My Struggle vs. Rats

Another rat invades the vegetable garden! Nicknamed the "Vegetarian Rat" because it kept grabbing leaves from the pole beans we planted. I assume to build a nest, but I never found one. I tried a number of different positions and locations for the trap including horizontal. I even tried putting tomatoes in the trap which Veg Rat promptly ate but didn't trigger trap! But I didn’t give up! This video contains a segment showing how to safely clean out your A24 trap. ------------------- Link to A24 Rat Trap: https://www.automatictrap.com/products/home-trapping-kit-a24-rat-mouse-trap ------------------- Link to Arlo Pro Rechargeable, Night Vision, Indoor/Outdoor, HD Video, 2-Way Audio Camera https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B01MDIYVI9/ -------------------------------- Link to disposable Vinyl Gloves: https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B086GFY55C/ ------------------- Link to my Etsy Store: https://betacygnidesigns.etsy.com/ --------------------- End Screen Video Acknowledgement: Cosmic Reef Video produced by NASA and the Space Telescope Science Institute (STScI). https://hubblesite.org/contents/media/videos/2020/16/1277-Video

In honor of Groundhog Day, I present the "Tale of 2 Rats: Giant Rat and Jump Rat & the Mysterious 3rd Rat plus 3 Cats!" The A24 gets two kills in one night next to the vegetable garden using peanut butter. This shows the benefit the auto-reset feature of the A24. Three of our neighborhood cats show up to check out the action! It took a while to figure out that I needed to move the trap to get these rats. The Mysterious 3rd rat was zapped in the original position, but Giant Rat & Jump Rat weren't interested. Once I moved the trap to where they were hanging out, I got both them after a few days. A couple of times they got hung up in the netting I put around the vegetable garden to keep our local wild bunny out, but they always escaped. This is the second time I've gotten 2 rats kills in one night. Here's the other one: https://youtu.be/bN94ym88e2I ------------------- Link to A24 Rat Trap: https://www.automatictrap.com/products/home-trapping-kit-a24-rat-mouse-trap ------------------- Link to Arlo Pro Rechargeable, Night Vision, Indoor/Outdoor, HD Video, 2-Way Audio Camera https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B01MDIYVI9/ -------------------------------- Link to disposable Vinyl Gloves: https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B086GFY55C/ ------------------------------ Link to my Etsy Store: https://www.etsy.com/shop/BetaCygniDesigns ------------------- End Screen Video Acknowledgement: Cosmic Reef Video produced by NASA and the Space Telescope Science Institute (STScI). https://hubblesite.org/contents/media/videos/2020/16/1277-Video

This rat liked to creep along… I also suspect it was gnawing on some insulation for the A/C piping that goes under the house. You don't want rats under your house! That's a nightmare!!! This was a straightforward process for once. The Creeping Rat was interested in the bait in the trap pretty much right away. At the end I show how to double-bag a rat to safely dispose of it in your garbage can. I always use disposable gloves & old bread bags (I keep a supply of bread bags after we finish the bread). ------------------- Link to A24 Rat Trap: https://www.automatictrap.com/products/home-trapping-kit-a24-rat-mouse-trap ------------------- Link to Arlo Pro Rechargeable, Night Vision, Indoor/Outdoor, HD Video, 2-Way Audio Camera https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B01MDIYVI9/ -------------------------------- Link to disposable Vinyl Gloves: https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B086GFY55C/ ------------------------------ Link to my Etsy Store: https://www.etsy.com/shop/BetaCygniDesigns ------------------- End Screen Video Acknowledgement: Cosmic Reef Video produced by NASA and the Space Telescope Science Institute (STScI). https://hubblesite.org/contents/media/videos/2020/16/1277-Video

This rat had a galloping motion when it moved, like a horse. Our cat Sophie senses something is going on… A fox stops by to check things out… Eventually I had to move the A24 one foot to a location The Galloping Rat was more comfortable with. The next day, a Western Fence Lizard was quick enough to catch a fly sitting on the Galloping Rat! https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Western_fence_lizard ------------------ Link to A24 Rat Trap: https://www.automatictrap.com/products/home-trapping-kit-a24-rat-mouse-trap ------------------- Link to Arlo Pro Rechargeable, Night Vision, Indoor/Outdoor, HD Video, 2-Way Audio Camera https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B01MDIYVI9/ -------------------------------- Link to disposable Vinyl Gloves: https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B086GFY55C/ ------------------- Link to my Etsy Store: https://www.etsy.com/shop/BetaCygniDesigns --------------------- End Screen Video Acknowledgement: Cosmic Reef Video produced by NASA and the Space Telescope Science Institute (STScI). https://hubblesite.org/contents/media/videos/2020/16/1277-Video

This rat liked to hid under the steps I built to make it easier to get up to the platform where I store wood and garden plant supports in the off season. Watching where the rat goes around the trap tells you where to spread peanut butter so that the rat gets interested in the trap where more peanut butter awaits. At the end, a hose is used to wash down the area. The water doesn't affect the A24 trap because it doesn't use electricity, only compressed CO2. ------------------- Link to A24 Rat Trap: https://www.automatictrap.com/products/home-trapping-kit-a24-rat-mouse-trap ------------------- Link to Arlo Pro Rechargeable, Night Vision, Indoor/Outdoor, HD Video, 2-Way Audio Camera https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B01MDIYVI9/ -------------------------------- Link to disposable Vinyl Gloves: https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B086GFY55C/ ------------------------------ Link to my Etsy Store: https://www.etsy.com/shop/BetaCygniDesigns ------------------- End Screen Video Acknowledgement: Cosmic Reef Video produced by NASA and the Space Telescope Science Institute (STScI). https://hubblesite.org/contents/media/videos/2020/16/1277-Video

This video shows a very fast rat running and jumping all over the place. Is it trying out for the Rat Olympics? Is the A24 fast enough? Can we slow the rat down by spreading peanut butter around? ------------------- Link to A24 Rat Trap: https://www.automatictrap.com/products/home-trapping-kit-a24-rat-mouse-trap ------------------- Link to Arlo Pro Rechargeable, Night Vision, Indoor/Outdoor, HD Video, 2-Way Audio Camera https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B01MDIYVI9/ -------------------------------- Link to disposable Vinyl Gloves: https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B086GFY55C/ ------------------------------ Link to my Etsy Store: https://www.etsy.com/shop/BetaCygniDesigns ------------------- End Screen Video Acknowledgement: Cosmic Reef Video produced by NASA and the Space Telescope Science Institute (STScI). https://hubblesite.org/contents/media/videos/2020/16/1277-Video

This video shows the Easter Bunny hopping around the A24 rat trap safe and sound. :) ------------------- Link to A24 Rat Trap: https://www.automatictrap.com/products/home-trapping-kit-a24-rat-mouse-trap ------------------- Link to Arlo Pro Rechargeable, Night Vision, Indoor/Outdoor, HD Video, 2-Way Audio Camera https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B01MDIYVI9/ ------------------------------ Link to my Etsy Store: https://www.etsy.com/shop/BetaCygniDesigns ------------------- End Screen Video Acknowledgement: Cosmic Reef Video produced by NASA and the Space Telescope Science Institute (STScI). https://hubblesite.org/contents/media/videos/2020/16/1277-Video

This video shows the Easter Bunny hopping around the A24 rat trap safe and sound. :) ------------------- Link to A24 Rat Trap: https://www.automatictrap.com/products/home-trapping-kit-a24-rat-mouse-trap ------------------- Link to Arlo Pro Rechargeable, Night Vision, Indoor/Outdoor, HD Video, 2-Way Audio Camera https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B01MDIYVI9/ ------------------------------ Link to my Etsy Store: https://www.etsy.com/shop/BetaCygniDesigns ------------------- End Screen Video Acknowledgement: Cosmic Reef Video produced by NASA and the Space Telescope Science Institute (STScI). https://hubblesite.org/contents/media/videos/2020/16/1277-Video

This video shows a very determined mouse going for peanut butter in the A24 trap, even during the daytime! Will the A24 win??? Sophie and two neighborhood cats show up to see what's happening. ------------------- Link to A24 Rat Trap: https://www.automatictrap.com/products/home-trapping-kit-a24-rat-mouse-trap ------------------- Link to Arlo Pro Rechargeable, Night Vision, Indoor/Outdoor, HD Video, 2-Way Audio Camera https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B01MDIYVI9/ -------------------------------- Link to disposable Vinyl Gloves: https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B086GFY55C/ ------------------------------ Link to my Etsy Store: https://www.etsy.com/shop/BetaCygniDesigns ------------------- End Screen Video Acknowledgement: Cosmic Reef Video produced by NASA and the Space Telescope Science Institute (STScI). https://hubblesite.org/contents/media/videos/2020/16/1277-Video

Another rat showed up in our vegetable garden. :( This rat squishes itself down while crawling, so I'm calling it the "Squish Down Rat". Time to put the A24 rat trap back at that location and see if it can squish the Squish Down Rat! :) This video covers installing and baiting the A24 trap and shows how important it is that the rat become comfortable being around and eating out of the trap if you want to be successful. ------------------- Link to A24 Rat Trap: https://www.automatictrap.com/products/home-trapping-kit-a24-rat-mouse-trap ------------------- Link to Arlo Pro Rechargeable, Night Vision, Indoor/Outdoor, HD Video, 2-Way Audio Camera https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B01MDIYVI9/ -------------------------------- Link to disposable Vinyl Gloves: https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B086GFY55C/ ------------------------------ Link to my Etsy Store: https://www.etsy.com/shop/BetaCygniDesigns ------------------- End Screen Video Acknowledgement: Cosmic Reef Video produced by NASA and the Space Telescope Science Institute (STScI). https://hubblesite.org/contents/media/videos/2020/16/1277-Video

This video shows how you can "hunt" rats in your yard with the A24 Automatic Rat Trap and a wildlife camera. Without the camera, you really have no idea what's going on with your trap: whether your bait is attracting rats and whether they are even interested in eating out of the trap. In this video, the Longtailed Rat shows up in our yard by the vegetable garden bed & compost heap. Watch the video to see how I hunt it. The neighbor's cat decided to try her hand too. It took five days. See which one of us got the rat! The wildlife camera I uses an Arlo Pro, Rechargeable Night Vision, Indoor/Outdoor camera with HD Video and audio. It's weather resistant and I've had no problems using it outside. I built a rain cover for it out some found materials. That improves the video quality when the weather is bad. Here's a link to a video about that: https://youtu.be/qi0OoW5X4 ------------------- Link to A24 Rat Trap: https://www.automatictrap.com/products/home-trapping-kit-a24-rat-mouse-trap ------------------- Link to Arlo Pro Rechargeable, Night Vision, Indoor/Outdoor, HD Video, 2-Way Audio Camera https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B01MDIYVI9/ -------------------------------- Link to disposable Vinyl Gloves: https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B086GFY55C/ ------------------------------ Link to my Etsy Store: https://www.etsy.com/shop/BetaCygniDesigns ------------------- End Screen Video Acknowledgement: Cosmic Reef Video produced by NA and the Space Telescope Science Institute (STScI). https://hubblesite.org/contents/media/videos/2020/16/1277-Video

I've got 16 strikes on the current CO2 cartridge in the A24 which has been the maximum at least once. So this video tests to see how many more strikes are left. After that I try replacing the CO2 cartridge with a generic CO2 cartridge like those sold for bicycle inflators. Finally, I show what happens to a tomato when you put that in the A24 and trigger it! WARNING: Don't do what I do in his video. Treat the A24 trap like a loaded gun! It can seriously injure you! These are the CO2 cartridges I bought on Amazon ($12.99 plus tax and free shipping): https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B076YVFGKC/ Goodnature sells CO2 cartridges too ($29.99 plus tax & shipping): https://www.automatictrap.com/products/co-canister Goodnature says that using a non-Goodnature CO2 canister voids your warranty (2 years). My warranty is already expired, so I'm not worried about it. The cartridges I bought from Amazon seem like excellent quality. ------------------------------ Link to A24 Rat Trap: https://www.automatictrap.com/products/home-trapping-kit-a24-rat-mouse-trap ------------------- Link to my Etsy Store: https://www.etsy.com/shop/BetaCygniDesigns ------------------- End Screen Video Acknowledgement: Cosmic Reef Video produced by NASA and the Space Telescope Science Institute (STScI). https://hubblesite.org/contents/media/videos/2020/16/1277-Video

Another rat (#15) showed up in the cabinet on the deck, so I set up the A24 in a horizontal position again with peanut butter and bird seed as bait. The rat was active during the day, so some of the rat interacting with the trap is in living color! Sophie inspects the A24's work and doesn't like it! :) I place some boards to try and keep rats out of the cabinet. We'll see if it works. Link to A24 Rat Trap: https://www.automatictrap.com/products/home-trapping-kit-a24-rat-mouse-trap ------------------- Link to Arlo Pro Rechargeable, Night Vision, Indoor/Outdoor, HD Video, 2-Way Audio Camera https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B01MDIYVI9/ -------------------------------- Link to disposable Vinyl Gloves: https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B086GFY55C/ ------------------------------ Link to my Etsy Store: https://www.etsy.com/shop/BetaCygniDesigns ------------------- End Screen Video Acknowledgement: Cosmic Reef Video produced by NASA and the Space Telescope Science Institute (STScI). https://hubblesite.org/contents/media/videos/2020/16/1277-Video

I bought my Arlo Pro outdoor camera about 4 years ago and the Li-ion rechargeable battery isn't holding a charge very long these days. Batteries have a lifetime, so I'm not surprised. I use the camera for keeping track of my A24 rat trap. So I bought an Arlo-compatible 2-pack battery replacement from Mrupoo on Amazon: https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B089SFD99C/ The price was about 50% of the official Arlo battery. Two for the price of one! The Arlo version has 2440 mAh and the Mrupoo has 2200 mAh, but since the Mrupoo is new, it should last longer than the old Arlo batteries. ------------------- Link to my Etsy Store: https://www.etsy.com/shop/BetaCygniDesigns --------------------- End Screen Video Acknowledgement: Cosmic Reef Video produced by NASA and the Space Telescope Science Institute (STScI). https://hubblesite.org/contents/media/videos/2020/16/1277-Video

This video shows how the piston on the A24 trap delivers the coup de grace. I slowed it down so you can see very clearly how it works. It takes about 1/24 of second (240 milliseconds) for the piston to fire once it's tripped by a rat. This video shows how Rat #14 met its end. It took a while, including some gymnastics around the trap, but we got it! There haven't been any rats around the compost heap lately. Only pesky Mr. Possum who is now (unfortunately) trained to try and get peanut butter from the A24 trap. I haven't added any to entrance of the trap lately, but he can smell it far up in the trap and tries to get it. Meanwhile, I noticed some rat droppings in the cabinet on the deck we use to store our emergency generator: https://youtu.be/Vt4xNBPt2-k So I set up the A24 trap horizontally on a flat board and put it in the cabinet with the wildlife camera. Because it's in the cabinet, with a closed door, I'm not worried about other animals getting into the trap while it's in a horizontal position. I'll leave the trap and the camera in the cabinet for a while to see if any other rats want to set up residence. Link to A24 Rat Trap: https://www.automatictrap.com/products/home-trapping-kit-a24-rat-mouse-trap ------------------- Link to Arlo Pro Rechargeable, Night Vision, Indoor/Outdoor, HD Video, 2-Way Audio Camera https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B01MDIYVI9/ -------------------------------- Link to disposable Vinyl Gloves: https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B086GFY55C/ ------------------------------ Link to my Etsy Store: https://www.etsy.com/shop/BetaCygniDesigns ------------------- End Screen Video Acknowledgement: Cosmic Reef Video produced by NASA and the Space Telescope Science Institute (STScI). https://hubblesite.org/contents/media/videos/2020/16/1277-Video

The Rain/Dew shield I built for my wildlife camera that monitors my A24 rat trap worked great in the recent rain. This video shows some sparrows hopping around and Sophie coming around later to see what was going on. Here's a link to the video about building the rain/dew cover from materials I had lying around: https://youtu.be/qi0MAOoW5X4 Link to A24 Rat Trap: https://www.automatictrap.com/products/home-trapping-kit-a24-rat-mouse-trap ------------------- Link to Arlo Pro Rechargeable, Night Vision, Indoor/Outdoor, HD Video, 2-Way Audio Camera https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B01MDIYVI9/ ------------------------------ Link to my Etsy Store: https://www.etsy.com/shop/BetaCygniDesigns ------------------- End Screen Video Acknowledgement: Cosmic Reef Video produced by NASA and the Space Telescope Science Institute (STScI). https://hubblesite.org/contents/media/videos/2020/16/1277-Video

This video shows how the piston on the A24 trap works. I slowed it down so you can see very clearly how it operates. It takes about 1/24 of second (240 milliseconds) for the piston to fire once it's tripped by a rat. Link to A24 Rat Trap: https://www.automatictrap.com/products/home-trapping-kit-a24-rat-mouse-trap ------------------- Link to Arlo Pro Rechargeable, Night Vision, Indoor/Outdoor, HD Video, 2-Way Audio Camera https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B01MDIYVI9/ ------------------------------ Link to my Etsy Store: https://www.etsy.com/shop/BetaCygniDesigns ------------------- End Screen Video Acknowledgement: Cosmic Reef Video produced by NASA and the Space Telescope Science Institute (STScI). https://hubblesite.org/contents/media/videos/2020/16/1277-Video

This video shows how to build a Rain/Dew shield for your video camera out of materials you may have lying around the house. Without and With footage of our local possum shows how well it works. Link to Arlo Pro Rechargeable, Night Vision, Indoor/Outdoor, HD Video, 2-Way Audio Camera https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B01MDIYVI9/ Link to A24 Rat Trap: https://www.automatictrap.com/products/home-trapping-kit-a24-rat-mouse-trap ------------------- Link to my Etsy Store: https://www.etsy.com/shop/BetaCygniDesigns ------------------- End Screen Video Acknowledgement: Cosmic Reef Video produced by NASA and the Space Telescope Science Institute (STScI). https://hubblesite.org/contents/media/videos/2020/16/1277-Video

In this video I show how you need to monitor your A24 trap using a wildlife camera so you can tell what's going on. In this case, Mr. Rat was going up into the trap to eat the bait, but the trap wasn't tripping. The reason was that the gas canister had used up all its CO2. So I replaced the canister and that night saw the demise of Rat #11. This video also demonstrates how safe the A24 with cats around. https://www.automatictrap.com/products/home-trapping-kit-a24-rat-mouse-trap ------------------- Link to my Etsy Store: https://www.etsy.com/shop/BetaCygniDesigns

The rats in our area like peanut butter and bird seed. So rather than using the chocolate bait that the A24 company sells, I use peanut butter and bird seed. NOTE: Be very careful when putting bait in the trap. Treat the trap like a loaded gun. Never put your fingers up into it. You'll notice in the video I use a Popsicle stick. By monitoring the A24 trap at night using a video camera, I can see when rats are active and how they interact with the trap. The trick for our local rats is to get them comfortable going up into the A24 to get food and then put some at the very top so they have to trip the wire to get to it. I use the A24 instead of snap traps because we have a cat and I don't want her getting zapped. So far we've put 10 rats out of their misery. Hopefully the rat you see in this video will be #11. Unless our cat Sophie gets it first. :) https://www.automatictrap.com/products/home-trapping-kit-a24-rat-mouse-trap ------------------- Link to my Etsy Store: https://www.etsy.com/shop/BetaCygniDesigns

This video demonstrates the importance of moving your A24 rat trap to where the rat(s) are active. Then monitoring the behavior of the rat(s) to make them feel comfortable around it and enticing them to go after the bait. In this case, I noticed some digging behavior around a shed on the other side of the house from where I usually keep the A24 rat trap. I placed my wildlife video camera over there, saw a rat, and then moved the trap over. After the first night, I added some peanut butter below the trap to get the rat more interested. By that night Rat #12 was kaput! Two days between detection and demise. A new record! -------------------------------- I haven't been able to find latex gloves since the COVID-19 outbreak, but these vinyl gloves are available and do the job: https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B086GFY55C/ ------------------------------ Link to A24 Rat Trap: https://www.automatictrap.com/products/home-trapping-kit-a24-rat-mouse-trap ------------------- Link to my Etsy Store: https://www.etsy.com/shop/BetaCygniDesigns ------------------- End Screen Video Acknowledgement: Cosmic Reef Video produced by NASA and the Space Telescope Science Institute (STScI). https://hubblesite.org/contents/media/videos/2020/16/1277-Video

A second rat showed up by the shed, so I rebaited the A24 trap with peanut butter and bird seed as usual. But this rat didn't seem interested, so I tried peanut butter and bacon bits. He still wasn't interested, but Mr. Possum was… ------------------------------ Link to A24 Rat Trap: https://www.automatictrap.com/products/home-trapping-kit-a24-rat-mouse-trap ------------------- Link to my Etsy Store: https://www.etsy.com/shop/BetaCygniDesigns --------------------- End Screen Video Acknowledgement: Cosmic Reef Video produced by NASA and the Space Telescope Science Institute (STScI). https://hubblesite.org/contents/media/videos/2020/16/1277-Video

I installed the A24 rat trap 2 years and 9 months ago. Time for a summary. Plus the 10th rat kill at the end! Cost of Trap: $200 Cost/Kill (so far): $20 Safety of our Cat: 100% (because we didn't use a snap trap) https://www.automatictrap.com/products/home-trapping-kit-a24-rat-mouse-trap ------------------- Link to my Etsy Store: https://www.etsy.com/shop/BetaCygniDesigns

In this video I show how you need to monitor your A24 trap using a wildlife camera so you can tell what's going on. In this case, Mr. Rat was going up into the trap to eat the bait, but the trap wasn't tripping. The reason was that the gas canister had used up all its CO2. So I replaced the canister and that night saw the demise of Rat #11. This video also demonstrates how safe the A24 with cats around. https://www.automatictrap.com/products/home-trapping-kit-a24-rat-mouse-trap ------------------- Link to my Etsy Store: https://www.etsy.com/shop/BetaCygniDesigns

I installed the A24 rat trap 2 years and 9 months ago. Time for a summary. Plus the 10th rat kill at the end! Cost of Trap: $200 Cost/Kill (so far): $20 Safety of our Cat: 100% (because we didn't use a snap trap) https://www.automatictrap.com/products/home-trapping-kit-a24-rat-mouse-trap ------------------- Link to my Etsy Store: https://www.etsy.com/shop/BetaCygniDesigns