# Electronic rat killer to cull feeder rodents... good idea?



## andy20146 (Feb 2, 2011)

as the title suggest, I want other peoples opinions on this. I want to use an electronic rat killer to cull feeder rodents, less handling, they go in to a tunnel and then straight in to the trap. what are peoples thoughts on this plz?


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## corny girl (Aug 30, 2009)

Why not get yourself a Co2 chamber? With a Co2 chamber you can cull multiple rats/mice, sounds like this one you can only do one at a time which is time consuming if you have a big batch to do :whistling2:. A chamber shouldn't cost any more than about £40 to make but one canister will last you ages :2thumb:.


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## pigglywiggly (Jul 19, 2008)

with the zapper wont they be slightly cooked? :blush:

i`d either either co2 them or cervical dislocation


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## SnakeBreeder (Mar 11, 2007)

I have a rat zapper and things can smell a bit singed.
I also stuck my hand in once, when it was off and still got a nasty shock from it, so watch yourself with these.


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## timc20xe (Feb 11, 2011)

if the rats are just for your own snakes then just give them a wack round the head , its the quickest and cheapest way


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## SnakeKeeper17 (Apr 5, 2011)

timc20xe said:


> if the rats are just for your own snakes then just give them a wack round the head , its the quickest and cheapest way


You sick :censor:er.


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## Omerov1986 (Feb 11, 2009)

timc20xe said:


> if the rats are just for your own snakes then just give them a wack round the head , its the quickest and cheapest way


like so? :bash::bash::bash::bash::bash::whistling2:


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## timc20xe (Feb 11, 2011)

SnakeKeeper17 said:


> You sick :censor:er.


 
what are you going on about ? one quick whack round the back of the head is a instant death for them


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## andy20146 (Feb 2, 2011)

pigglywiggly said:


> with the zapper wont they be slightly cooked? :blush:
> 
> i`d either either co2 them or cervical dislocation


well I'm not sure thats why I made the post and thought i'd ask to get peoples views on it. what I was thinking was I would make a "detention tub" (where they would be kept over night) and have it so a tunnel connects to the tub and they walk straight to in to the zapper. It made me think about the welfare of the rodents being as there wouldnt be much handling involved. thanks for everyones advice. appreciated.


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## giant snail (Oct 25, 2009)

where do you get one? no licence needed???


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## andy20146 (Feb 2, 2011)

giant snail said:


> where do you get one? no licence needed???


no you dont need a licence. electronic rat killers are widely available just go on amazon or ebay.


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## garlicpickle (Jan 16, 2009)

just search for rat zapper on ebay.

I've heard they are not very reliable, sometimes the rat won't die immediately or they get badly singed, which has got to be more painful than a quick smack of the head on a hard surface. I have never had a rat not be instantly killed by the swing/hit method and to my mind it's more humane than using a zapper which might not work properly.


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## pigglywiggly (Jul 19, 2008)

i`ve heard this too, i`ll stick with dislocation- its quick and definate.

if you dont want to do the wet work yourself, you`d be better with a rodent reaper.
for a few you can use a mix of white vinegar and bicarb to make the co2,
if you have a lot get a canister from halfords etc.


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## mrhoyo (Mar 29, 2007)

pigglywiggly said:


> i`ve heard this too, i`ll stick with dislocation- its quick and definate.
> 
> if you dont want to do the wet work yourself, you`d be better with a rodent reaper.
> for a few you can use a mix of white vinegar and bicarb to make the co2,
> if you have a lot get a canister from halfords etc.


To be totally humane you want the canister and regulator so you can first put them to sleep and increase the flow to kill them.

The OP's detention box doesn't sound like a great idea, you'll stress them out by putting them in another box for a long period, the zapper might not kill them instantly, they might cook or they might not go in the tunnel. Would you walk down a tunnel after seeing your family killed in it? 

Sent from my HTC Desire using Tapatalk


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## andy20146 (Feb 2, 2011)

mrhoyo said:


> To be totally humane you want the canister and regulator so you can first put them to sleep and increase the flow to kill them.
> 
> The OP's detention box doesn't sound like a great idea, you'll stress them out by putting them in another box for a long period, the zapper might not kill them instantly, they might cook or they might not go in the tunnel. Would you walk down a tunnel after seeing your family killed in it?
> 
> Sent from my HTC Desire using Tapatalk


the design I have in mind they wouldnt see each other die , the tunnel would be designed so they go in individually and when one does go in I block the path of the following rodent as the first one is euthanised. I wasnt to sure about the detention box idea, just a thought so I'd have all my rodents readyto kill the next day rather then picking out the ones that I wanted to cull but yeah I see your point, last thing I wanna do is stress them out more then is necessary hence the reason behind this idea was to increase the animal welfare behind the culling operation


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## mrhoyo (Mar 29, 2007)

Just do like everyone else and use CO2. The reason people use it is because it is humane, quick and doesn't require you to kill things with your bare hands.

Sent from my HTC Desire using Tapatalk


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## HABU (Mar 21, 2007)

a pencil is cheaper and better... just snap the necks...

personally i just catch my own mice at home... old fashioned mouse traps...

gotta keep the mice down anyway... why not use them for my snake eh?:2thumb:


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## andy20146 (Feb 2, 2011)

SnakeBreeder said:


> I have a rat zapper and things can smell a bit singed.
> I also stuck my hand in once, when it was off and still got a nasty shock from it, so watch yourself with these.


do you use your zapper for culling or just general pest control?


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## pigglywiggly (Jul 19, 2008)

HABU said:


> a pencil is cheaper and better... just snap the necks...
> 
> personally i just catch my own mice at home... old fashioned mouse traps...
> 
> gotta keep the mice down anyway... why not use them for my snake eh?:2thumb:


i broke all the pencils,
i`m using a screwdriver now :gasp: family wernt too impressed tho


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## andy20146 (Feb 2, 2011)

pigglywiggly said:


> i broke all the pencils,
> i`m using a screwdriver now :gasp: family wernt too impressed
> 
> not to impressed with the idea of dislocation to be honest.. think i'll stick with the c02 method. :whistling2:


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