How do I catch a rat?

It’s all about trap placement

The next step is finding where your rat is most comfortable feeding. This tells you where to put your trap(s). Most of the time, it's not where you've seen the rat.

To help you find that magic spot, we've developed trap location cards. These come with our Smart Trap kit. They are small chew cards filled with our chocolate paste that you place around your property. Once they've been nibbled on, you've found where to put your trap. Don't overlook this step. Placing your trap before using location cards will lead you down a long and frustrating path - trust us.

Feeding your rat

Then, you need to think about food competition. What could your rat already be eating? Ask yourself the following:

• Do I have an 'always available' food source? (Compost, rubbish, pet food)

• Can I better contain or remove the food source?

• Can I move that food source elsewhere?

• Can I stop the food source temporarily?

• Is the food source seasonal? If this is the case, it's just a matter of time before the food source disappears and you rat begins to look elsewhere for food.

Think of it like removing options from a ‘smorgasbord’. If there’s only one option (your paste), you’ll sell more of it.

Free paste

With your trap placed and competing food sources contained, it's time to pre-feed.

What is pre-feeding? It’s the process of adding small amounts of paste around your property and traps.

1. Place ten small dots of your paste (or from our Rodent Paste Pouch around your property and the entrance of your trap..

2. Repeat this for five days. This builds their preference for the paste (yes, your rat has food preferences) and habit in visiting the trap(s) to eat.

3. Go cold turkey and stop pre-feeding. Now the only way your rat can access the paste is by entering the trap(s). Bingo.

By pre-feeding, you’re increasing the amount of paste in your rat's environment. This means the chances they'll encounter it are higher.

The more a rat smells your paste in their environment, the more comfortable they become with it, and more likely they are to try it. So when you begin trapping it's a great way to encourage your rat to try your paste and also build a preference for it. It also means when you stop pre-feeding, it’ll seek it out inside your trap.

Follow the steps outlined here and in part one of our how to catch a rat series, and you'll catch that rat in no time

Got questions? Get in touch at hello@goodnature.co.nz or +1800 317 466, and we'll help you out.

Happy trapping!