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In theory, if you catch a live rat, you should
relocate it outside of your home, make sure there
are no other rats inside, and seal shut all rodent
access points.
I should probably feel somewhat weird saying that
if you catch a rat you should kill it, but I
don’t. It’s a rat, you’re not doing it any favors
by relocating it. Once they are removed from their
environment and relocated, odds are pretty much
against rats surviving in a novelty habitat. They
will die soon after being relocated, probably of a
violent death, either by the hands of predators,
because of rat competition, or just due to
starvation.
I understand how it’s really awkward to kill a
living thing. Most people can’t do it with no
pangs of conscience. I’m not recommending you do
this, I suggest you capture the rat with a lethal
snap trap, and then dispose of the body. Even so,
I suggest that you look at the big picture. Urban
and suburban rats are an absolute horror show.
They’re dangerous to our health and to the
structures we live in, spreading disease and
wreaking devastation wherever they choose to
settle. They multiply like crazy, and the majority
of them have a lifespan of under a year. While
good indicator species in the wild, urban rats
don’t help our environment in any way.
Your options would be:
A) Release the rat somewhere far from your home,
where it will soon die anyway;
B) Catch the rat with a lethal snap trap to start
with, and dispose of the carcass;
C) Use live exclusion to capture the rat, then
kill it in a quick way that won’t give you
nightmares;
D) Hire a seasoned vermin control professional
from the start.
I’m sorry if you would’ve wanted to read about
some utopic rat rehabilitation center, or of some
natural forest area where the rat would’ve lived
happily ever after, but after all, I don’t imagine
you’re a kid that wants all rats to share pies
with Ratatouille in Unicorn Country while dancing
the polka. I digress only in the purpose of
sustaining my position in what concerns rats. Do
the right thing by correctly and humanly
exterminating any rat that trespasses on your
property – no guilt trips are in order.
Read more about why lethal trapping with snap
traps is the most humane method of dealing with
rats in your home, and go ahead and check my
directory of wildlife removal pros if you need
help with rat extermination. For more information,
you may want to click on one of these guides that
I wrote:
How much
does rat removal cost? - get the lowdown on
prices.
How
to get rid of rats - my main rat removal
info guide.
Example
rat trapping photographs - get
do-it-yourself ideas.
Rat
job blog - learn from great examples of rat
jobs I've done.