Rat Trap FAIL

[_Joe_]

I have to share this.

I have a rat problem in my house. The Texas drought has gotten quite bad, and all sorts of vermin are coming into our house. Worst of them all, is Rats. I have them in my shed, my garage, and worse - my attic. I have used the large wooden rat traps before, however after 2-3 catches they get out of alignment and you gotta fiddle with them, and worse, you gotta CAREFULLY set them or you lose a finger.

I have tried and fell in love with a new rat trap, the Tomcat brand plastic rat trap :

http://www.pestdetour.com/store/pc/catalog/images/products_n-z/tomcat_rattrap_lrg.jpg

You insert the bait in the little cup and insert the cup from below, keeping your fingers as far away from the plastic teeth of certain rat death. Then you put the trap where you want, and use your foot to press down the lever and set the trap, not risking your fingers at all. I've gotten plenty of rats with these traps. They recommend peanut butter, however I like the old tradition cheese cubes because rats are racially profiled to cheese. That and peanut butter is too tasty to give to those stinking rats.

So I get little cubes, put them in the little hole, press down and leave.

Today I was introduced to the Rat that has played the home game Operation (http://www.hasbro.com/games/kid-games/operation/)

The rat nimbly put his head into the trap, bit down on the cheese, LIFTED IT OUT of the hole without touching the trigger sensative lever, and took the cheese out of the trap. and ate it.

But that's not the FAIL.

Here is the FAIL :

http://www.crazyjoe.us/stuff/mousetrap.jpg

This is my actual rat trap I found without the cheese. If you look closely, you will see rat shit in the cup where the cheese was.

Yes ladies and gentleman.

This rat not only took the cheese out with extreme skill, but also was able to turn around and pinch a loaf off into the cup.

I figured this was not simply possible so I got a small straw off a straw broom and touched the lever and jumped back as the teeth snapped down and showed the straw absolutely no mercy.

So there you have it. the FAIL Rat Trap.

[Shhhhh 47/F/usa]

OMG! ROFLMBFAO!!!! Pinched a loaf off in the cheese cup!:cutelaugh:cutelaugh:cutelaugh

[Laken]

And that is why you use peanut butter! You can't just lift peanut butter out of the cup! It takes more work than that. Now, if he can get the peanut butter...then you can really call it a FAIL.

[rissababynta]

I wasn't dying of laughter til I got to the rat poop part.

[littlerayofsunshine]

The best traps are the ones that take your fingers off. The good ole fashion kind. If it can hurt you, then it can hurt the rat. If you decide to set poison, make sure you cover your toilette with saran wrap and make sure your sinks are dry... and Joe.... You owe me a pair of panties cause I pissed the other ones.:smilies15

[Gina7777]

LOL!
:cutelaugh

[_Joe_]

The best traps are the ones that take your fingers off. The good ole fashion kind. If it can hurt you, then it can hurt the rat. If you decide to set poison, make sure you cover your toilette with saran wrap and make sure your sinks are dry... and Joe.... You owe me a pair of panties cause I pissed the other ones.:smilies15

Never say you pissed your panties. someone will PM you their mailing address.

btw check your PMs

[Herbwoman39]

Just more proof that rats are VERY smart. I second the peanut butter solution. They actually have to lick at it. No more "Operation" home games. Just a quick trip to the trash can.

[Doggiestyle]

Just think Joe that there is a rat out there in your neighborhood just laughing his ass off at you :bigrin: and telling his buddies all about what he did to ya. I guess that youre a gonna have to share your beloved peanut butter with them after all !!! Oh and BTW peanut butter has such a attract-able odor that rats can smell it a long ways off, I mean it's like radar to their nose. Another reason to use peanut butter.

Your friend,,,:doggie: ......:bipride:

[FalconAngel]

Are you sure it isn't just Dangermouse?

[MissyMissy]

i think the rat was telling you something. maybe something very rude...
missymissy

[Jessicaknight]

I think you should keep him as a pet.
If he could do that, Imagin all the tricks you can teach him.

[rissababynta]

I think you should keep him as a pet.
If he could do that, Imagin all the tricks you can teach him.

I think you should keep him as a pet too. What a great story that would be. I'd be like "Yeah...he's a smartass...we sort of have an understanding with each other..."

[_Joe_]

Today the same exact trap was triggered. The cheese was still in it. The rat was not found anywhere.

He is testing my defenses and offenses and forming military strategies. He is..The Rat from Nimh.

[_Joe_]

I think you should keep him as a pet too. What a great story that would be. I'd be like "Yeah...he's a smartass...we sort of have an understanding with each other..."

My wife is ok with me being Bisexual.
My wife is ok with me being very weird and odd.
My wife is ok with me cooking with too much salt.

My wife would leave me if I made a rat a pet.

Everyone has their limits in a relationship, and I know hers!

[rissababynta]

LOL well, I'd leave you over the salt...

[_Joe_]

LOL well, I'd leave you over the salt...

/me strike a line through your name on "the list"

[rissababynta]

/me strike a line through your name on "the list"

Oh God, anytime I've ever been on a list it wasn't a good thing...

[Jessicaknight]

Being realistic, I had a mouse problem a few weeks ago and got a few of the same traps.
I kept them out for a week and didn’t get a single mouse.
But now they are not coming in the house.

[**Peg**]

hey Joe... these pellets work well, because they are irresistible to rodents so your escape artist would have to root around IN the cup to pick out even one. I use them in the same type trap [as we discussed yestday]. Each pellet is MAX 1/4'' long.

let me know if it works, and btw this product (or similar) is usually available at farm supply companies.

happy snappin !

[Beefeater]

You might try adding a small piece of bacon to the peanut butter to make it more tempting. There is also some rat poison that you can buy at farmer's market or a hardware store. It's called "JustOneBite". The farmers here in Ky swear by it. It comes in a very hard block. Good luck and happy hunting!

[Cherokee_Mountaincat]

Oh good grief Joe. Go git ya a big, mean, hungry, rangy, old Tom Cat..not a plastic one..lol:rolleyes:
Rats are too smart for plastic stuff nowdays.
Cat

[Conservationist]

I like the old tradition cheese cubes because rats are racially profiled to cheese.

What race are rats?

[codybear3]

Trying to be funny but it ain't werking... You're from Texas, Joe... Use a Colt .45 and wing the fucker... Then grab him and slam it into the trap and that should trigger the trap and do him in... If I have to, I'll swing by and take a couple of whacks at his head with my tomahawk... :rolleyes::paw::paw:

P.S. - I am just joking... I would not whack it on the head... With proper gun control, Joe should be able to shoot it between its beady eyes... :bigrin:

[grneyedbeauty]

Today the same exact trap was triggered. The cheese was still in it. The rat was not found anywhere.

He is testing my defenses and offenses and forming military strategies. He is..The Rat from Nimh.

The kids and I just watched that movie today!

[**Peg**]

*wipes tears from eyes* LMAO go cody!!!

[vittoria]

Are you sure it isn't just Dangermouse?

Crumbs and Crikey!!!

LMMFAO! :tongue:

[vittoria]

Today the same exact trap was triggered. The cheese was still in it. The rat was not found anywhere.

He is testing my defenses and offenses and forming military strategies. He is..The Rat from Nimh.

Yeah... and he's taking the cheese to the lee of the stone too

;)

[12voltman59]

Be glad you only have a rat infestation---I had to get a trapper come yesterday to set traps to try to get rid of some racoons that have set up home in the crawl space under my parents lake house--the one I saw a few days ago---holy crap---he is as big as a good sized dog----I sure would not want to get to close to him---he looks like a mean as hell sum-a-itch!!!!

I need to go check the traps now and see if one of em got caught last night!!!!

If one of those critters somehow makes its way into the house--it'd be a disaster---once they are caught--I need a load of gravel to fill in the holes they dug to get into the crawl space and fill them in along with some concrete building blocks!!

At least we made it so they can't get in the attic anymore--a few springs back---had a big momma give birth and raise her pups up there----she was pissed when I opened the hatch to the attic---I was lucky she didn't rip my throat out!!

[rissababynta]

Be glad you only have a rat infestation---I had to get a trapper come yesterday to set traps to try to get rid of some racoons that have set up home in the crawl space under my parents lake house--the one I saw a few days ago---holy crap---he is as big as a good sized dog----I sure would not want to get to close to him---he looks like a mean as hell sum-a-itch!!!!

I need to go check the traps now and see if one of em got caught last night!!!!

If one of those critters somehow makes its way into the house--it'd be a disaster---once they are caught--I need a load of gravel to fill in the holes they dug to get into the crawl space and fill them in along with some concrete building blocks!!

At least we made it so they can't get in the attic anymore--a few springs back---had a big momma give birth and raise her pups up there----she was pissed when I opened the hatch to the attic---I was lucky she didn't rip my throat out!!


Good god, the worst experience I ever had was when my mom and I were sitting on the couch one night and we saw a mouse go behind the entertainment center where we knew my father had put a good old fashioned mouse trap. We looked at each other and said "Uhh, let's go upstairs, I don't want to be around for this." and we got up and began leaving. I was holding my daughter, still young enough where I had to sit there and rock her to sleep at night, and went into the kitchen to poor myself some toast before I carried my daughter to bed and went to bed myself (pregnancy, always had to eat!). My mom was gathering up her belongings in the living room. All of a sudden we heard a loud snap and rattling. My mom starting freaking out and yelling, and she ran upstairs to get my Dad, screaming "Oh my God ewwww, it's rattling around down there. Go get it NOW!" and I just stood there shuddering...cause let's face it it was kind of sickening to hear that rattling noise haha. Afterwards, I was making fun of my Mom A LOT though hehe.

My Dad wasn't too upset about it because the damn mouse had not only set off the trap earlier, but had eaten the peanutbutter and gnawed at the sides of the trap, then just scurried away. For the most part though, none of us were happy about the mouse having to die. It was kinda sad.

[Holmes]

I am laughing my ass off on this thread. In a odd way this brought to mind a story from my childhood. When I was growing up and my first tooth became loose and I refused to let anyone touch it my parents came up with the reason for letting them remove it for me. You see I did not grow up with a tooth fairy. I grew up with the tooth mouse. He would come at night once the tooth was removed and replace it with a dollar. I had images of MIckey, Trixie and Pixie, and all sort of cute caroon mice. So you can imagine my horror when da carted out of our basement and infamous New York rat. I was horrified and had to be comforted by being told that this was a rat and not a mouse. I quote " amouse is cute and lovabel and you can get them at a pet store. Rats a big and ugly". This lasted until I met kids a school who thought it was strange that I could believe in a tooth mouse and not a tooth fairy. And people wonder why I'm strange. Nuff said:tongue:

[_Joe_]

Bart Simpson once said when you shake a spray paint can, and there's a rattle inside - that's a baby tooth.

[rissababynta]

I am laughing my ass off on this thread. In a odd way this brought to mind a story from my childhood. When I was growing up and my first tooth became loose and I refused to let anyone touch it my parents came up with the reason for letting them remove it for me. You see I did not grow up with a tooth fairy. I grew up with the tooth mouse. He would come at night once the tooth was removed and replace it with a dollar. I had images of MIckey, Trixie and Pixie, and all sort of cute caroon mice. So you can imagine my horror when da carted out of our basement and infamous New York rat. I was horrified and had to be comforted by being told that this was a rat and not a mouse. I quote " amouse is cute and lovabel and you can get them at a pet store. Rats a big and ugly". This lasted until I met kids a school who thought it was strange that I could believe in a tooth mouse and not a tooth fairy. And people wonder why I'm strange. Nuff said:tongue:


Awww, I love rats. I actually almost got one the other day from someone off of craigslist, but my husband was kinda...meh...about it so, no rat for me.

[teddyboy]

I have been an exterminator for 15 years and I can honestly say that rats are kind of my thing. I have never seen a rat leave droppings on a tomcat or Trex but I have seen it plenty of times on good old fashioned spring traps. This whole thread is a riot, thanks for the fun.

By the way, peanut butter does work best and make sure you put it in the cup AND smear it all over the trigger before you set it. Baiting with a rodenticide is a recipe for a good dead flesh smell coming from an inaccessable void somewhere in your house. That's okay I suppose if you like that sort of thing. Regarding the bait and water...that is a wives tale. Most baits now days are anti-coagulants. Their moisture intake has nothing to do with them metabolising the bait faster nor does it cause thirst. Where they croak they croak. Happy hunting.

[FinkDoodle]

Best Rat Trap EVER !!

http://www.ratzapper.com/zapper-ultra.cfm

It's a rat trap that kills with an internal stun gun . . works every time :)

[jamiehue]

One word jack russell. Barney leaves them in the shedrow.No rats, mouses, possiums, bandits,and best of all those people who are varmits themselves.Grrrrrrr.

[jeancarleo]

I hate rats. I've had rat problems at my parents house since they live in a ranch. I set up glue traps, poison pellets and got rid of them. My brother had a riffle. He shot some of them and those glue traps work better when u place them where the rats pass by and one next to the other to block their way. As for the poison pellets they work but you have to look for the old stinky rat that starts smelling after a day or so cuz it stinks so bad. So that's how I always get rid of them rats. I would have a cat at their house but they love dogs and their dogs don't like cats. They kill them if they catch them.

[chook]

hey Joe... these pellets work well, because they are irresistible to rodents so your escape artist would have to root around IN the cup to pick out even one. I use them in the same type trap [as we discussed yestday]. Each pellet is MAX 1/4'' long.

let me know if it works, and btw this product (or similar) is usually available at farm supply companies.

happy snappin !


WE have the same stuff here peg, only problem being is that wives are more inclined to feed it to their husbands and its called Rat Sack one feed and they are pushing up daisies, and that both the rats and poor old hubby's that get on the wrong side of their missus :cutelaugh

Cheers Chook :bigrin:

[_Joe_]

To post a follow up, I got 6 glue boards and nailed them to a huge chunk of plywood, since fat rats can walk off with glue boards

I put a HUGE helping of peanut butter in the middle.

Then several regular traps with cheese TAPED to the lever with peanut butter around it. as the stuff was melting in the attic and dripping off the leve rand they just ate it off the wooden trap.

One night I got a momma rat in the normal trap. and next time 2 large male rats, and 7 mice in the peanut butter sticky trap.

two weeks later not a single new rat dropping nor new rat caught, I think thats all of them!

[roy m cox]

glue boards is the best way to rid you self and the next is cat pee thay don't like the smell of it we had a rat problem and an old guy in or neighborhood told us to spray cat pee you can get it at a sporting good store,
we don't have any more rats now :)

:bipride::bipride::bipride::bipride:

[TwylaTwobits]

ROFLMAO that is......yeah Joe ya need help. Maybe ya can get one of those "smart cats" that might be smarter than the rat, or maybe ya should just face up to the fact that the rat has escaped from a maximum security rodent prison and has been injected with stephen hawking's sperm to make him smarter than the usual rat. I'd be very careful of putting your hand under your pillow for awhile, he might leave another loaf :)


Editing to go ummm yeah wtg Joe, glue is always the best...the smart rat was too smart and went for another house with Tomcat traps btw..... :)