Rat Catching - How to Catch a Rat

09.21.2006 - This job took place in the ceiling of a church. The man who hired me was not the minister, or the organist, or the acolyte, or the little old lady with the blue hair who never misses a Sunday. I'm not sure exactly what he was, but he's probably the creepiest customer I've ever had to deal with, and he told me to catch rats and squirrels from the attic. So I did.

The attic of this church did have a major infestation of both rats and squirrels.  The people inside the church could hear them all the time.  The attic was filled with rodent droppings.  Because of the presence of squirrels, and because I had a nice, large, flat trapping surface, I filled the attic with cage traps, as opposed to snap traps, which I usually use for rats.  Sure enough, each day I caught squirrels and rats.

The key to rat catching is simply to set the appropriate traps in the areas that the rats are using, and to set as many traps as possible in the best locations.  So in this case, I set two traps on top of this area where I saw a lot of rat activity, and sure enough, I caught them.  The best way to ensure that you catch the rats is to seal up all the entry and exit holes, so that the rats have no choice but to go for your bait when they get hungry.

I did a great job at this church, and sealed up all the entry holes, and trapped eight squirrels and seven rats, and made five visits to the church to do so.  I have to drive a long way to the property, in my busy schedule, and set up my ladders and check the traps on the roof, and put on my gear and check the traps in the attic and remove the trapped animals and set new traps, and so on and so forth.  I charge a per trip fee for my services.  By the sixth trip, I knew the job was complete, because I had no new animals caught and no new sign of rodent activity, and all the people at the church said the noises had stopped.

Then it was time for the bill, and this creepy, creepy man merely handed me a bible and said that he didn't have to pay, and that he doubted that I was responsible for removal of the rodents, but that prayer did it, and he didn't want to pay me.  This man wasn't exactly a harmless loonybin - he was more like a creepy pedophile.  I didn't like him very much, and I left unsatisfied, even though I did a very good job.  Sometimes churches have bad people inside them.

Anyway, I was glad to remove the rats unharmed, and relocate them along with the squirrels.  I'd always catch rats live if I could, but it's simply not practical or effective in most cases.

Do it yourself: Visit my How To Get Rid of Rats page for tips and advice.
Get professional help: Visit my Nationwide Pro Directory of wildlife removal experts.

For more wildlife stories, click my Wildlife Blog or click my below banner to hire a local trapper.