Hobbies And Interests
Things You'll Need
Instructions
Place a 12-inch-diameter PVC cap on one end of the 12-inch-diameter PVC pipe that is 16 inches long. Stand the pipe up on the capped end. Drill a 1 1/2-inch hole in one side of the pipe two inches from the top. Drill another hole of the same size in the opposite end.
Drill a hole just beneath each of these holes just thick enough to fit the wire through. Cut a 14-inch-long section of the wire with tin snips. Cut the 1/2-inch-diameter pipe into sections. Make two of them 3 inches long and the rest 1/2 inches long.
Thread the length of wire you cut through one of the narrow holes. Inside the large pipe thread it through a 3-inch section of 1/2-inch-diameter PVC pipe, then through the 1/2-inch sections, then through the remaining 3-inch section.
Poke the free end of the wire out through the hole in the larger pipe so that the wire and the rings of pipe span the inside of the larger pipe. Position the wire so that an inch protrudes from each side of the pipe. Bend these bits of wire upwards at 45-degree angles.
Drill a hole in the second 1/2-inch-diameter pipe cap just wide enough for the wire to pass through. Drill the hole between the center and the edge of the cap.
Cut a 6-inch length of wire. Bend the last two inches over at a right angle and feed through the hole in the cap. Bend the end of this section into a loop to hold the bait.
Position the lengths of scrap wood to run down from the holes in the side of the pipe at a diagonal to the floor. These are ramps that allow the rats to run up into the holes. When they walk along the walkway, they lose their footing and fall down into the trap.
Rub a small amount of peanut butter on the looped section of wire. Place the cap over the top of the pipe. Position the trap somewhere where you have seen signs of rat activity.
Check the trap daily for captured rats. This trap will capture them alive. Dispose of them in a humane manner once they are caught.