Humane rat traps, also known as live-catch rat traps, provide an effective, non-lethal solution for controlling rats in homes, businesses, and agricultural settings. These traps are designed to safely capture rodents using poison-free bait, ensuring they are lured into an enclosure where a mechanism securely closes the entrance behind them.
Unlike lethal traps or rodenticides, humane traps allow for safe removal and relocation, reducing harm to non-target wildlife and pets. These durable, reusable rat traps are suitable for use in homes, food storage areas, warehouses, farms, and commercial properties.
Humane rat traps come in various forms, including live-catch cage traps, which provide a secure enclosure for safe capture and relocation, multiple-catch rat traps, which can capture several rodents at once for high-infestation areas, rat grabbers and catch poles for safe handling and removal, and reusable, resettable traps that offer a cost-effective and long-term rodent control solution for both indoor and outdoor use.
Under the Animal Welfare Act 2006 (UK), all traps must be checked every 24 hours, and any trapped rodents should be humanely removed or released. Before implementing a humane trapping strategy, property owners should ensure their buildings are adequately proofed to prevent rodents from re-entering. This method is ideal where rodenticides are restricted, such as in food storage facilities, locations with pets, or areas where there is a risk of secondary poisoning. Trapping also allows for accurate monitoring of rodent activity, unlike poison-based methods that make it difficult to track infestations.
For effective use, humane rat traps should be baited with peanut butter, seeds, or a rodent-friendly attractant and placed strategically along walls, near known rat activity, or at entry points. Traps should be checked frequently, ideally every 12 to 24 hours, to prevent distress to the captured rodent. Once caught, rats should be released at least 500 meters away from buildings or dispatched humanely, following UK pest control guidelines.
Browse our selection of live-catch rat traps, cage traps, and rat grabbers for ethical and effective rodent control with fast UK delivery and competitive prices.
