The universal directory for taking alive and destroying rats

by Robert Smith

I shall now give the reader a very minute and exact description of the make and construction of the trap, made use of in the foregoing instances, which, with the print annexed, will give him a full, perfect, and adequate idea of the same; it is made in the following manner: Take three boards [pl. III.] two feet two inches long, let the two sides stand on the bottom, nine inches high, by nine inches wide in the clear; then take a thick bit of wood three inches wide, and put it in the top of the trap in the centre, for the upright centre E. [pl. IV.] to go in; in the front of the trap, at the bottom, cut a hole for the trigger, half an inch wide, and three inches high, BB; line the inside of the hole with some pieces of tin about an inch wide, that they may not deface the inside of the trap, for a Rat will always gnaw and scratch wherever he sees any light; then take two pieces of board to go in even or level at each end, and under these take two short pieces, six inches high, to go in easy, nailing the top down to these at each end, and then hanging the top-pieces F F. within an inch of the end nearest the centre, they will go up and down together. In the centre, at the bottom of the trap, against the back, take a piece of wood, two inches long, and half an inch thick, make a hole in the centre of it, then put a nail through without a head, fasten it down to the bottom of the trap, and let the nail stand up half an inch; in order to hang the bridge on: then take a piece of half inch board five inches wide, and seven inches and a half long, make a hole at one end, in the centre, and at the other end put a strong bit of wire D, and let it come through the trigger-hole B B, bent and turned up at the extremity, a quarter of an inch, that it may hitch or fasten to the trigger, and over the trigger-hole about half an inch, nail a little piece of wood C, about two inches long, in order to stop the tiller, to prevent its going into the trigger-hole; let your standard E, at the top of the trap, be five inches high, with a notch in the centre, opposite the trigger-hole; let it be half an inch wide, and two inches down; then you must put a small nail at each end, to both which tie a string and bring them through the notch in the standard and tie them both together; then cut one end off, and bringing the other end down tie it to the trigger, which is the small piece of wood tied to the end of the string, in order to set the trap, which must be set up about six or seven inches high, at each end. The intent of having the under pieces but six inches high, is, that you may be enabled to take them out with the greater safety; for when you place the small wire cage at the end of the trap, then lift the end thereof level or even with the small hole at the side of the cage, and there will be sufficient room for the Rat to go into the cage very easily.

Having described the trap, I now proceed to another particular, which is, that you must put it into a large box, in order to keep other animals from eating the food prepared for the Rat, and likewise to hinder the dogs from coming to it; for sometimes, when they find a trap where the Rats come to feed, they will lie by it and baulk the Rats. This box, therefore, is a safeguard or defence for them, for when any thing disturbs them, they will run in at the holes, at each end of the bottom of the box, to save themselves, and when the ends of the trap are sheltered, they will feed quietly; if therefore your dogs should come and disturb the traps, you must baulk them, and, during your absence, mind to lock the boxes, to keep any person from them, which has always been my constant practice.

The box [pl. IV. fig. 2.] is made in this manner: three feet long, a foot and a half wide, and twenty inches high, with two small holes E, one at each end, at the back, close to the bottom of the box, about three inches diameter, or square, as you like; then the Rats can go in and out without being disturbed, and no other animal can take their food but themselves. Let the inside traps have a pound weight of sheet-lead nailed on at each end, which will make them strike quick, and keep the end down, for I have known them to get out of these traps for want of sufficient weight: and for the more effectually preventing them from getting their noses under the end and lifting them up, take a small piece of wood, an inch wide and three quarters of an inch thick, and put it across, at the bottom, in the inside, at each end, that the end of the trap may strike down flush without side. Let this piece of wood be lined with tin, that they may not gnaw it away. Let the traps be made of stout inch-fir, which is the best wood you can make use of; for that will never warp nor bend, as other wood does; but any old packing box will do for the outside. If they are not exactly made as I have already prescribed, they will answer the intent, yet if you are obliged to make new ones, they may as well be made according to the directions before given; but if it is a quiet place where you can lock the door, or in a barn, or the outside of a barn at a farm-house, the following trap may be used with great advantage and efficacy, which is the common hutch or box trap, which however must be sheltered, at each end, as before directed. This trap the reader is referred to [plate II. fig. 1.] and likewise to the description of the same, in the account of the wild cat, in page [49] of this work. And here I beg leave to give a general caution to the reader, which is, to follow the directions laid down in the preceding pages, and practise them by himself; for company will baulk the sport, and when once the traps are baulked, the blame will fall upon the author, who is not in the least in fault; for he will maintain and abide by every instruction before given, to be exactly just and true. Remember, likewise, that they are a very subtle vermin, for if they in the least suspect what you are about, you cannot catch them, for I would not have you imagine that any kind of vermin will ever enter a trap, knowing it to be one; on the contrary, you must entice and encourage them by the means before laid down, which will make them bold, and enable you to catch them with the greatest facility imaginable. Now when you have set all your traps to work, you will want to scent them, which must be performed in this manner; take twenty drops of the oil of rhodium, six or seven grains of musk, half an ounce of the oil of anniseed, put them in a small phial for use, and before you set the traps, shake them well together, then scent your traps as follows: Take a small piece of paper twisted up, dip it in the bottle, and rub each end of the trap, and put two or three drops on the bridge, and likewise the holes at each end of the box; leave the paper in each trap, and let every trap be served in this manner; the reason of mixing these three ingredients together is, that I have always tried it with success, for in some places the rats love the smell of rhodium, in others they like the smell of musk, and again, in other places, they love the smell of anniseed; on this account I mix them all together, that the scent of either one or other of the above ingredients may entice and allure them to the trap. Another piece of instruction is necessary to be given: when you first set your traps to work, different means are to be used according to the different places you are catching at; if it is at a dog-kennel, put some small pieces of boiled flesh about in the trap, as well as the feed; if in a slaughter-house, put some small bits of fat, or small pieces of guts; if in a brewhouse put some malt; if in a still-house put some of the meal; if in a mill the same; if at a barn, put in some corn as well as the feed, and so likewise in all other instances. The reason of this method of proceeding is, in whatever places your traps are set, put some of the same things in the trap as they have been before used to; for then they have not so great a notion of its being a trap: you must not use any of the scenting in the feed, for there is nothing they are so fond of in their food as the oil of carraways.

The Recipe how to make the Food or Feed.

Take a pound of good flour, three ounces of treacle, and six drops of the oil of carraways, put them all into a bowl, and rub them well together, till it looks all alike; be sure to mix it well; then put a pound of the crumb of bread to it; for they like the bread mixt with their feed better than the feed alone, it being too luscious, for which reason they do not like it so well by itself; but that night on which you catch, put no bread to it, lest they should carry it away.

There is a necessity for your having two wire cages, one small, [pl. II. fig. 2.] used in going round your traps, in order to take the vermin out to put them into the larger one, made in the manner following:

The small wire cage must be thus constructed; let it be nine inches in length by nine wide, four inches and a half high, with a fall in it at one end and a door at the other, the first to let them in at, and the other to let them out into the great cage, which must be made as follows: Let it be twenty inches long, nine inches wide, and eight inches high, with a fall at one end, to let them in from the small cage, and a door on the top to take them out at; now when you are catching, set your great cage out of the way, at some distance, that the other Rats may not hear them squeak, for that will baulk your sport and occasion them to run away. In the morning, if you do not choose to drown them, perhaps you will want to hunt those you have taken, and know not how to take them out at the top of the great cage; but this may be done very easily; for if you do not hurt them they will not bite you; for by standing together in the trap all night they are cowed, and have not the least notion of biting, unless you should happen to squeeze them too hard; but you may take them out one by one, with your hand, very safely. Now this matter is a secret, for we always inculcate the notion that they will bite you terribly, unless you rub your hands with some kind of ingredient or other. I was once of that opinion myself, but am now better convinced; indeed when there are but four or five left behind in the trap, they are apt to be very violent and outrageous, you may then shake them out to your dog. There is a wide difference in the temper and disposition of these animals; for some are so savage and untamed, that they will set up their backs, looking very fiercely and crying out, if you do but look at them; but when you meet with one of this kind, shake him well in the cage, together with the rest, and observe when he has put his head among the others, and take him out by his tale and he will not bite you; but observe when you have first catched them do not go to handle them directly, for then they are so mad and furious that they will bite any thing.

I shall here give the reader another maxim I have often followed very successfully; if you find the holes quiet and no rats to use them, it will then be incumbent on you to stop them up in this manner, to prevent others from entering therein: Take a pint of common tar, half an ounce of pearl-ashes, an ounce of oil of vitriol, and a good handful of common salt, mix them all well together in any old deep pan; get some pieces of paper, and put some of the above mixture very thick on the paper, and place enough of this into the holes to stop them, and then let the bricklayer make good after you; and if you should find any of the holes opened again, it is certain you had not put in a sufficient quantity, then put in some more, and, if it is done as it ought, they will never approach there any more, while either smell or taste remains in it; now by stopping the holes in the shores in town, where they come up, with the above mixture, I have kept a gentleman’s house entirely clear, and never have caught one single Rat.