Rat in a Trap

This rat was caught in a structure than brought out to the lawn to photograph. If a rat gets into a structure it only needs a hole about the size of a dime. Mice may only need a hole a little larger than 1/4 inch in diameter. Thsi requires that all holes into the structure be covered with 1/4" mesh, galvanized steel wire hardware cloth. This can cost a certain amount of time and money. The rodents must be excluded. Once the rodents are excluded they maybe trapped on the inside. Toxic baits should not be used inside of a structure as the rodent will tend to get sick and seek an inaccessible place to die. Then it will rot and stink. It is much better to trap the rodent and remove it from the structure. Toxic baits can be placed in bait boxes around the outside of the structure. If exclusion is not done then you are just harvesting the neighborhood rodent populations.