The traps I use, marketed under the names Tomcat and T-Rex, are fine for quick kills on large rats but they’re not outstandingly durable.
Of course when it doesn’t get a quick kill, the rat has leisure to try revenge.
The most common failure is for the ears to break off the removable bait cup. I’ve also had neighbors complain of this. The trap is still usable, if you spread peanut butter on the triggering paddle. But it’s a hassle.
In this case, though, the little plastic tab that lets the trap latch open broke off. This trap is toast. But at least I can salvage the bait cup for when the next one breaks.
Maybe you could send these guys a message and let ’em know how their product has failed. Depending on how old the traps are and if you got ’em new. you could also ask if this is covered under a possible warranty, couldn’t hurt.
http://www.belllabs.com/product_details/australia-agricultural-trapper-t-rex
If those bare hands are yours please wash thoroughly with soap and warm water when you are finished with the traps and before you handle anything else, like clothes or food or dishes and before you touch your face, eyes, mouth, hair or sensitive body parts. And what MJR said. Asking is free.
What is the Mean Number of Rats Before Failure (MNRBF) for each brand? Inquiring minds want to know.
Where I shop, the T-Rex is about $7.50, the Tomcat about $5. I buy the old fashioned Victor traps, a piece of wood with metal pan, kill bar, and springs. $2.50, closer to $2 in packs. They kill rats, mice, squirrels, even coons, but coons aren’t a clean kill. Yeah, they break, just like yours. I’m pretty sure they don’t break 2 or 3 times as often.
I’ve GOT to start tracking MNRBF.
It depends more on the Ambient Temperature at Snap (ATaS) and Rat Quotient Per Snap (RQPS).
A rat-less snap at low temperature is likely to cause damage.
So why do you prefer these more expensive traps to the cheapo wood plank ones? My RQPS declined from 0.8 or so when I first attacked the infestation to near 0 today. I think most of the misses are mice; sometimes there’s a bit of tail. Now that I’m on top of things the MQPS stays near 1 in the smaller mouse traps, while the snap frequency ebbs and flows with the seasons.
It is true that a rat-less snap is harder on the trap. Eventually the plank splits and I throw it away, but that’s at least 100 snaps. Like you I save the bait pans for repair of other damaged traps. But I’ve not noticed any low-temp issues, and I had misses when the nighttime lows were -12 F this past winter.
See http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00004RAMW/, the reviews are the best.
“Would attach a video, but none of the rats have signed actor consent forms.”
Oh, S, I have a hate/hate relationship with those plank traps that dates to my childhood. I have a terrible time setting them and getting them to stay set long enough for me to walk away. It’s positively comical. I just hate’em all day long.
Joel, you need to check out some conibear style traps…I have used their 110 size on everything from a chipmunk (accident) up to a full grown woodchuck (also an accident). They are sized for squirrel, rabbit, mink and muskrat, mainly.
They don’t require bait for their typical use, but bait can be used in a variety of ways…in fact that dead bucket you stopped for in the wash and some scrap plywood would make an excellent bait set. I am blessed that Nasco is just up the road, but Amazon sells them too…
http://www.enasco.com/product/C09121N
http://www.amazon.com/Duke-Single-Spring-Muskrat-Weasel/dp/B0047EDBZ6/ref=sr_1_1/192-4238998-4206219?ie=UTF8&qid=1427472374&sr=8-1&keywords=110+conibear+trap
They will last a lifetime…take great care with any size, a 110 will leave a wicked bruise and break a critter’s bones, a 120 will end a house cat, and 220s and up can and will kill dogs, even big ones. Enclosed sets (like a bucket set) or limited access (like an aerial set) are a must if you have domestic critters around.
There is a plethora of info available on the net about applications, mostly for furbearers, but you seem well versed in adaptation.