How to Kill Rats Fast

Mice look cute, too, but not when they come into your house to eat. When you see rats roaming around in your home, you can quickly deal with them with traps and with preventive measures. Once you get rid of the rats, you can stop them forever!

Table of Contents

Trapping

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Trap and release the mouse if you want to use the most humane method. Place the bait that comes with the trap in the inner compartment. Open the trap door in front so the mouse can get in. Once the mouse has entered the trap, the weight of the mouse will cause the trap door to close and trap the mouse inside until you take it away from home to release. ^{[1] X Research Source}

You can buy a “catch and release” mousetrap at a store or online.
If you have a lot of mice in your home that need to be handled, you should buy a trap designed to catch many mice.
Read the instructions on the trap carefully, as each trap type may have different settings.

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Buy an electric trap to effectively kill mice. Insert the battery into the trap to generate current. Place the bait in the trap near the openings so the rat can smell the outside smell. Set traps near an area where you’ve seen rats. When rats enter the trap, they will be electrocuted and die on the spot. ^{[2] X Research Source}

Place the trap so that the trap door is near the wall, because mice often run back and forth near the corners.

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Place “Do Not Touch, Do Not See” clamp traps in areas with mice for easy capture. A new version of the classic clamp trap, the “no touch, no see” trap is designed as the name suggests to keep you from having to touch a dead mouse. Push the lever down and put some bait inside the mousetrap. When activated by the mouse, the lever will pop up. You just need to push the lever down again to drop the dead mouse into the trash. ^{[3] X Research Sources}

Unlike the classic clamp trap, the “no touch, no see” mouse trap is a safe trap when there are children and pets in the house.

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Use a bucket of water as a mousetrap if you are not near the area to be trapped. Fill a bucket with a capacity of 20 liters so that the water level is about 8-10 cm high. Put one end of the wooden stick on the top of the bucket, the other end on the ground. Attach an empty soda can to a wooden or metal can over the top of the bucket and spread a thin layer of peanut butter over the top of the can. Mice will climb up the steep wooden stick to get to the peanut butter, but they will fall down and get into the bucket of water. ^{[4] X Research Sources}

Pour antifreeze in the bottom of the bucket if you don’t want your house to smell, but be sure to keep it out of the reach of children and pets, as antifreeze is toxic.

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Rotate traps every 2-3 days. Check the trap twice a day to see if there are any mice caught in the trap. If not, you should move the trap to another place around the house where you see or think rats frequent. Rats have a habit of going back to their old ways. ^{[5] X Research Sources}

Nocturnal mice usually only move about 6-9 meters away from their nest.

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Experiment with a variety of baits. While cheese is the classic bait for catching mice, you can try other foods like peanut butter or nuts. There are mice that even eat sweets like marshmallows. Notice which bait works best for the mice living in your home, and try a new one if your current bait doesn’t work. ^{[6] X Research Sources}

Try using jellies, jams or other fruit products to make sweet treats for the mice.

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Use mouse bait if there is no other way. Buy rat bait from the store and place it in places where mice roam. When mice eat poison baits, they will die slowly and no longer cause you trouble.

Place rat bait out of reach of children and pets, as the bait can be harmful to children and pets.
Some rat baits are also traps to catch mice so they don’t move to other areas of the house.

Get rid of mice from the house

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Spread cotton balls soaked in peppermint oil in areas where rats are infested. Put at least 5 drops of peppermint oil on each cotton ball. Spread cotton balls around the kitchen or near the entrances. After a few days, you need to add a few drops of peppermint oil to the cotton pads, as the oil will gradually evaporate. ^{[7] X Research Sources}

Try using different essential oils with strong scents to see if they repel mice.

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Use an ultrasonic pest repeller to keep mice out of your home. Place the device near entrances or areas frequented by mice. This device will make a sound that you can’t hear but scare the mice away. Make sure nothing is blocking the device; Otherwise, the ultrasonic wave will lose its effect.

Ultrasound generators are available at major stores or online.
Mice can get used to the sound of the device, so the mouse repeller only works for a while.

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Raise cats to chase mice. Mice can recognize the smell of cats in the house and will stay away when they smell a cat nearby. If the rats do not dare to show their faces, the cat will also hunt and quickly kill them. ^{[8] X Research Sources}

Remember to remove all poison bait or rat traps around the house when you bring the cat home.

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Make a rat repellent spray using minced garlic and water. Chop 1-2 garlic bulbs and mix with 1 cup (240 ml) of warm water. Shake the mixture well in a spray bottle and spray near areas frequented by mice. Spray every few days to prevent mice from getting close. ^{[9] X Research Source}

Try using other herbs and spices with strong scents like onions or cayenne pepper.
Alternatively, you can spread garlic cloves in places where rats have entered your home.

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Hire a pest control service if all of the above solutions don’t work. Call a pest control service for pricing. After visiting your home to survey, they will try to seal off the entrances of rats and get rid of the mice that have entered the house. ^{[10] X Research Source}

Look at online reviews of the pest control company you plan to call to see if they’re doing well.

Prevent mice from entering the house

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Find and block common rat entrances. Look for any cracks or holes in the wall or near the floor. Try to permanently seal the openings with sealant or concrete mortar. If necessary, you can temporarily insert steel rods into the openings, as this is also a material that mice cannot easily gnaw through.

Trim the tall grass around the house to make it easier to find mouse entrances.
Clean up all the clutter to get rid of places where mice can hide.

Hussam Bin Break

Pest Control Specialist, Diagno Pest Contrp

Hussam Bin Break is an insecticide application specialist and chief executive officer of Diagno Pest Contrp. Hussam and his brother own and operate Diagno Pest Contrp in the Greater Philadelphia Area.

Hussam Bin Break
Pest Control Specialist, Diagno Pest Contrp

Thoroughly check around the house for places where rats can get in. Hussam Bin Break of the Diagno pest control center said: “The treatment is different for each house. Some houses have structural problems that cause openings to form and allow rats to enter. , so you need to hire a construction contractor to fix it. In other cases, mice can get in through household appliances, such as dishwashers.”

Warning

Keep rat bait out of the reach of children and pets, as rat bait can cause severe poisoning if swallowed.
When you see a mouse in your home, there are usually many more. Buy more traps if necessary.

Steps

Trapping

Get rid of mice from the house

Prevent mice from entering the house

Warning

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