Disposing of rat caught in live trap!!

[hayley3]

First off, I moved to the "city" and to my shock there was a rat in my garage where I house my chickens.
I caught him in a live trap but I need a way to dispose of him, and I'm not sure how to kill him quickly.
Do I dump him in water or will he just jump out?
I need suggestions for methods....I can't just dunk my trap in water because it's kinda big.

 

[Bear1978]

Hammer to his head will end it quickly for him.

 

[hayley3]

Hammer to his head will end it quickly for him.

I can't hammer him, he's inside the trap. My fear is he's fast and if I drop him in water, he'll jump back out. And I'm afraid of him...I can deal with raccoons but I can't shoot a rat inside this cage.

 

[Tre3hugger]

What if you place the trap vertically so the rat is on the bottom away from the opening. Find a rock slightly smaller than opening of cage. Open trap and quickly slam rock in, squishing rat.

 

[hayley3]

Ok, I came up with a solution...I hope it doesn't ruin the trap.
I bought a top entry litter box (for soaking chicken's feet) which is pretty deep and the trap fit down in there. Since the litter box has a hole in the cover...I put on the cover and then filled the box with water until it covered the trap.
I hate killing things but it had to go. It was not only scaring my goose, it was digging out the gravel foundation of my garage.

 

[hayley3]

So now the issue, is was she pregnant or has she had her babies already?
She landed upside down in the garbage can and her nipples are really pronounced but flat.

I'm hoping I caught her before she gave birth.

 

[Sonya9]

Just driving to an area with a water supply and dropping her off is a humane option.

 

[cmom]

If your rat was pregnant she won't be now and if she had some babies and was nursing they most likely won't survive either. Better put out more traps. More than likely there are more around. Good luck...

 

[hayley3]

If your rat was pregnant she won't be now and if she had some babies and was nursing they most likely won't survive either. Better put out more traps. More than likely there are more around. Good luck...

Ugggh I know. I did read and it says they lose hair around their nipples prior to giving birth so I'm pretty sure she hadn't given birth yet.
But I guess she has a guy somewhere that I have to catch.

 

[Howard E]

First off, I moved to the "city" and to my shock there was a rat in my garage where I house my chickens.
I caught him in a live trap but I need a way to dispose of him, and I'm not sure how to kill him quickly.
Do I dump him in water or will he just jump out?
I need suggestions for methods....I can't just dunk my trap in water because it's kinda big.

Not so fast. There needs to be a sequential accounting of a timeline here.

When did you move to the "city"?

Was this rat in the garage when you got there, or did it arrive after you did and after your brought in the chickens and chicken feed and perhaps other pet food as well?

There is no such thing as "a rat". Its always "rats".....as in plural. Be thinking colony and be finding out how big it is and where they are living. Seeing one rat is like the tip of an iceberg. Lots more below the surface you can't see.

But whatever the case, the usual solutions apply. Limit access to all feed....that's all feed....chicken feed, cat food, dog food and anything else they can live on? And if you feel the need, at the same time, put out poison bait blocks (in bait stations......always in locked bait stations) so that the bait blocks become the alternative food source they turn to when the other feed dries up.

PS: If that had been me, I would have plugged it with an air rifle.....but that only works if you have one. The cheap, high powered single shot springers.....like you could find at Walmart..... in a .22 caliber.......works for dispatching almost all critters you will catch in a cage trap. But so does a single shot .22 rifle with cb caps or shorts. Kills em quiet. If a person is going to set a trap....Act I......, better have something ready for Act II......the dispatch.