Rat trap painting thoughts?

[wonderwolf]

One of the Youtube bushcraft figures had a video about a trapping kit and had a pair of large "VICTOR" rat traps in a kit that was very compact along with snare wire and other offending paraphernalia. On a bored night of shopping I picked up two such traps at the store and decided I would work on a bushcraft trapper kit myself.

Now  I see the use of these traps is fairly popular in kits, however some people are spray painting them or dying the wood darker colors to preserve the wood and help them blend in...but my thinking is for small animals that probably alarms them more than anything. Thoughts on this?

I was amused one guy is selling such a trap on paracord line (easy to chew threw?) and painted green for $10+shipping....I think I gave a little under $2 for one trap, I plan to use braided wire or thin caple for a stake line not paracord.

[gregozedobe]

I don't claim to be an expert on trapping rats, but I think I read somewhere that they are wary of anything new in their environment, so adding extra (strange/unusual)  smell to a trap by painting it would seem to be a bad move to me.  I'd lean towards leaving them out in weather (sun, rain, wind) for a while to reduce the "new" smell before using them.

[Lynn LeFey]

I've always thought that if I were going to build a kit with rat traps, I'd replace the wood altogether with some plastic material. I dunno if you've ever had to clean up the after effects of rat traps successfully doing their thing, but they can get messy. Wood is a crappy porous material, that harbors bacteria if you don't seal it well... and repeatedly. Plastic doesn't have that problem, and washes off nicely.

As for the original question. I'd at least seal them with mineral oil or something. I think paint, once dried won't be too offensive.

My understanding is that they're not for catching rats, but woodland rodents, mainly squirrels, and THOSE smurfing smurfers don't seem to be afraid of ANYTHING. The smell of a smear of peanut butter will be 1000 times more attractive than the remnant smell of paint or oil would be a repellent, IMO. Chipmunks will chew into your tent, and into your PACK... WHICH YOU ARE USING AS A PILLOW. Ask me how I know. So, they also apparently give zero smurfs about strange smells.

[Fortytwo]

We have had problems with mice (and to a smaller degree rats) at times and used similar traps. As Lynn notes they do get a bit messy. Nothing major but if I were to carry them with me I would probably pack them individually or in pairs in a zip-lock bag to keep them one extra layer from the rest of my gear.

While checking to see what kind of trap you were talking about one made by "made2catch" came up among the google images and I must say that I liked the idea of an all metal trap and at 14.5$ for for of them at amazon the deal seems reasonable enough.

The next step is of course to know your catch so you'll be able to set the traps in accordance to the habits of the intended catch. I once had a bit of a laugh at my own expense when messing this step up. We had a bit of a mice problem and at one spot in particular, next to the chimney, there was a lot of droppings. Seemed reasonable enough, the room was far from finished, not even any inner walls or insulation and the chimney was occasionally in use so it would be warmer there. There was also some good nooks where they could reasonably run while not being in the open. Good mice grounds in other words. So I set up a couple of traps and waited a couple of days. No catch, and still there was a lot of new droppings. Something was fishy and a closer inspection showed another anomaly, there were no droppings under anything, only on top. Hmm, shining a light up along the chimney trying to find where the mice could be sitting I realised why I wasn't going to catch them with my traps. Next to a small crack where the roof meets the chimney were two bats...

[Gerhard Gerber]

Mine have metal bases, stamped and painted plate....

[wonderwolf]

Interesting idea on replacing the cheap wood base if you were going after something that was more skiddish.

Dollar store cutting board would be good so long as if it was plastic it didn't shatter if you were in colder climates.


I agree with squirrels being very curious and how their lust for certain smells and materials will trump any and all sense they have. Watching them dart across a busy road and back reminds me of going after certain girls in college.....

The metal trap looks perfect and maybe more compact! I wonder if the shiny helps or hurts its effectiveness outside of the urban areas.


I've often wondered if homeless people who live in more rural regions have "modern" trapping methods they use to deal with pests...either for food or for just keeping them from getting into their stuff.  Granted the majority have mental issues and don't function on that level but there are some who seem to have skills in some woodscraft.

[ReamerPunch]

I don't think a rat trap painting could excite me. Sure, if it was a famous painter, maybe, but still, it's a rat trap. I can see the symbolism, but it's not something I'd hang in my living room.
 

[Lynn LeFey]

I don't think a rat trap painting could excite me. Sure, if it was a famous painter, maybe, but still, it's a rat trap. I can see the symbolism, but it's not something I'd hang in my living room.
 

What about like an Andy Warhol of multiple pictures of the same rat trap, but each done in vibrant colors?
Or an impressionist one with thick impasto textures and swirls of color, like Van Gogh?
Or maybe a rat trap where the bar bends in ways that are impossible in reality like an M.C. Escher drawing?

I'm feeling a real opportunity here...