Victor Electronic Rat Trap 1-Pack, Indoor Humane Electric Rodent Killer

After researching a lot of different mouse traps, we finally tried this electronic trap. I originally tried the Rinne Flip N Slide Bucket lid no-kill mouse traps where the mouse climbs on top of a 5 gallon bucket (not included) to reach a bait and falls through the trap floor which flips down into the bucket. There are a lot of knock offs out there that may work well, but I bought the original Rinne trap and it just didn't work for us. We had two set up in our basement where there was mouse activity and we did catch one mouse, but it escaped every time and that's because the trap floor, when closed, is not flush with the yellow lid and apparently the mouse can escape through small gaps. We put small pieces of almond in the back of the trap floor so the only way the mouse could reach it, was to walk back and the trap floor would flip down and the mouse would fall into the bucket. Twice the almonds were gone and we peeked in the bucket and saw mouse poop but no mouse. So I gave in and looked for an electronic trap that would at least humanely kill the mouse quickly. This Victor trap is very easy to use and set up. You just put in four AA batteries (you could use rechargeable batteries but we used regular to try it out) in the top compartment which slides open. Then you put bait in the back of the unit. The instructions say to put peanut butter through the holes in the back of the unit. But the cleaning instructions say not to get the metal plates inside wet. I don't see how you can easily clean the unit without risking getting the plates wet. Especially when using peanut butter. Instead, we just put a small piece of cheese in the back. The power switch is on the top and after you turn it on, it will blink green a few times and then go dark and remain dark. When the trap catches a mouse, the green light will blink until you turn it off and remove the mouse. Note: When the trap has a mouse and blinks green, the green light blinks slowly, not nearly as fast as when you first turn it on. It's about 9 seconds between blinks. So if you're quickly checking on the trap from a distance, you should look at it for a while to see if it the green light blinks. Or, just go up to the trap and look inside because one end of the trap is completely open. On the second night, we got a mouse. So it works and I'm ordering a second unit to put in another room in our basement. Update: After setting up the second unit (both in the basement), we have caught a total of seven mice. So the traps are working consistently.

This purchase started while watching "We're the Millers." Oddly enough, just after the scene where Kenny gets bitten by the spider, I saw something moving across the floor in my basement in a odd pattern. For whatever reason, I though it was a big ol' spider and tried to find it. Whatever it was, it had concealed itself underneath my TV stand, so I grabbed a flashlight and started looking for it. Finally, I discover that, rather than a hairy spider, it was a tiny mouse. After a few minutes, it scooted out and hid under some other furniture in the basement, and I was able to scoop it up into a dog bowl and cover the bowl so it couldn't escape. It was a tiny mouse, probably a baby. As I went to release it out the back door, I discovered another baby mouse by the back door, so I scooted it out the door, too. Once the first two were out the door, I began my research and saw that mice typically have litters of around six, but up to 12 mice. Sure enough, about 30 minutes later, I find a third baby mouse in the basement. Now I"m convinced I have a serious problem, with another 3 baby mice probably around somewhere, plus a mother and maybe a father. It's peculiar, because I haven't seen any signs of mice in the house previously. I get rid of the third mouse (this one gets a flight off the back deck after I offered to show it to my wife, but she wasn't interested.) So I did my research on Amazon for solutions and saw several options - the traditional snap trap and various humane options. I kind of liked the idea of sending mice down the Green Mile, so I settled on these given the positive reviews and quick results that seemed to be reporting. So I ordered two. Well, actually, four because I apparently placed the order twice. The next day, they showed up thanks to Prime shipping. One small issue, I didn't have enough batteries to load up all four, so after getting the Skippy peanut butter (fewer chemicals than the store brand reduced sugar that later gave my wife an allergic reaction), I prepared the traps according to the manual. They were easy to unpack, prepare and deploy. In accordance with the instructions, I placed them around the basement along walls triangulating where I had encountered two of my three little visitors. After putting them out in the evening, I retired for the night and anxiously came back downstairs in the morning, expecting to find another mouse or two had shuffled off this mortal coil. Alas, no flashing LEDs on the traps to tell me I've succeeded in this particular Mouse Hunt. Day after day, I go through the same process each morning, thinking I might find a victim in the traps, but, alas, each day I'm left disappointed. On the positive side, however, I haven't found any signs of mice in the basement, nor have I spotted any. So long story short, they're easy to set up and prepare, they're relatively innocuous, and there's no evidence of mice ignoring the traps. Old Sparky may work, but I haven't been successful yet. Update: December 2024 - after having these out for four months and not having sent any mice to their final reward, I happened to notice one flashing green as I walked by. Sure enough, picked it up and there was the first victim of Old Sparky inside. Moved it outside prior to cleaning and resetting to avoid any stink in the house. Decided to check the other two I had put out. One was unused, as of yet, while the second one was patiently flashing green, telling me yet another mouse had crossed the rainbow bridge or whatever the mouse equivalent is. Mr Jangles will no longer be performing on the Green Mile at any rate. So, it’s now traps two, mice zero.

I have now bought a total of 7 of these units, and will probably purchase more they work so well! We bought 1 to start out with to help curve the winter "mice" problem in our basement that seems to always happen every year. Within 2 weeks that 1 single unit wiped out a solid family of mice. We then ordered 3 more to go in exterior buildings around the house to help combat them from making it in the house and those worked just as well! There are days where these will catch multiple mice in the same day. Fast forward a year, I purchased 3 for my work at a garden center and we've now taken out about 2 dozen mice in about a month with these 3 units! In short... THESE WORK! A Q-tip with some peanut butter is all you need to load these up. Be sure to keep these traps along the wall and/or by doorways and somewhat out in the open so it's an easier find for the rodents. Also, one thing to keep in mind, if you have gravel, or chunks of anything happen to get on the metal middle plate (the plate that senses and zaps the mouse), the plate will malfunction and not sense anything on it. So be sure to keep them clean and debris free! Otherwise, they are very super easy to use, easy to maintain, long lasting for both the unit and battery life (I've yet to change the x4 AA batteries in any of the units), much easier and safer to use than an original or traditional mouse trap, and make it for a speedy and humane kill of the mouse. I'm definitely happy that I went with these over anything else! They are pricey for what they are, but they pay for themselves quickly in the sense of ease of operation and/or if you've had things get damaged by mice/rodents already, the value in damage will out likely out weigh the cost of these quickly!!

It. Works. I was skeptical when I unpacked it and saw it took 4 AA batteries. I previously owned other battery-powered traps but they took DD's and this didn't seem "heavy duty" to me by comparison. The first 2 nights nothing happened, but by night 3 I actually heard a high-pitched squeal and sure enough the following morning when I went to check in the mudroom all I saw was a LONG tail sticking out and I was blown away that it worked. The rat was HUGE. Rats have an amazing sense of smell and will stay away from the trap if they smell it's been handled by humans. I wear gloves when baiting and putting in the batteries etc so it hopefully masks the smell. The other trick I use is to place the pea-sized peanut butter all the way in the upper top right corner (if you're looking into the trap) or upper left corner (if you're loading it from behind). That way the rat has to go ALL the way in and underneath the plastic divider bar assuring both front feet and mouth will make a full circuit. I hate that I have a rat problem, but glad that I found these little units so I can get this under control before I lose my mind.

Traps worked well, caught two rats the first night and a few more after that, no longer hear rats crawling around inside our walls. The problem is they are extremely hard to clean and to put the bait in because you cannot take the trap apart or take the top off of the trap. We were out of town for a few days and when we came back there was a rat in one of the traps that had started to decompose. Tried cleaning the trap following the manufacturer’s instructions , but it still stinks like dead rat, and since the trap does not come apart, I cannot seem to fully clean it properly or find where the smell is coming from. May have to end up just throwing the trap away if the smell doesn’t go away, which is frustrating because these were not cheap. It looks like older versions of these traps have bait doors and removable tops to make it easier to bait and clean. Not sure why they would remove these features because if they still had them this would easily be a five star product. If you do buy these traps, I recommend checking them everyday to dispose of any rats before they start decomposing and if you are not going to be around for longer than a day or two, turn the traps off until you get back.

I won't share a picture. Because EW. But it worked. I baited it wrong the first time putting peanut butter at the back end where they just reached in through the grated opening from outside and took the bait safely. The second time I put a little peanut butter on a peice of dog food and stuck it inside right in the middle so they would HAVE to go in to get it. This time it worked. One fewer rat. Now I have to get up the courage to dump out the rat and clean that nastiness out so I can catch another. EEW. Also: these absolutely will harm important wildlife like young possums if they are set and left outside. These are meant to be used indoors. Please only use these indoors or in a closed garage.

What a disappointment. We bought one M241 model a few years ago and it’s been absolutely great. So we tried buying more and accidentally bought this model which is not the same. No removable top for easy cleaning and no bait trap window. We gave it a try anyway and one did eventually catch one rat. And then the trap died. The other traps have caught nothing. So, bad design and bad performance. What a bummer.

I’m having problems with ground squirrels ripping up my yard. I don’t want poison, as we have a lot of other wildlife that could access the poisoned squirrel. This trap works great- I’ve already caught 3. Giving only 4 stars, as my question is the same as others- what were the designers of this trap thinking? It doesn’t open up for easy clean out! 2 of the squirrels bled (gross!) inside the trap. I did pop it open to make a little extra room to get my hand with paper towels in to clean it, but it was difficult and the potential for cutting my hand is there. (I have small hands. A man won’t get his hand in there!) The top will not separate from the bottom due to soldered wires. I hope they correct this problem!