One of the most annoying pests in every home are rats and mice. Although rats can seem harmless to some, they can be destructive if left uncontrolled.
Rats are known for the destruction of stored foods, clothes, and sometimes carry infectious diseases. Having rats and mice in your garden puts your plants and any fruit or vegetables you’re growing at risk.
There are many ways of controlling rats and mice. The most popular methods are rat poison and rat traps.
Using rat poison is an effective method, however it is hard to tell if the poison has been successful, as in most cases you won’t find the dead rats. It’s also not a humane way of dealing with this rodent issue.
Rat traps are an easy and more humane way of controlling rats.
With rat traps, you can tell the effectiveness of the control measure as you will literally see the number of rats that you’ve trapped.
We’ve rounded up some of the best rat traps that UK buyers can pick up online today.
Gingbau Humane Rat Trap Cage
The Ginbau Rat Trap Cage is arguably the best humane rat trap you can get in the UK.
The trap is made of galvanised steel, which makes it light enough to be carried around. With the Gingbau rat trap, the rats are captured alive, unlike other methods. This allows you to remove the rats from your house or garden and release them elsewhere.
The Gingbau rat trap uses an automatic door closing mechanism to keep the rats in the cage. All you need to do is place in the bait according to the instructions.
Our Rating – 4.5/5
Pros
- Big enough to capture other rodents such as squirrels that might cause mayhem in your garden.
- Galvanised steel makes it durable and easy to clean for frequent use.
- You don’t need to use poisonous rat baits to catch the rat. Toxic baits cause a threat to the rats and other animals in the environment.
Cons
- The cost is relatively high compared to other traps.
- When rats are released into a different environment alive, they might be a threat to the neighbouring homes and gardens.
IAGORYUE Rat Trap Cage
When purchasing a rat trap, children’s safety from the trap and trapped rats should be a priority. The Lagoryue rat trap cage is one of the safest rat traps to purchase if you have children in the house.
The Lagoryue rat trap cage is made of thermoplastic material and has two doors made of metal. One door on the trap is used to place the rat bait on the tray, and the other entry is used to set up the trap. Once the rat eats the bait, the auto-lock mechanism on both doors of the trap will be triggered to shut the door and prevent the rat from escaping.
Our Rating – 4.3/5
Pros
- Lagoryue rat trap is entirely enclosed, which keeps the trapped rodents away from kids who might touch it without knowing.
- The thermoplastic used in making the trap is recyclable and environment friendly.
- The sleek design of the trap doors allows them to shut without making any noise which reduces the chances of the trapped rat escaping.
- The trap is big enough and can be used to catch other rodents such as squirrels.
Cons
- As the trap is totally enclosed, cleaning it after use might be difficult.
- The trap is relatively expensive to purchase compared to other rat traps available on the market.
ASPECTEK Large Rat Trap
ASPECTEK large size rat trap uses a spring mechanism to trap rats. The rat bait is placed on a sensitive plate, and the spring clipped to the plate. Once the rat eats the bait, the spring shutter mechanism is triggered, and the rat is trapped.
Our Rating – 4.1/5
Pros
- The powerful spring on the trap makes it impossible for the trapped rats to get out irrespective of how big they are.
- Designed to catch rodents of all sizes. The perforated trigger on the trap is very sensitive and detects movements even from small-sized rodents.
- Easy to set up and clean after being used to trap rodents.
- These traps are sold in a pack of six on Amazon, making it ideal for use if you don’t know the area that rats frequent the most.
Cons
- The spring snap is dangerous when used in a house full of children as one might unknowingly trigger the trap.
- Spring traps are an inhumane way of capturing rats since they are likely to be killed by the snapping trap.
- The traps are only suitable for indoor purposes.
Rentokil FR51 Advanced Rat Trap
This Rentokil rat trap is strictly suitable for rats and mice within the house, and uses the spring snap mechanism in order to capture them.
When setting up the trap, you need to place a few nuts or raisins as rat bait on a plate. When the rat eats the bait, the spring snap mechanism will be triggered with the upper jaw of the trap dropping fast to capture the rat.
Our Rating – 4.0/5
Pros
- Rentokil FR51 is easy to set up when trapping rats. The bait is placed out in the open, therefore attracts rats more easily.
- When purchased from Amazon, the trap is supplied as a twin pack, which makes it suitable for trapping rats if you are not sure of areas they are likely to visit.
Cons
- The trap is not ideal for use outdoors as the bait is open to the air.
- The open trap with its sensitive bait plate is dangerous and someone could get hurt if the bait plate is accidentally triggered.
Roshield 2X Rat Traps
The Roshiel 2X rat trap is one of the best traps to use for professional rat control.
The trap is made of heavy-duty material. Roshield rat traps use the spring mechanism to trap rats. The plate used is sensitive to motion and triggers the spring shutter when the rat eats the bait. The spring closes in and traps the rat.
Our Rating – 4.5/5
Pros
- The Roshield rat trap is made of heavy-duty material and so the traps are durable compared to other traps.
- These traps are relatively easy to set up. You just need to set the bait on a plate and pull back the rear bar.
- Roshield rat traps are big enough to capture rats of different sizes. The bait plate is sensitive to slight movements making it an ideal trap for small-sized rats as well.
Cons
- The trap is dangerous if accidentally triggered by a person in the house or garden.
- Not as humane as it will kill rats. For many people this will be hard, it’s not exactly the same as killing weeds.
The Big Cheese Rat Cage Trap
The Big Cheese rat cage trap is one of the best and most humane traps for rats and other rodents in the UK.
The trap is made of steel and is operated by a spring door mechanism. When using the trap, you just need to put the rat bait on the sensitive plate at the end of the cage. The plate triggers the spring to close the door when the rat eats the bait.
Our Rating – 4.1/5
Pros
- When you purchase the trap from Amazon, it is delivered fully assembled and ready to use. The only thing you need to do is place the bait on the trap then position it.
- The trap is made of steel; this makes it durable even when used for outdoor rat and mice control.
- The Big Cheese rat trap is big enough and can trap other rodents in the house and garden, including squirrels.
- The Big Cheese rat trap is a humane way of controlling rats. The trap has no internal seams, which ensure that the trapped animal does not harm itself while trying to escape.
Cons
- When the rats are released alive, they are likely to become a menace to the neighbouring homes and gardens where they are released.
- Using the Big Cheese rat trap can be costly and ineffective in you are uncertain about the exact place where the rats are likely to visit frequently.
The Victor Electronic Rat Trap is one of the best and modern ways of controlling rats. The trap operates by a high electric volt. When the rat is lured into the bait trap, an electrical charge is triggered and instantly kills the rat. The Victor Electronic Rat Trap has a light indicator that alerts you when a rat has been killed in the trap.
Our Rating – 4.0/5
Pros
- The Victor Electronic Rat Trap is delivered ready to use if you purchase from Amazon. All you need to do is place the bait and position the trap at the desired location.
- The trap is durable and can be reused over a long period without having to clean it.
- The trapped rats are killed by electric shock, so no bloodstains are left in the trap.
- It is a humane way of rat control since the electric shock kills the rats instantly.
- The Victor Electronic Rat Trap conforms to all government guidelines.
Cons
- The Victor Electronic Rat Trap uses 8500V electric power to kill the rat which makes it very expensive to maintain due to high power bills.
- This trap is not suitable for outdoor rat control.
There are many other types of rat traps available to purchase in the UK, however the above mentioned traps are the best and most preferred by people in the UK. For effective pest control in your house or garden, you should go for the best rat traps in the UK. Many manufacturers of rat traps produce substandard traps, which are costly but very ineffective in controlling rats.
Other methods of controlling rats, such as the use of rat poison, are inhumane and dangerous to other animals as well.
Rat poison causes internal bleeding in rats leading to a slow and painful death. When other animals in the environment feed on poisoned rats, they risk getting affected by the poison in the dead rat. Therefore, you should adapt rat traps as the best way of controlling rats in your environment.
