Customer Reviews

Victor M240 Electronic Rat Trap

5 star:		(62)
4 star:		(21)
3 star:		(17)
2 star:		(17)
1 star:		(34)

 

 

We have recently had rats in our basement eating everthing. We tried all kinds of traps with no luck. We bought the Victor Electronic rat trap from our local hardware store. It taked 4 c batteries and will last up to about 12 to 20 rats. In the first 24 hours we had caught 4 rats. Two days later we had a total of 6 rats caught. We paid $40.00 plus $5.00 for batteries and it is worth every penny. No meses to clean up, you just just give a little shake and the rat falls into the trash can. Best rat trap ever.

Have had great success with this product for over 5 years. Average size of rats killed is 8 inches, excluding the tail. Also killed many mice. Have used different bait combinations, incl. manufacturer's recommended peanut butter (not so good), kitten kibble (somewhat effective), and a buffet combo of aged cheddar cheese bits + walnut pieces + kitten kibble + bacon bits (totally irrisistible).

Most effective procedure to lure and kill rats/mice:
(1) Place bait inside the trap at the far end of the trap (where the metal end w/ holes is), while leaving the metal plate on the floor of the trap clean and bare of any bait.
(2) Place trap along a "run", usually parallel to a baseboard.
(3) Scatter a little bait outside the trap, in front of trap entryway to lead the rat towards the trap.

(4) !!DO NOT TURN ON THE BAITED TRAP FOR A COUPLE OF DAYS!! so the rats will assume this new source of food is safe for them. Be generous with the bait this first couple of days.

(5) On the third day, bait the trap as usual, place it in the exact location as before, and flick the trap's power switch to "On". Voila...you should have your first electrocuted dead rat/mouse the next morning. You will know this because the little green light on top of the trap will be blinking on and off or you will see the rat's tail sticking out of the trap. Turn the switch to "Off". With gloved hands (disposable nitrile gloves are best), pick up the trap with the rat still inside, open your garbage can, slide the dead rat out of the trap into the garbage can.

EASY, CLEAN, NO MESS, NO CARRION ODOR.

In my northern Calif. rural area known for its organic farming and organic grass-fed cattle, I recycle the electrocuted rats. Dig a small hole one foot deep in an area of my garden that dog can't get to, bury electrocuted rat, place a few bricks/heavy stones on top of the little rodent grave and Nature takes care of the rest. Recyle. Good for the planet, good for the earth.

The three-star rating reflects 5 stars for effectiveness when they work and one star for how long they work (about 6-12 mice before failure).

I bought one of these rat traps after having no success with Victor's small-opening electronic mouse traps. (The small opening apparently seemed sus[picious to the mice -- not one ever entered. If I were a mouse *I* wouldn't walk into one of those either!) The large opening in the rat trap made it seem innocuous to the mice, and we started catching mice regularly. Unfortunately after 6-8 mice the unit stopped charging up, even with new batteries. I sent a complaint to Victor, and they were nice enough to take back the non-functioning unit and send me a new one, which killed the remaining few mice. After a hiatus in mouse problems, we started having them again and I brought out the replacement unit again. After catching another half-dozen mice or so, it also stopped working. (It appears to charge up, but mice seem to be able to walk in and eat the bait without being killed.) So basically you have to think about this as being "disposable" after every 6-12 mice, which means that they cost about $5-$8 per mouse killed. I'm now going to look for a different brand that might last longer and cost less per mouse.

Oh, like two other reviewers I also got shocked one time replacing the batteries.

I had an elusive rat in my house which had been leaving it's evidence around the house adding to major cleaning headache. We hoped for a few days that it will leave on it's own which I guess was too optimistic. This rat had found a home and was not leaving. No soft options here.
Wife wanted to go with glue traps first since poison could be bad if it died in the walls and spring traps seemed too messy. So I went ahead and got a couple of boxes of them which we put around but it seems rat was too clever for that. On one occasion, I also saw it had dragged a grocery bag over glue trap!
I had seen this electronic trap at local home depot but was not sure of it's effectiveness so had not seriously considered it and it looked expensive.
Finally I got one and wife baited for a couple of weeks but it did not catch the rat. We returned it and got another one as I thought it was defective piece and it also looked previously opened(no bag with the unit). Still no luck. Rat would come and eat the peanut butter on the outside but would not go inside the trap.
Then I put a small piece of bread inside which could be seen from outside bottom hole and also lesser peanut butter on outside so it could sample much less than before from outside.
Then next morning we saw the flashing light and were elated. Then we also saw the tail. It was a fairly big rat. I thought we were done but a little more evidence and I set it again(only peanut butter) and caught another smaller one within a day(could be mouse - not sure).
Cleaner method which works and hopefully it is humane.
Some patience may sometimes be required with baiting.

Erm, people, exercise some common sense with this thing. Don't stick your hand in it when it's on. Be careful to only handle it by the plastic when it's off. Switch it off before you bait it. DON'T TOUCH THE METAL.

So, I had a rat problem. The little beasts were getting so they'd climb up the screen outside the window at the end of the couch where I was watching tv. Very acrobatic. They had to go.

I tried the cheap solution. Glue traps: useless. Mouse traps: too small. Rat traps: worked once in a while. Modernized rat traps: useless. Poison: ever smelled a two week dead mouse in your garage?

So I found this electronic trap. Set it up and 20 minutes later there's a dead rodent in it. So I emptied rodents out a couple of times each evening.

Well, I left it on after the last one and next afternoon there was a squirrel half in and half out and dead as a dodo. This is not a toy.

Have multiple units in barn & out buildings. Average 5 - 6 rodents on a set of batteries. Instructions reccomend using penut butter as bait, have found that poultry feed works much better. Will purchase additional units as required. Have found that this unit works far better than the more expensive "Rat-Zapper".

(1) These traps are greatly superior to the older wooden traps. They are neat, clean, and cool in a gadgety sort of way. I bought 3 of these, 4 of the M144s, and I set 2 of the old fashioned type that my exterminator put in (and the rats cleaned out without getting hurt). Rats were keeping us awake, and we were really anxious to get them.

(2) One website recommended using gloves to handle the traps. It said that human scent could scare off the rats. I followed that advice.

(3) One website recommended putting the traps out unarmed for a couple of days so the rats could become accustomed to eating from it. I did not follow that advice. The rat noises were keeping us awake, and I did not have the patience. It sounded like good advice though.

(4) I did not catch anything the 1st two nights I had this set. Then I started slicing walnuts and putting them around the traps. The first night I did that, I caught a rat. It is useful to note that all of the walnut pieces surrounding the trap had been eaten, all. So the rat ate all of the 'safe' food, and then went for the peanut butter/oat/walnut paste that I put in the trap.

(5) I also used a Victor M144 Power Kill rat trap. Same procedure worked, actually I used the trail of walnuts trick first with the M144.

Score so far: 1 kill for the Electronic trap, 2 kills for the M144, but I used my walnut trail trick with the M144 first. For the squeamish, the Electronic trap is easier to deal with, but check the reviews from some of the other users for comments about getting shocked. I used leather gloves to handle insertion of the batteries. I turned the unit off before attempting to unload the dead rat. I wear gloves to place the unit and turn it on/off, which is probably ridiculous, but why not. I have the gloves anyway.

Simple and clean to use...They have finally made a better rat trap....Bravo !!!

OK, I read all the reviews...and for the people who got shocked....are you kidding? This is more simple to operate that the traditional spring traps. Time to drop the macho stuff and "Read The Instructions". It clearly states what the international symbols 0 and l stand for.
As far as the difficulty putting the batteries in...simply put the oppisite ends in the holder first, then where the batteries meet, push down with your thumb. They go right in with no trouble. I've always used peanut butter and just a touch of grain mixed in. That's what rats search for every night....grain. I just put a small amount in the one hole that's in the back. If you put it in the trap, it will give you a false alarm. Then set the back of the trap agaist the wall.Total time to READ the instructions and set...5 Minutes.
Within 24 hours ....Zaaaap! Toasted Rodent !!!!
This has GOT to be the greatest invention of the Decade!!! I put one in my tool shed and I'm off to buy another one for my garage.
A big thanks to the Victor company !!!!
Allen.

The Victor Electronic Rat Trap does what the literature says. Remove the package. Remove the plastic insulator that prevents the batteries (included) from working. Put a little peanut butter in a hole in the back of the trap so that a little of it hangs out the back, then put the trap in a "walkway" (generally along a wall) where you have seen rats and turn the trap on. The LED turns on briefly to show the unit is activated, and then turns off. The trap looks quite innocent. Check on the trap at least a couple of times a day. If the light is flashing, you have caught something. Just pick the trap up (very convenient to hold in my hand) and let the contents slide into the trash. Rebait the trap and start over.

The trap will kill mice and squirrels and pretty much any other similarly sized pest. Few dogs or cats, even dachshunds, could get their nose far enough in to have a problem. However, check this out before you use it if you have pets. A squirrel fits all of the way in except about two thirds of its tail.

The manufacturer, on the packaging, specifically states, "NOT FOR OUTDOOR USE." This would seem to be for a couple of reasons: 1) it is not water proof so rain and runoff would probably destroy it; 2) it might have problems with heavy dew shorting the plates inside the trap. However, on days with low relative humidity I have used this in a protected area outside to good effect to catch "outside" rats.

Some people report failed shocks... The rodent is able to enter the trap, gather the bait and leave or, the trap will fire a shock but fails to kill the rodent. If your rodent problem happens to be either indoors or you live in a very dry environment, here is a tip to help ensure a good kill.

Dampen a paper towel or an old rag that you really don't want to keep. Place this new wet "welcome mat" down and put the edge of the entry of the trap over it. This will allow the rodent to dampen the bottoms of his feet just before entering the death chamber.

In very dry environments (including the house), their little feet can become less that condusive for the special delivery of shock and they either won't trigger the zap or the are insulated enough to not get a full deadly dose.

I had my first two rodents get in, deliver the shock and leave... I read about this welcome mat trick and decided to give it a try. Since then I have had one kill EVERY NIGHT for 9 nights in a row.

All I know is that the change did work... Perfectly.