rat traps, and you should avoid this risk entirely by using only non-toxic methods to eliminate rats, mice, and other pests without risking danger or death for your pets or children.
Where to Put Rat Traps
Putting rat traps in the most effective position can require a bit of careful thought and preparation in order to successfully catch rats easily and efficiently. This is because of a couple of details of rat behavior that you might not think about in most situations.
The most important detail is that rats and mice have very poor eyesight, which affects how they interact with the world substantially. To compensate for their poor eyesight, they use their whiskers against objects surrounding them, just like a blind person’s white cane. This means that rats move slowly, staying close to walls as points of reference for where they are. As they move, their fur will leave dark stains along the walls, making it easy to see their routes.
The important thing about these dark rub marks is that they are reliable. Once a rat has established a safe path across an area, it will stick to that path, following the same route every time it crosses that area. If you can find a rub mark along a wall, you know that a rat often passes along that wall, and therefore that is where you should place your traps for the highest chance of catching a rat.
You should always wear disposable latex gloves when handling a rat trap. This is for a number of different reasons affecting both you and the rats. Rodents have very good senses of smell, and any odors on your hands will transfer onto the traps, making them smell suspicious and leading the rats to stay away from the traps. Wearing gloves will prevent those odors from being transferred to the trap, keeping it innocuous and appealing to the rats.
Wearing gloves will also protect you when you have to remove a dead rat from the trap after it’s been caught. There may well be bodily fluids on the rat or the trap, and you don’t want to touch those. You may not notice these fluids, but they can contain dangerous bacteria and viruses, and it is generally a good idea to avoid touching them at all.
What Baits Should be used with Rat Traps?
Rats will eat pretty much anything, which is part of why they are such a problem to have in your house, but there are a few things they will find more appealing than others and a few that you should stay away from.
Rats tend not to be very interested in spicy foods, and the burning of the spice may warn them away from the traps if they encounter them again in the future. What you are looking for is foods that have relatively strong flavors, but none that rats might find unpleasant.
Foods with strong odors are generally a good bet, as the rats will be able to smell these from some distance away, making them more likely to be drawn into the trap. Bacon, peanut butter, pet food, cheese, and fruit are all good options, but peanut butter tends to be the best option for most traps.
If you are using peanut butter, the best option is to smear a thin layer across the trigger of the trap. This ensures that the rats will have to lick the trigger in order to get at the peanut butter, which will move the trigger and set the trap off, catching the rat.
How to tell if you Have a Rat Problem?
Even a single rat is enough to cause a lot of damage and destruction around your home, and individual rats are rare. Rats are social animals that become depressed when alone, and so rats tend to be found in groups and more substantial colonies. That means that it can be reasonably easy to tell when there are rats in your house, as they often show up in large enough numbers to leave a large amount of visible waste.
Things to keep an eye out for include rat droppings and urine stains, as well as gnaw marks, scratches, and holes, especially in items such as bags of flour and other fragile food containers. You may also hear the sounds of movement in your walls or in the kitchen at night, or notice nests made from shredded materials. Rats are elusive and sneaky, and you are likely to see traces such as these long before you see rats.
Humane, no-kill rat traps are the most cruelty-free option, but you need to ensure that you release the captured rats a long way from your home, or they’ll just make their way back from wherever you’ve left them!
The bodies of dead rats and other rodents can give off a powerful and unpleasant odor as they decompose. This means that it is important to check your traps on a regular basis and clear away any dead bodies before they begin to decompose!
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