How Often to Clean Rat Traps

Pest control can be a problem for many people. Rats are a major nuisance in city and country dwellings alike, contaminating food areas and destroying walls and furniture. Because of their potential to spread disease, getting rid of rats is a good idea, and many people turn to rat traps to do this. However, the idea of cleaning the traps may be a bit confusing to some people.

Why You Should Clean Traps

• Rat traps work most effectively when they are properly managed. If you don't monitor the activity of the traps, then the rats may catch on to the fact that the traps are deadly and will actively avoid them, no matter how tempting your bait is. Rats are very smart creatures and therefore are not as easily fooled as other pests may be. Because of this, traps need to be cleaned periodically. This way, the bait is fresh and any captured rats are disposed of as quickly as possible.

When to Clean Traps

• Ideally, you should check your traps a few times a day. This way, you can spot any captured rats as soon as possible. If other rats see a rat caught in a trap, they will begin to associate that device with being captured and any subsequent traps you put down will be useless. They will also avoid the traps if they attempt to catch bait left there and it snaps at them, but doesn't snare them.

  If your trap has gone several days without anything being caught in it, you should remove it from the area and clean it, then reset it with fresh bait and set it up in a different location. Likewise, if your trap has caught a rat, remove it from the area and clean it immediately. The sooner you spot a trapped rat, the better.

  There are some people, however, that feel that cleaning a trap is unnecessary because the scent of other rats on the trap will draw rats to the trap. This technique doesn't work for all rats, though. Try cleaning your traps first to see if the rats will come around a clean trap again. If the rats avoid the trap, try leaving one trap unclean after catching a rat in it. If you choose to leave your traps unclean between catches, make sure you check it to make sure that the spring trigger isn't slowed because of dirt. To check, take the trap and load it, then trigger it using a pencil or stick.

How Not to Clean Traps

• When cleaning a trap, steer clear of using soap and water. Rats will avoid the soap scent, no matter how faint it seems to your nose. When a trap becomes soiled, it is best to either replace it completely or use only a damp cloth. Clean the spring loaded trigger of the trap using vegetable oil to keep it functioning well. You can also use bacon grease, which may work well to attract the rats to the trap.