Victor M144-2 Instant Power-Kill Easy Set Rat Trap - 2 Reusable Rat Traps 2 Count (Pack of 1)

Easy to bait and really safe to set! Lately I added a little birdseed to the end of Jif jar and that’s even more irresistible! Definitely use string to loop through a hole at “safe” end of trap and leave 12-18” free with the other end tied to something heavy because sometimes they get dragged away. Also, I learned if a rat somehow gets trapped by a leg, you can pick up trap by the string (holding it out away from your body) and suspend it in a bucket to carry it outside to dispatch/dispose as you see fit. If they get all clever and learn to empty without springing it, I put 2 traps side by side or kill end to kill end and sprinkle a few extra seeds on them. If pets are around, I place traps in the center of large wire crate without tray or, if possible, place crate in a corner and traps along walls out of reach. (I used this method in my chicken coop when I discovered a tunnel in the corner!) If trap sticks and won’t stay set, I just pop the tray up and/or jiggle the little catch at opposite end until it moves freely and catches again. I like that I can carry them by the clean spring bar to transport and that if red bar is sticking up, it is still armed. These are WAY better than the old wooden traps! I just ordered another pack!

Does the job. It's a powerful trap, the first rat I got wasn't even in the trap. The force was apparently strong enough coming down when it triggered the trap that the bar just smacked it in the head hard enough and the rat flew across the room, dead.We have an old home and although I've been slowly trying to close all the access points I keep finding into the crawlspace I think this will help me keep them from getting established down there in the meantime.In many of the reviews I noticed people leaving the red plastic part on the bar, I have no idea if you’re supposed to remove it because the packing didn’t mention it but I removed it and in two weeks have killed a lot more rats than I thought we had in the basement. I’m ordering more and I guess will keep them baited year round.

I've been using this product for over 6 months and have had great success with it when comparing it to other traps like the classic wood version, or the black plastic ones that say "instant kill" on them. I can tell you that these really are easy to bait, setup, and clean when needed. With the main body being plastic and the kill bar being metal, death is near instant when the trap is set. Out of the 30+ rats I have caught, 0 have suffered in any way once the trap was sprung.The only con I have with this trap is after dozens of uses, the catch in the rear seems to have come loose to the point it can be difficult to set or hold the trigger mechanism. However, this has only happened on one of the six traps I have bought, so it may just be a faulty trap.Regardless, out of all the traps I have seen, this one has been the best for my purposes.Side note: If you are having trouble catching pests in your home, barn, shed, garage, etc I would suggest using peanut butter and sunflowers as bait. Additionally, look for high-traffic areas, a noticeable increase in droppings, or holes where they may travel from. Set your traps up in these locations, preferably near a wall, or setup barriers around them to funnel the intruders to the bait and you should have better success.Good luck.

I bought a 6 pack of these traps. I trusted the Victor name. Although I did catch 3 rats in the ceiling, 5 of the 6 traps I bought failed. In each one, the plastic catch that holds the kill bar broke under spring tension, ruining the trap. It was the same exact failure for all 5 traps.do not buy any of the plastic snap traps... get the metal ones.DO NOT BUY..... WASTE OF MONEY. WASTE OF MONEY....... DO NOT BUY.update 9/26/23 -- the bait cup is far too close to the edge of the trap. Rats get hit on their nose or on their front paws and they run away. THIS TRAP IS ABSOLUTELY USELESS.... VERY POOR DESIGN... VERY POOR MATERIAL QUALITY

I have been at war with rats and have bought or made 8 different kinds of rat traps, and this is the best one. It's easy to use and kills the critters (unlike the other plastic snap trap with the zigzag jaws which often fails to kill the rats).TIPS: Place peanut butter on a small cracker or piece of bread and place it upside down deep in the trap which I would call the throat of the trap so the rat has further to reach to get to the bait and it's not easy to get off.--I cut a small hole in the plastic cover from cooked Costco chickens to cover the trap so that rats can only approach the trap from one direction--straight towards the trap & bait. Find some kind of container that is tall enough to allow the wire of the trap to operate. I like clear containers so I can easily check the trap.--Best plan is to set our your traps and put bait on them WITHOUT setting them. Do this twice. Then put bait and set the traps. Rats are smart but this fools them. NOTE: Next morning after posting this review, I found several dead rats in my traps, so my system worked really well--see photo!

I bought this to kill squirrels that are smart and refuse to go into cage trap. But those are usually adult squirrels. I understand these are made for big rats and not squirrels. But I was able to kill big squirrels with wooden ones from Victor in the past. So I bought these to try out. I saw one triggered but it did not catch or kill anything. The problem seems to be that the travel distance of the kill bar is only 90 deg instead of 180 deg like on wooden ones. So strike force would not reach the maximum before it hits the target and hence impact is significantly diminished. I wish they increase the travel distance of kill bar much larger by increasing the angle close to 180 deg as in the wooden ones. The thing I do not like about the wooden one is that it is difficult to securely attach the bait and difficult to cock the kill bar. This is why I tried this plastic one but it does have its own deficiency as I described.