Ultra Power Rat Trap Cage

We have a rat in our loft for a couple of months (confirmed by placing a WiFi camera up there to monitor) very clever rat who had figured out how to dodge classic snap traps, these came close a couple of times but the sneaky rat ducked at the last millisecond avoiding the kill bar and making off with some free liquorice allsorts! I bought this as I thought we would try a cage trap as a last attempt at trying to sort the problem ourselves before calling someone in, as poison left up there for over a month hasn't worked (so far) either, but they've been loving munching on it. Placed the trap up there the day it arrived but secured the door open with a cable tie and baited it to allow the rat to get comfortable with entering it before setting it for real. After seeing the rat visit and take the bait a couple of times I removed the cable tie and waited. It took three days for it to return to the trap, but it finally caught the rat tonight, so I'm pleased to say that the trap performed perfectly. Triggered instantly when the rat stepped on the trigger plate and the springs on the door are strong enough that it couldn't let itself out. Felt confident carrying the trap by the handle with the solid plate on the top protecting your hands from the understandably scared critter within. Now you can't just release rats into the wild on others land, as you're just moving on a problem to a new area, so had to figure out a way to humanely dispatch the caught rat (baking soda, vinegar and storage container to act as a makeshift gas chamber was the answer to that so not the most pleasant of evenings truth be told, but rowena rat was sent to heaven swiftly and without struggle) I will be placing this back in the loft with more bait as I suspect we likely had more than one squatter up there, but I'm very happy with how it has performed. It was well sized for the adult female rat I caught and I believe it would just as easily catch a slightly larger rodent too. All in all a very sturdy, solidly built and effective trap. Instructions were clear enough, though setting it was a little fiddly at first, but once you manage it once, it's very simple to repeat - just don't plop the trap down too hard once you've set it or it will slam shut when you do.

I wouldn’t believe it if I hadn’t set up a camera and have video footage of it but even a decent size rat can squeeze it’s way through those bars. Set the trap up over night and it triggered at about 3am. At 7am the rat was still in there but at 7:30, as if by magic, the thing just glides through the gaps in the entry door. Gaps which, in fairness to the manufacturer, are very small and probably more than in-keeping with the wider market of trap products. I’d still thoroughly recommend this product. It’s easy to use and we have caught several of the little guy’s friends successfully using it. But once you become aware that you’ve captured a pest it’s probably advisable to go deal with it immediately. If you find the trap triggered but empty - it might be an idea to fasten some small cuttings of chicken wire to the door just to narrow the, admittedly very small gaps, even further.

This trap is effective, we've caught 8 rats so far (no such thing as 1 rat!). It's a much easier set up than the trap our neighbours bought which is huge and has so far not trapped a thing. Things that it is useful to know about this trap: 1) remove other food sources, if you go on feeding your hedgehogs or even leaving bird feeders up, the rats have easy pickings and won’t be tempted to go into the trap 2) place it somewhere high if you live where there is even the possibility of hedgehogs finding it. Rats climb, hedgehogs don't and even though this is a humane trap the hedgehog can easily injure itself inside and will become very distressed and we're trying to protect and increase our hhs in the UK! We placed our trap on top of a garden chair with a log up against the chair. A little peanut butter smeared on the log is enough to temp the rats up and in. 3) Cover well with foliage, rats are very smart and a big metal object is an alien item in their world 4) don't leave the trap open and baited in the day time because we accidentally caught a blackbird (it was fine and released immediately but thank goodness we were at home) again a bird can easily injure itself or just die from stress 5) keep the box that Amazon send the trap in and use it to put the trap and rat into when transporting to the release spot so you don't get rat poop in your car! 6) captured rats are very distressed and violent. They will throw themselves around the cage in an attempt to get out. So wear gloves (you really do not want to be bitten by a rat, that's a hospital visit) but also throw a cloth or a box over the trap to calm the rat down when transporting. 7) the door isn't the easiest to open when releasing the rat because it is hinged in the middle of the door, not a simple slide up or out. Sometimes it gets stuck or it can come crashing down while you're fiddling with it and our first release we were terrified we'd trap the rat's tail or his leg with the door trying to give him his freedom. Our routine is one of us holds the far end of the cage firmly and the other gently hinges the door in half and holds it tightly at the top until Roland Rat has scarpered. Now if someone can just tell us how to feed hedgehogs without attracting rats that would be great!

15 Jan 2013 review - trap purchased March 2012 First thoughts - a nice trap and fast delivery. Thank you CostMad-UK. But I cannot catch any rats ! Have tried many different types of bait and only catch birds (which I quickly release). There are rats around, as we live next to farm land and wheat fields, but they seem to avoid this trap. Often the bait (meat, peanut butter, fat, salami, ham etc) is gone and I assume it has been eaten by mice (or very very clever rats using "sky hooks"). The trap is well made and very lightly set, and will slam shut from the lightest of pressure on the pedal. I bought this trap in March 2012, and have although it appears generally well made it may have a flaw in the design of the door assembly. In cold weather a short while ago the black plastic vertical slider/retaining piece failed. Initially the door would not close as both plastic vertical sliders changed shape (curved inwards) in the cold weather. I tried to ease the left hand plastic vertical slider a little and it snapped off. I first advised the importer at Thetford (STV International Ltd) who very quickly replied that I could have a replacement by return if I returned the trap to them with my Amazon proof of purchase. Thank you to STV Thetford for your symathetic email. However, the cost of p/p to STV (unrefundable) is some £7.00, which is a little too high. I then contacted the seller of this £13.35 rat trap two days ago - - CostMad-UK - - asking if they would replace the trap and cover my p/p - - but no reply so far. Perhaps I am being too optimistic here.... So - - I decided to repair the trap myself with a small piece of plastic 90° angle strip and a few self-tapping screws. It took only 30 minutes to fix, and the trap works fine now. But if anyone has any advice about other reliable rat bait for the trap I would be grateful.

The trap works ok mechanically but my rats just sniff at the entrance and won't go in! You may need to do a bit of bending of the mechanism to get the trap to work as intended. Make sure the bait-plate rotates easily - you might have to move the axle supports outwards, or you might have to remove the bait-plate to close the metal eyelets to raise the plate if it is catching on the supports. You might also need to remove any rough ends on the two metal bars that slide past each other when the bait-plate is rotated by the rat. Also make sure the long metal rod rotates easily - you may need to open the metal clips that hold it in place. Setting the trap is a bit tricky - just use finger and thumb to slide the ends of the two metal rods past each other until they just stay together (test the setting-up by tapping the bait-plate with a pencil). Perhaps it is the cold metal that puts my rats off, but I've seen them on camera and they just stick their heads in the doorway and sniff but won't go in, so I've wasted my time and money - I bought 3 of these traps! Of course, other rats might go in, in which case the trap will probably work, but in the end I had to resort to poison which did work, though it took several days. Now I have another pair of rats under the floor, so I have turned my shower room into a trap, by removing a short length of floorboard to allow the rats to get in, then hingeing this so I can drop it shut when I see them on camera. Now all I have to do is find some way of disposing of them humanely via carbon dioxide or some painless poison! Of course, the best way of getting rid of rats is to find out how they are getting into the house, and block this entry, but this can be difficult.

I don't usually feel compelled to write reviews, but this trap worked so well, I felt I had to!! I'd noticed an apparent lone rat in the back garden, tucking into the bird food, but I was loath to kill him and would rather move him on. So I tried deterrants like peppermint balls and liquids, but with no luck. Hence I decided to try this trap to catch him. Delivered on Friday, baited and put the trap out early Saturday morning. Had the rat sniffing around the trap all day Saturday, but clearly too nervous to enter. Sunday morning and he had clearly gained confidence/interest. Over the space of an hour he gradually went further and further into the trap, until finally, he stepped on the pressure plate and the door slammed firmly behind. "In a rat trap, you've been caught"!! This is where it gets tricky, as he was incredibly lively in the trap, knawing at the metal frame, pulling on the door and especially agitated when I got near. But with a sturdy pair of gloves and the solid roof of the trap, it was comfortable to pick up. The rat will calm down if placed into the dark; so cover with a sheet, or put in a recycle bin with lid the lid on as I did. Then you need to find a responsible release site, be careful not to release too close to the capture site or near other houses; do not pass the problem on!! I used a wire coat hook to fashion a tool to pull the door open and keep my hands away from the trap and rat. That made for a comfortable release, do aim the trap into clear/open ground, the rat will likely bolt straight for cover. Superb though, the trap worked an absolute treat!! It was of a really sturdy and solid construction, no chance of the rat escaping when trapped. Honestly could not fault it!! I would recommend leaving the trap in the "rat area" for 24/48 hours, they'll need to get used to it. Worth taking some time to practice setting the trap and releasing before putting out as well, but this is easy. The only negative was our garden robin, who subsequently triggered the trap twice and locked himself in, so do keep an eye on the trap for unwanted captures and release them quickly!! But with no sign of another rat, I'll be retiring the trap. Brilliant product!!

These seem to be working very well and have caught several large rats with them. They are sturdy last well in all weather conditions. One of the traps was very sensitive, but I fixed it by just using a small metal file to make it slightly rougher on the bar hook that sets to the door mechanism. It has worked fine since. Just a couple of pointers to save you time if you are new to trying to trap rats and not having much luck. 1. Patience is the name of the game. it could take several days before rats will approach any new traps. Rats are Neophobia 2. Wear Gloves when handling any traps, otherwise your scent will ward them off. I also wash the traps down with a water hose before placing them out. 3. Try to place the traps close where the rats are running or active. Parallel to a wall/hedge/fence etc. Covering the side of the trap facing out with flat roof tile or piece of wood also seems to help. 4. Rats probably won't go near traps if they already another safe food source. They'll stick to what they know. You need to eliminate other food sources beforehand to make these traps work effectively. 5. Place a small brick on top of the trap to try to eliminate it going off accidentally if the rat moves across the top of the cage. Remember not to obstruct the mechanisms when doing this. 6. If bait is disappearing and the trap is not getting activated, then you probably have baby rats or even mice that are too light to set off the mechanism. Try using an enclosed normal trapper in a box with a small hole to get these first. 7. Bait, something like Nutella seems to get the smaller ones very quickly and an oily organic peanut butter seems to attract the larger ones or seed grains. But be prepared to try different baits if not having any luck. 8. You might need to lure them slowly into the trap over a few days by placing a very small amount of peanut butter etc around the front of the trap or a few cm's in it. It seems to make them lower their guard and become a little more reckless 9. Unfortunately if you have a lot of rats then it's better to try and fight them with lots of traps, just having the one in the one location won't probably help very much. 10. Did I mention you need to have Patience. The old/alpha type rats really can be difficult to trap. Best of luck.

I've had these a couple of weeks now and the results have been very hit and miss. They are strong and robust traps and will withstand any weather. I have had issues with them though. After following various suggestions on what type of bait to use, we finally got the rat interested in a bit of sausage roll. The trap was set and placed near the rat run and before long we had a big rat sniffing around the cage. We watched nervously as the rat finally made its way into the trap. BUT... to our amazement, the rat walked straight up the triggering tread plate to the far side where the sausage roll was. The rat was firmly on the tread plate with all 4 feet at this point and still it didn't trigger the cage to shut. Then the rat picked up the sausage roll, calmy turned around and walked out of the cage without it triggering. To say we were annoyed is an understatement. So I did a bit more research and someone suggested using peanut butter as bait - which could be stuck to the tread plate and therefore more difficult for the rodent to pick up and walk off with. This also encourages the rat to walk about on the tread plate giving it more chance to trigger the door. First lot of peanut butter we used and 10 minutes later the rat reappeared. This time it did exactly the same but as it stood trying to eat and move the peanut butter, the treadplate triggered the door and it was game over for the rat. We have since caught a further 5 (this is thanks to our nuisance neighbour who persistently throws bread onto their lawn to feed birds but is a bigger draw for rats!). This morning though, after re baiting the trap last night, we opened the curtains to see yet another rat in the trap. I quickly got dressed to go out and remove the rat but was amazed to find that it had escaped. It had somehow managed to dig at the soil beneath the trap and then escaped throught the mesh. This is the only way it could have escaped as the door was still firmly shut tight and it's escape path underneath was obvious. So to summarise - these traps can be effective if you use the right bait, and I fully recommend peanut butter. However, the mesh could do with having smaller gaps to avoid smaller rats escaping.