How to set your T-Rex rat trap
- Swivel the lid or open the mesh back door to gain access to the tunnel. Access will depend on the box type you have been given.
- Bait your trap first before setting. Unscrew the small bait holder located on the bottom of the trap. Fill bait holder with peanut butter or similar. Screw bait holder back into place.
- Squeeze back of the trap to open the jaws. It will click into place when set. DO NOT PUT FINGERS INTO THE TRAP.
- Place your rat trap in the tunnel with the open jaws facing the tunnel entrance. Keep the traps towards the back of the tunnel to minimise tampering risk to children or pets.
- If using a mouse trap as well, place the set and baited trap in first and then put the mouse trap in behind the trap (closest to the back mesh door) of the tunnel box.
- For additional safety, you can screw the lid on or add a padlock to the mesh door.
How to set your Victor rat trap
- Swivel the lid or open the mesh front to gain access to the tunnel. Access will depend on the box type you have been given.
- Bait your trap first before setting. Place peanut butter around the centre of the yellow step plate..
- Only ever hold your trap from the back (the part with the big red V).
- READ FIRST before setting. Move the loose metal wire to the back of the trap. Use your thumbs to pull the metal kill-bar back. Hold in place with one thumb. With the other hand, place the loose metal wire over the top of the metal kill bar. Hook the loose metal wire under the yellow lip (near the springs). You may need to lift the yellow part up so the metal wire can hook under the lip. Only ever hold your trap from the back (the part with the big red V).
- Slide the metal wire to the left for a Firm setting (F) for use on unstable ground or a Sensitive setting (S). Note – If the trap is going off without any catches move the wire closer to the F setting.
- Place your rat trap in the tunnel with the yellow step plate closest to the tunnel entrance). Try to keep the traps towards the back of the tunnel to minimise tampering risk to children or pets.
- If using a mouse trap as well, place the set and baited trap in first and then put the mouse trap in behind the trap (closest to the back mesh door) of the tunnel box.
- For additional safety, you can screw the lid on or add a padlock to the mesh door.
Video on setting Victor rat trap
Where to put your trap
Rats and mice don’t like to run across big open areas like lawns, and instead tend to stay near the cover of plants of buildings. So place the tunnel box beside the house, fence line or garden edging.
Rodents will be attracted to places where they can find food and water. Near compost bins, chicken coops, rabbit hutches or fruit trees are good spots. Another good place is beside a waterway if you have one, as rodents tend to run alongside streams and creeks.
Restrict access to readily available food so that the only option is the trap and tunnel box. Rat-proof your compost bin, pick up fallen fruit, make sure pet/chicken food is is tight sealed containers.
Make sure the trap is in a convenient place for you to check it on a regular basis. Ideally so that you walk past it every day so you’ll remember to check it and keep the bait fresh.
What’s the best bait to use?
Rats will pretty much eat anything. but you need to choose a bait that lasts a while rather than something you need to refresh everyday.
Peanut butter is the most common bait type used. Nutella, milk chocolate and nuts are also good baits. Cheese, mutton fat, meat are attractive to rats but don’t last long, especially in warmer seasons. Commerically prepared baits like Eggsellent and Lure it come in easy to dispense squeeze containers.
If you’re not catching anything, then change the bait type.
Make sure you keep your bait fresh particularly if you are using highly perishable bait. Rodents prefer fresh food and decaying food can be a deterrent.
If your bait is disappearing but the trap is not set off, then mice or insects may be eating your bait. You can have a mouse trap set behind your rat trap (furthest from rat hole entrance). This will help catch the mice but also rats like to eat mice, so it is a good bait too!
Whole fresh eggs are a fantastic bait. They are long lasting and mice and insects can’t eat them. Eggs are obviously too big to fit in your trap, but they can be placed behind your rat trap. The rat comes across the trap before it can reach the egg. Eggs covered in feathers and chicken poop are the best eggs to use, but any egg will do the trick.
The scent of a rat in a tunnel box will lure other in rats too. If you catch a rat then use its body to wipe all the surfaces inside, around and particularly near the entrance of your tunnel box to entice more rats in.
Build your own tunnel box for a rat trap
There are several reasons why we need to house rat traps in tunnel boxes;
- Some rat traps like the T-Rex trap, the rat needs to approach front on to ensure a good and humane kill. If rats approach the trap from the side they may not be caught properly and can be injured and/or not killed quickly.
- If the rat trap is in a long tunnel box, then pets can’t reach in with their paws and get injured.
- Birds are most unlikely to get caught if the trap is in a tunnel box as it goes against their survival instincts to go into a dark hole.
- The tunnel box keeps the rat trap dry and also the bait. This increases the longevity of both the trap and bait.
- The box can be labelled to warn people of its contents and prevent them getting fingers caught. You can add a small padlock to the door to prevent very small children from getting to the trap.
You can build your own wooden tunnel box to house a rat trap using these very easy to follow instructions from DoC. The simple tunnel box design has a small hole for the rat to get in at the front and a hinged mesh door at the back to access the trap.