The answer to that question is pretty straightforward – yes it is! Rats can be such a nuisance if allowed to roam freely in your house. Rats chew on just about everything. And when it comes to food, researchers have found that rats destroy about 90% of what they eat.

That said; if you happen to have a good number of rats in your home, you can end up incurring enough losses within a short time period. These creatures are dedicated when it comes to destruction. It is therefore legal for you to look for ways of “apprehending” before they end up causing further problems.

Benefits of Using Humane Rat Traps

Using traps are a much better alternative to using chemicals. Rats can end up poisoning humans with the very chemicals that they intend on using on them. How do they do that? Well, rats love walking all over the place, including over your food as they chew and plunder. It wouldn’t be a miracle to have some of the chemicals on your food.

Also, when you choose to trap your rats, it would be tad easier for you to get the rats as opposed to chemicals which can kill them while in hard to reach areas. If the latter happens, then you will have two options – to bring down a wall or to pretend the smell isn’t a bother until it wears off. To be honest, neither of these options is bearable.

Using poison or chemicals to quell your rat problem usually ends up affecting other unsuspecting victims. There is no way your dog will ignore that juicy piece of poisoned cheese that you so graciously left for your rat. But when you use a trap, your dog or cat or child will not get through the funnel sharpen entrance to get it.

Is It Legal for Me to Kill a Rat?

The answer to that question is pretty, well; it is a little bit skewed depending on a number of variables. There are certain ways in which killing a rat will be considered as lawful when there are others that are unlawful. If you have to kill a rat (since a life sentence isn’t possible in this case), then you have to make it quick. Yes, it might have caused you enough trouble and loss. But it's not as if it was doing it intentionally.

You can always deliver a firm, quick blow to the head or even better; bring an expert to take care of the rodent. It should always be away from the public eye because, well, most people abhor graphic images. And you wouldn’t want your nice neighbors to have different opinions about you now, would you?

When it comes to trapping or killing a rat, there are plenty of humane ways of going about it. So always keep an open mind and try as much as possible not to cause any bodily harm to them. Always remember that the rats are just following their instinct and don’t have any personal grudge against you for that matter.

Read the How to get rid of rats page for helpful information and to learn more about Is It Legal for Me to Trap a Rat?