Steps to take to remove a trapped rat in a dumpster

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If you have a rat stuck in your dumpster, please, remember that this is a frightened animal that’s currently under a huge amount of stress and fear for its life. Don’t further annoy it or mess around with it, as it may attack you in an attempt to defend itself. Rats carry diseases which they can transmit directly through bites, scratches, or if their saliva drops on an open wound on your skin.



So, how exactly can you safely remove a rat that’s stuck in a dumpster?

Place a lethal snap trap inside the dumpster. Correctly dealing with rats means exterminating the vermin. You will want to do this as quickly as possible as to not prolong the rat’s suffering. Killing a rat with a deadly wooden snap trap is the most humane way of getting rid of that rat. The rat will be alert and scared, so even if bait doesn’t really matter in normal circumstances, you might want to smear some peanut butter on this trap. Leave the scene, and return after a couple of hours to see if the problem is solved. If the rat was trapped, use a cloth, towel, or protective gloves to put the carcass in a sealed plastic container, bag or sack, which you can then throw in a trash bag. Most cities will allow you to dispose of rat carcasses in your trash can, but you can check first what your city authorities say in relation to this issue.

Kill the rat with an air gun. While I don’t endorse killing rats with BB guns for sport, I do understand why sometimes this is the best and easiest solution. The good thing here is that if you have good aim, the animal won’t suffer. Once you’ve inflicted the deadly shot, your following actions should be the same ones as in the case of the lethal snap trap.

Help the rat escape. You might not want to kill the rat for whatever reason, and prefer to help it free itself to continue its nuisance activities. The rat is stuck probably because the dumpster is not full enough, and it hasn’t got anything to climb on. Throw in some more trash, or insert a branch or something similar for the rat to climb up on. Keep your distance or leave the scene altogether.

Call a wildlife removal pro. Use the directory on this website if you need help from an expert with your rat problem. All the specialists listed here will be happy to help out, even if only by offering their professional input. 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.