HELP Rodent infestation

[AndreaMD02]

I am having a major problem with mice and rats in my apartment. Being the kind-hearted animal lover I am, I tried using humane traps, which never worked. I eventually had to go with a traditional mouse trap (snaps the spine, instant death). I cried enough over one mouse that died that way. But now I also have small rats in my apartment! Even with the traditional mouse traps, I can't seem to trap them.

My family and friends say I should use glue traps, which breaks my heart because the mouse/rat will suffer greatly. I'm afraid to tell my landlord in fear that he might use those traps.

I know a lot of you might be upset about the killing of these poor creatures, but I also have two lovely chinchillas I need to worry about! These rodent pests could be carrying diseases!

Does anyone have any suggestions on non-glue traps that will cause the least amount of suffering to the rats?
Something that I can hopefully buy at a CVS or hardware store?

 

[Gabby88]

The live traps actually seem to work for me. I put peanut butter in them, and the mice seem to really like it. Then I drive quite a few miles away to set them free (I've heard they have a great memory and sense of direction and can find their way back to where they came from within quite a few miles, so never let them free just in your back yard).

Give the live traps another try. Just make sure to check them often. I accidentally left one in the basement while my husband and I went on vacation, and when I came back a mouse had died of starvation in it. I cried because I felt so bad.

 

[menagerie]

Humane traps are always my first line of defense. Unfortunately, they just don't work all the time. The problem is that rats and mice are very smart and hard to trap. For any kind of trap you need to vary the food. In the past I've switched back and forth between peanut butter and avocado. Also, use dental floss to anchor the bait to the trigger. They have the ability to eat from a trap without putting any weight on the trigger, having the dental floss holding the food down makes it harder to remove the bait without releasing the trigger. I also had luck covering the traps or putting snap traps in narrow boxes so that food can't be taken from the side of the trap.

 

[addictedtochins]

You may need to replace your hay and feed, it may have been peed on. I believe they travel along the wall edge most often. I would be more concerned about killing them quickly right now than worrying about them.

 

[LovinTheSmallAndFurry]

Being the kind-hearted animal lover I am, I tried using humane traps, which never worked. I eventually had to go with a traditional mouse trap (snaps the spine, instant death).

?

I had the same problem two years ago. I put out Decon and more Decon (inhumane as it is, I couldn't bare to see the rats in the traps, much less move them....I'm a squealy girl like that, despite having two pet rats). But for months they just kept eating it. Finally my landlord decided to put down a huge trap. That got the head of the troop and ended the whole fiasco....but sadly, I don't think it killed him instantly; the trap was flipped over, with him in it......

 

[starleomach]

snap traps are efficient and quick usually. as much as i dislike killing mice they can lead to illness in you and your pets

 

[Amphy64]

Humane traps + peanut butter bait has always worked for me (placed along the edges of the walls, and under furniture against the wall), ours is this model:
http://www.google.co.uk/products/ca...=X&ei=CrPITZWbDceOswaUmtGWAw&ved=0CFYQ8wIwAw#
so once the mouse is in, they can't escape, and there's no way they can get the food without entering the trap. You may need a larger trap to catch rats rather than mice. You could also possibly try setting up a bucket trap, a high walled container with a ramp, so they can get in but not out again. Do you have any ideas as to how they're getting into your apartment in the first place, is there maybe somewhere you could block off?

 

[minrex]

I had the same problem two years ago. I put out Decon and more Decon (inhumane as it is, I couldn't bare to see the rats in the traps, much less move them....I'm a squealy girl like that, despite having two pet rats). But for months they just kept eating it. Finally my landlord decided to put down a huge trap. That got the head of the troop and ended the whole fiasco....but sadly, I don't think it killed him instantly; the trap was flipped over, with him in it......

The snap trap you saw was probably flipped over because of the force of the snap or a quick, reflexive thrash from the rat when it died.

Warfarin (the active ingredient in D-Con) is an anticoagulant, which causes the rodent to hemorrhage and bleed to death internally; a slower and more painful death than the quick "snap" of a trap. There are other cons to using it as well: the rodent may go elsewhere to die and may end up in a wall or vent, causing unpleasant smells as it decays; the rodent may be eaten by a predator after it consumes the poison -- D-Con is powerful enough that it can poison animals that eat affected rodents; and populations of rodents can develop a resistance to warfarin over time, which can make putting out the poison pointless.

 

[cuddlycuddles]

Sorry to read about your problem.
We had a family of mice move into our apartment last fall (while we were away getting married!)- upon our return we caught three adults and I found 5 babies in my linen closet- ugh! We tried humane traps without any success and eventually resorted to snapping traps and electronic traps- I prefer the second type, if you can find them in your area.
There are even larger electronic traps for rats and some made for multiple kills, that automatically reset after killing a rat.