4 Non-Humane Rat Trap Solutions That Waste Time and Money

Discovering a rat problem in your home can be extremely stressful. It’s no wonder most homeowners turn to the four most common rat traps to try to take care of the infestation quickly: snap traps, glue traps, poison, and rat “zappers.”

But these solutions have several inherent problems. First of all, they cause a painful, often lengthy death for the poor rodent. It’s not as if you want to torture these creatures; you just don’t want them in your home anymore. To make matters worse, these common traps aren’t actually very effective at fixing rat problems, so using them often results in a waste of time and money.

Here, we count down four of the most commonly used non-humane rat trap solutions—and why you should avoid them.

1. Snap Traps

These spring-loaded traps are quickly falling out of fashion for a couple reasons. First, they don’t always kill right away. It’s surprisingly easy for a rat to get caught in the trap and be injured, only to face a long and painful death.

Another problem with snap traps is how much time and money they require. Experts recommend about a dozen traps for an average-sized attic area, and you’ll need to check them frequently to ensure they’re still loaded and baited. Plus, they usually need to be replaced after only a few uses. Even though we're used to seeing these, the successes of these snap traps are actually a myth. This method results in wasted time and money, all while your rat problem keeps growing. 

2. Glue Traps

Glue traps are also a cruel option: The rat is meant to walk across a sticky surface and get stuck, then slowly die of starvation or dehydration. These traps also require a lot of attention, since they’re useless once a single rodent is stuck to them. (Rats are pretty intelligent, so they’re not going to approach a spot where one of their own is slowly dying.) Much like snap traps, it takes quite a few glue traps to eradicate a small group of rats, and once they’re used up, you have to constantly replace them.

3. Poison

Perhaps not surprisingly, rat poison is just as bad as the traps mentioned above. Not only does it cause a slow, painful death, it can even endanger your pets and other wildlife. If you have small children, you definitely don’t want rat poison sitting around the house. Plus, once you put it out, you have to monitor it frequently to ensure it is even working—which means it’s rarely worthwhile.

4. Electronic Rat “Zappers”

A final option includes products known as rat zappers: small traps that use bait to attract a rat, then provide a high-voltage, battery-powered shock that is intended to kill the rat.

These traps are touted as humane, and they certainly appear less “messy” than snap and glue traps and poison. After all, you often don’t even have to pick up the dead rat once it’s been electrocuted. You simply pick up the trap and empty it outside or into the trash.

Unfortunately, rat zappers aren’t as neat and effective as they may seem. There are a variety of consumer reports and complaints online about these zappers not working as intended, leaving the poor rodent to suffer needlessly. In some cases, the rats are being electrocuted for minutes at a time without dying.

Just imagine the pain of thousands of volts of electricity running through such a tiny animal for two minutes. Clearly, rat zappers aren’t providing the quick-kill death their marketing claims

A Certified Humane Rat Trap

These four rat trap options are not only cruel and ineffective; they make matters worse by wasting time and money. However, there's a quick kill way to solve your problem.

The Goodnature™ A24 Rat and Mouse Trap is quick kill because it instantly kills each rodent without toxins or electricity. The trap uses a CO2-powered shot to automatically strike the rat’s head as soon as it approaches the lure, killing it without delay or needless suffering. In fact, the rat doesn’t even know what hit it.

In addition, the A24 is highly effective, so you won’t waste time or money. Each CO2 canister enables the trap to automatically kill up to two dozen rodents, without the need for you to reset the trap. The specially formulated lures last six months and only require monthly checking. The traps can be used for years at a time, maximizing your return on investment. This means you get highly effective rodent control without wasting time or money.

Experiencing a rodent problem in or around your home shouldn’t automatically lead you to purchase inhumane rat traps. As you can see, rat control solutions have come a long way. Today, you can eradicate rodents without causing unnecessary suffering—and without wasting precious time and money on this pesky problem.