Victor Professional traps in a wooden tunnel are cheap, simple, efficient, humane and better at catching wary rats many other more expensive traps. With a bit of care they can last for years. This pamphlet from Forest and Bird has step-by-step details.
Here are extra tips from some of our expert trappers!
Predator Free Ōtari, Predator Free Wadestown and RAMBO:
- Give the trap a quick wash with the hose, then a scrub with a scrubbing brush
- Follow this with a scrub with a wire brush to remove all the dirt, mud and rust
- Use sand paper to sand the trigger tip and remove the yellow bait paddle
- Sand and lubricate the staple it attaches to – you can use candle wax or vegetable oil to lubricate the staple before re-attaching the bait paddle
- Soak the wooden bases in boiled linseed oil – it keeps the wood in better condition
- When the metal parts of the Victor start to rust, you can clean these with a green fibre pot cleaner – it’s important that the bait treadle hinge is cleaned so that the bait paddle can move freely
- Another idea is to bend up the end of the setting pin with pliers. The pin then engages more positively in the bait paddle and is set to the ‘S’ side. Make sure the setting pin is straight and not bowed like a banana. Maintained this way, the trap can be set with the paddle low which offers the best chance of getting mice or rats
A wee piece of sandpaper will keep things smooth so it’s sensitive enough to catch something- Gently pop off the bait treadle with your thumbs and buff the staple with the sandpaper. When you replace the treadle it should swing freely ready to catch rats. You can clean the rust off the end of the trigger arm too
- Soak the traps in a mix of peanut oil and sunflower oil – it can’t hurt if the entire trap smells attractive to a rat
If you have a modified Victor (with a white plastic shroud) you can use the same cleaning process. Just remove the shroud and the bait cup, then clean the staple.