Primitive Rat Catch

[Coote 5]

We've got a small shed in the garden where we store a bit of junk. Noticing the droppings everywhere, my missus hinted it was time to set a trap.

 

I've had great success using a deadfall with a figure four trigger for mice, and I reckoned it was time to try it on rats. As you can see, it worked.

 

 

 

I think it is important to split the end of the bait stick of this trigger, and to force bait into the split. This makes the animals push harder to get it out. Another thing to consider, is to set the trap with its 'back' closest to the place where the animal will run to where it thinks it will be safe. Somehow these rodents sometimes manage to take a pace or two before the rock hits, so it is best that they run to the back of the trap. Of course I cannot guarantee that this little ruse will always work, but I hope you can see the logic of it.

 

These triggers can be made to be very sensitive. Instead of using a flat rock, I once used a wooden box about a quarter full of nails (maybe 5kg total) to catch a mouse.

 

I believe we have three types of rat in NZ.... the Norway rat, the ship rat, and the Pacific Island kiore. The rat in the picture has a tail which is longer than it's body which I know is a distinguishing feature, but I cant remember which species has the longer tail

 

Regards.... Coote

Edited March 11, 2007 by Coote

[Guest Ditch_Shitter]

Black (Ship, Roof) Rat, mate. Rattus rattus. Tail longer than body and bigger ears. That's what ye have there. Knew it at a glance.

 

Must say, Coote; Hat's off to ye, mate! I have never had the stomach to mess around with a figure 4 trap in my entire life! Never even crossed my mind to try the damn things. Seems too fiddly. In fact, come to that, I've never met anyone who has! Goooood God! And here's you giving it a crack and catching things! Well done!

[badoosh 1]

cheers for the idea mate

think i'll be trying this at work,seen a few rats in the yard....

[DUCKWING 302]

WELL LADS ,

 

AS KIDS WE OFTEN MADE THE DEAD FALL TRAP......... WITH BREAD PASTED ON THE TRIGGER FOR SPARROWS AND STARLINGS WHICH WERE USED FOR FERRET FOOD DURING THE SUMMER ....... THATS OF COURSE WHEN THERE WAS CLOUDS OF SUCH BIRDS NOT LIKE NOW

 

 

ALL THE BEST

 

DUCKWING

[Coote 5]

Here's a picture of a variation of the figure four trigger that I found to be quite successful. The difference between this and the standard figure four is that the diagonal stick is tied to the bait stick. The string should be kept quite short. I think that the tied version can be a little less tricky to set. Also, the bait stick is possibly more likely to be flung clear of the deadfall when triggered because it is tied to the diagonal which rotates quickly as the trap fires.

 

Having said that, my current favourite is the shortened figure four as shown in the rat picture. By shortened I mean that there is a relatively short portion of the bait stick between the vertical prop stick and the diagonal stick. Because of this short distance, the effect of the leverage is such that the weight of the bait is almost enough to set the trap off in some circumstances...even when the deadfall weight is relatively heavy. Nevertheless, I have used the tied version to catch mice... so it can be fairly sensitive too.

 

 

I have never made a serious attempt to catch anything but rodents with figure four deadfalls, but I imagine it would adapt well to any size. The trouble with setting bigger deadfalls is that you can't generally release non-target species in a state that they are fit to walk away.