Rat Trapping Legalities: What You Should Know

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We often think of rats and rodents as rather insignificant creatures, easy to kill with poisons or traps and just forget about. After all, they are bred to be tested on in laboratories and, according to those last three websites you looked at, they don't feel any pain either -



Sadly, that's not the case. Rats DO feel pain, and regardless of what stance you have on the testing-on-animals debate, rats are still an animal that should be treated with a certain amount of respect. This is definitely the case if you are causing the death of that animal. Isn't killing it enough? You should probably use the most humane - and legal - approach for rat removal.

It is perfectly legal in almost all states to use snap traps to kill rats. In fact, in some places, the high population of rats cause so many problems that you MUST kill rats that invade your building with the use of a rat removal expert or rat traps.

You aren't allowed to scatter rat poison with a law that came into force in 2012 that saw specific types and packaging or rodenticides necessary to keep them safe and legal. You can use rat poison, though; you just need to ensure that they are safely used and stored. The manufacturer and distribution side of things took control over the new packaging and ways of using it, usually in baited containers that are covered.

You could also use poison except it rarely works, rats have built up quite the immunity to it, and it has a habit of killing other animals, including domesticated pets.

It's probably for the best if you avoid using poison to get rid of rats.

You are *usually* permitted to use cats and dogs as a form of rat prevention or control/removal, but you aren't allowed to do it for sporting purposes. Again, this isn't a method that we recommend you use. There are a number of things that have the potential to go wrong, including disease or injury for your cat or dog, and also the risk of fleas, ticks, mites, or other parasites getting into your home.

Glue traps come under scrutiny a lot in the rat and mouse removal world, and it's not a method that we recommend you use. Inhumane, very unpleasant to look at and listen to, and also dangerous for other animals, including pets, once again; there are very few pros to using glue traps or strips to get rid of rats. They don't actually kill the animal either, meaning that you will need to do that part of the job yourself. Again, that just adds to the unpleasantness.

If you live in Washington, DC. it is actually not lawfully permitted to use glue strips or traps for rodents. We recommend that you look online (on a reputable, government-based website) or give local rat removal experts/city or county animal services a call before setting traps of any kind. You will want to make sure that you're on the right side of the law whilst attempting to get a rat-free property.

Although the laws generally work on your side as far as rat trapping is concerned, we do still urge that you use the most humane approach. There is no need to senselessly put any animal - including a rodent - through pain when it is going to die anyway. Quick and as painless as possible, that's what you should be hoping for. (And achieving.)

Go back to the Rat Removal page, or learn tips to do it yourself with my How to Get Rid of Rats guide.