As much as I hate to admit it, I had to buy a rat zapper.
No one likes to think about having mice or rats in their house. I really hate to go public with the fact I’ve battled these pests.
However, I felt much better after reading an online account from an exterminator. He said that every house has rodents. Keeping them under control is the goal.
Electronic Mouse Zapper
(This post contains affiliate links. If you purchase anything, I receive a referral fee, at no extra cost to you.)
The electronic rat zapper has certainly helped. Shortly after setting it up, we caught six rodents. I’m pretty sure they were mice. I didn’t want to see them, so I relied upon my husband’s description. It sounded like they were mice, and not rats.
The reason we had a noticeable rodent problem in the first place was partly due to stupidity. We kept an open bag of dry dog food in one part of our house. I now know that rodents love kibble. I learned this the hard way, after seeing part of the 25-pound bag chewed open.
Now, I’m fully educated on how much rodents love dog food. In fact, we’ve used kibble as bait in our rat zapper. (It works really well.) In our house, if a mouse tries to get some kibble, it’s going to be fatal.
Does the Rat Zapper Work on Mice?
The rat zapper is designed to eradicate (kill) rats, mice and even chipmunks. Even though I couldn’t bring myself to look at what was caught, the rodents were about three-inches long, per my husband’s description. The instructions noted that rats were pretty smart. So they may not go right inside the trap, without first leaving the bait outside, and giving them one or two free meals. We didn’t have to do that.
Mice have no more easy access to our dog’s food. It’s safely locked away in a thick plastic bin, which we store under a counter in our kitchen. They have no opportunity to eat dog food or any other food. Everything is sealed away. Now, if they’re hungry for kibble, the rat zapper is their only option. (Update: This was written when our elderly dog was eating kibble. Now that he’s 15, we feed him soft food only.)
I really hated for it to come to this. But we had to do something. Rodents are filthy and they carry diseases. I had to consider the welfare of my family, above that of these very unwelcome house guests.
Does the Rat Zapper Really Work?
The rat zapper really does work. I wasn’t sure the first time we used it. We set it out at night. House mice (and rats) operate under the cover of darkness. In the morning, on top of the trap, was a blinking red light. This flashes to let you know something’s inside.
However, the first night, nothing was inside. This was a false alarm. When I called the company that makes these devices, the customer service person told me to put the dry dog food on a small plastic cap, and slide it in. She thought this would cut down on false alarms.
Her advice was good. The next night we caught something. It happened again. Then a week went by, and we got another and another. Then, a few weeks went by before we saw the red light flashing again. My husband said it was a small mouse. I’m so happy to report I think we’ve gotten an upper hand on our rodent problem, thanks to the rat zapper.
Rat Zapper Reviews
Regular spring-loaded traps didn’t work for us. We didn’t try the plastic boxes that trap live rats because I was told they weren’t effective. Although I’d rather not kill mice, I wouldn’t know what to do with a live one. If I released it outside, it would probably just find it’s way in again.
The rat zapper is really easy to use. I bait it with either dog food or a little peanut butter. (Definitely use a plastic cap if you decide on peanut butter.) I then slide the bottle cap filled with bait to the back of the trap. The next morning, my husband then disposes of the rodent. This can be done without viewing the body, by just dumping it into the trash can. I also believe the electric current kills the animals as humanely as possible.
&
What I Like About the Rat Zapper Classic
Our rodent problem had reached the point where we saw droppings. This was alarming, to say the least. So we decided to get serious.
We put all of the dry dog food in plastic bins. We did the same thing with our other food, including cereal and rice. We also moved our fruit from the kitchen counter to the refrigerator. At night, we covered our dog’s food bowl with a large glass container.
Does the Rat Zapper Really Catch Rodents?
After taking these necessary steps, we deployed the rat zapper. I love the fact that it does what it claims. It zaps rats and mice. Rats are a harder to trap, because they’re pretty smart. But the device comes with clear and easy instructions on how to outsmart them. You may need to give them a “free meal” at first. You initially place the bait outside the trap. Once they’re comfortable with the device, you move the bait inside.
Without this trap, I don’t know how we’d ever get these mice out of our house. The rat zapper offers a non-toxic solution to rodent control.
Rat Zapper Drawbacks
The only thing I don’t like about the rat zapper is that it needs to be cleaned periodically. I don’t know exactly how often. I cleaned it after we got the first two mice. But I probably didn’t need to do it that soon. We trapped two mice on two consecutive nights. When nothing happened the third night, I assumed it needed cleaning. However, we’ve set it out and since caught four mice. I haven’t cleaned it. I do plan to clean it after we catch a few more.
Cleaning is not as gross as it sounds. You simply put the trap (turned off without batteries) in a small pan of warm water with a little bit of detergent in it. Then you soak it for an hour and gently clean it with an old toothbrush. After rinsing it out, and letting it air dry, it’s good to go.
The rat zapper needs to be used in a spot where it can’t be reached by children or pets. It also shouldn’t be handled by children, and, once it’s turned on, should be handled carefully by adults.
Natural Ways to Get Rid of Mice
One thing I decided not to do was to use rat poison. I don’t want poisons in my house, and I think it would also cause an excruciating death for a rodent. Also, the rat or mouse will die in your house, and you won’t know where.
If you don’t have a serious rat problem, one popular home remedy is using peppermint essential oil. Rodents hate the smell. You can put a few drops on a cotton ball and place it where you store your food. More can be placed near where these pests can enter your house. More oil must be added to the cotton balls periodically.
Peppermint oil might help deter these pests from making themselves comfortable in your cupboard. But it’s not going to solve a more serious problem, like we had. We used this oil too late, after the mice had already taken up residence. It might have helped keep them out of one place where I had found droppings.
Be sure to look for how they got in! I read that mice can get in using a hole as little as a dime. I bought steel wool and stuffed in the FOUR places I found where mice and rats were getting into our home after a sports complex was built on cleared land across the street. Getting rid of the mice and rats was quick work after that. I too like the zapper. I have dogs, so the barking always alerted me to go check the trap. eeeew!
Hi Sylvia, this is really good advice to plug up all the holes, if you can find them. My carpenter said it’s difficult to do, and that they still get in. I also put steel wool into one hole near a radiator. We’re doing all we can, but the zapper is an added weapon. Thanks for reading.