rat zapper/ electronic rat trap

[Brian Bischof]

This is the review I posted on the Amazon.com website for the Victor
Electronic Rat Trap (similar to the Rat Zapper but I think Victor is
probably better). I was frustrated that such a pricey device had
almost no information about it from people who have used it. So here
is my post to educate anyone interested...

After the stray cat that used to hang out around my house disappeared,
at night I started hearing noises outside and in the trees. After a
little investigation I discovered that I had rats feeding on my fruit
trees. So I started investigating alternatives for rat extermination.
This product seemed to be the most interesting (but expensive!). Rat
traps are messy and sometimes they only mame the rat without killing
it. Glue boards aren't perfect either.

My biggest concern about this contraption is whether it was a gimmick
or not. I found another website that sold Rat Zapper and it had dozens
of rave reviews from "satisfied customers". Of course, I would never
trust what a website claims so I went to Google Groups for further
research. There is no information whatsoever in Google. Strange that a
product with so many satisfied customers has no information on Google.
I was very suspicious, but I didn't have any other alternatives. So I
took a chance and bought it. I'm glad I did!

I've had the trap out for three days giving the rats free food with it
being turned off. I read that you need to train the rats to trust the
trap. So you have to voluntarily feed them for a few days without
turning the trap on. I scattered the food all around and in the trap
to make sure they new that this was a good place to come and eat.

The first couple of days no rats ate any of the food (I'm using
granola mix b/c I don't have any peanut butter in the house). I found
out that you have to look for the rat droppings and put the trap where
there is evidence that they like to hang out. I found a bunch of
droppings in the outdoor laundry room and sure enough the bait was
gone the next morning. I would resupply their food source once before
work and once after work. They were getting fat and happy.

Today I finally put the batteries in the trap and turned it on. I also
put some wet newspaper in front of the trap with some granola on it to
make sure their paws were wet when they went inside. The results have
been amazing. It's only been out there for a half day and I just killed
the third rat. I get rid of the rat, scatter more granola and
reset the trap. An hour later there's a new rat inside. Its a rat
killing machine! Rats go in but they don't come out.

All in all, this trap rocks. It's pretty pricey compared to the
standard traps, but I like that all I do is pick up the trap and the
rat slides into the paper bag. No guts or gore and its easy to reset.

Oh yeah - make sure you wear thick gloves when doing anything around
rat traps b/c of the diseases. And you should still wash you hands
afterwards.

[PCOpug]

Great !

You read the instructions and pre-baited them.

Common sense told ya to wear heavy gloves and wash hands.

Victor has been making fine rodent products for decades.

I believe most netziens would cringe at the thought of extermination and
cleanout . Computer savvy but no common sense in reality.

[Brian Bischof]

Here is an update on the rat zapper.

After killing 4 rats within the first 5 hours of turning it on, the rats got
smarter. A few of them must have come by and seen their dead friends in the
trap. They are now eating the food around the zapper but not in the zapper.
They know that something evil lurks inside the box and are staying out of
it. Bummer. I had such a good thing going.

My new strategy is to go back to feeding them without turning it on. So far
there has only been one time where they have ventured inside for the food.
All the other times (I'm doing this every couple of hours) they just eat the
food outside of the cage. If that doesn't work, then I'm going to move the
trap somewhere else and go back to training them that this "new" trap is
safe for them to go into. Maybe I'll do something like cover it with
newspapers so that it looks different? I'll get creative over the next few
days and see if I can find a way to trick them into going back in. This trap
really rocks and it was pretty expensive. I have to figure out how to make
sure its effective over the long haul. I have no idea how many of these damn
rodents are out there!

Post by PCOpug
Great !
You read the instructions and pre-baited them.
Common sense told ya to wear heavy gloves and wash hands.
Victor has been making fine rodent products for decades.
I believe most netziens would cringe at the thought of extermination and
cleanout . Computer savvy but no common sense in reality.

[b***@bugs.com]

They catch all kinds of rats. I have had a problem with people stealing
flowers off my father-in-law's grave so I decided to try a little test. I
took one of my several zappers and wired it so the wire in the basket the
flowers were in was hot. It wasn't enough to harm anyone but it was enough
to scare the hell of a rat of the human kind. The dumbass even went to the
office and complained that he got shocked on the flowers around this grave.
I had told the caretakers ahead of time what I was going to do and they
laughed and said that It was a new product they were using to stop theft.
They said each night the current would get higher and higher until it was
lethal. there has been no more flowers missing from the cemetary in about
three months now. The rat zapper I used was gone after this guy reported it
to the caretakers. He must have gotten scared off.

The rat zapper is a great product for our industry as well. In the Pest
Control Industry people want us to be as humane as possible when killing
even these nasty ass rodents. Electrocution is the most humane way possible.
I agree with Brian, traps can be messy and glue boards will fail. Personally
I like to either bait for rodents and kill them or use tracking powder and
kill them. When all else fails it is time for the zapper.


I wish you all the very best
Tim W

www.onepest.com