Rugged Ranch Ratinator Large Dual Door Live Rat & Mouse Trap Metal Cage

I saw this trap on one of the chicken facebook groups that i follow and found the link for this in the comments. The post i found it on caught waaay more than i did for their post but i dont care because i finally caught something in a trap! I'M THRILLED SO HERE'S MY REVIEW! 🥳🥳🥳 Ive been hearing these pests going about the undercarriage of my RV and have been being kept awake because i cant turn off my brain once i hear the skittering. Ive been finding nests in places like in my engine bay, generator compartment, and spare tire compartment, under my coop, ect. I dont have issues with rodents inside because i have cats but the cats only have inside and the catio i built them, so limited pest deterant there. (Also my family has one outdoor cat thats old and insists on being outside but still mouses so i cant poison, but i knew these rodents were too big for the old girl to catch) Glue traps sometimes worked but i figured that i must have had BIG and SMART ones remaining because they were triggering my Victor snap rat traps and either getting free or not getting caught. (They also weren't falling for other traps in my chicken coop so this is going in there next!) This trap recomends baiting it with the door stuck open for a little bit, to which i used a little bit of bent wire and i left the door a little loose, because i wanted to be sure the rats were fine with the door moving while they got used to the trap. I baited with wet cat food for the smell and appeal of it, splattering it on the edges and gate and left it for a few days. (I didnt mean to leave it for a few days but life happened and i was unwell enough i wasnt doing chores, but i could see the bait being messed with so i left it). I also made sure i barley touched the trap so that my scent wasnt on it much. (Besides the lil video i took when i got it because the pictures online make it a little hard to tell the shapes in the trap). Last night i baited with more wet cat food all over and took out the wire. To be honest, i forgot about checking the trap till well past noon but the little pests were still stuck within, something i worried about because the door just flops up and down from the weight of it, but the little tunnel keeps them from going straight back to the door. (Set on a flat surface to make sure the door works right). I took a video of the rats running around within but im only allowed to upload one vid per review apparently. It was sooooo easy to set up, the only thing id say to watch out for is to not clip the bait door over the handle you need to pick it up later with. I didnt realize i had done because it was dark when i rebaited the trap. (I could have opened the bait door to fix that without them escaping throughit because its enclosed but the critters were launching themselves around when i approached it so i opted not to, so that the entrance door didnt accidentally flop down) The tub that it comes with makes it easier to 'take care' of the pests with a deep 'bath' and the door to remove them worked well to take the tool grips i had and pulled them out. Make your life easier than i did and grab disposable gloves for this process before you start it. (Im not relocating a pest, esp not a smart one. I dont want it and so i dont want to drop it off somewhere to be someone elses problem, id hate if someone did that to me. They have caused me soooo much money in damages from wires to insulation and more.) When i recieved the trap i did notice and take pictures of some damage on one of the corners, like it had been dropped before being packaged, because the box was fine and so was the plastic tub it came within in the box. The damage did not effect usability, thankfully, since this wasnt cheap. Ill say it again, it wasnt cheap, BUT, it was WORTH IT. The size will limit small spaces i may want to use this in (like my generator bay or engine bay of my parked RV) but it will still fit easily under quite a few things like cars and cabinet edges, withing sheds and so on. Its also CHICKEN SAFE! I dont have to worry about triggering snap traps before letting my flock into their run or worry about my birds standing on it. And since im baiting with cat food i dont have to worry about if my birds eat the bait too. Or anything else for that matter, like you have to worry about with other poisons. If you've gotten this far into reading my review, thanks for your time and i hope this helps you decide how to get rid of your pest problem! Have a great day!

If you’re on a farm or have a rat problem this trap is the real deal. I bought due to several videos I watched and would willingly buy again if I had to. The thing doesn’t allow the rats to get to the bait. So once one goes in others get curious and follows behind. I’ve caught 17 at one time. My brother borrowed it and ended up catching 22 total in two days. The plastic pan is to hold water so that you can safely dispatch the rats for those that would rather go the way of live release the plastic pan also keeps the rats from tearing into other things.

If you have a rat problem this is your answer. It’s worth every penny! I seldom give anything 5 Stars. I’ve spent much more than the cost of this trap in the past trying to trap/kill rats in my chicken coop. It works better than anything I’ve bought. They get immune to rat poison and if you have other animals it can be dangerously. Follow the directions, wire it open until the rats get use to it (about 3 or 4 days), bait it with good stuff you know they’re eating. Bait the outside around the trap door. I’ve caught 6 total to date, 3 at one time. It seems like as soon as you get rid of one bunch the next bunch moves in. There are videos on YouTube.

This newer version does not work nearly as well as the model from years back. I have been using the Ratinator for years to GREAT success but my rectangular water bucket eventually cracked, the old trap was getting rusty and the trap door clips were starting to weaken -so I splurged on a new Ratinator. What a dang disappointment! I have only caught one rat near my chicken coops with this new Ratinator trap after two months. The rats easily go in and out of the trap without any hesitation. The trap door rests in a way that there is a visible escape route. This trap actually increases the population by tricking you into feeding freely, then allowing them to easily exit and procreate, then come back for a delightful after dinner. It’s quite frustrating because this trap is pricey and the original versions worked great! The original (older) Ratinator traps were worth every penny. I’m going back to my rusty old Ratinator trap to fix the clips, wishing I would have saved the packaging box for this trap so that I could return it. I do NOT recommend this trap until they remedy the situation and list a revised model. This one looks super nice, but is essentially a feeding station equivalent to a Rat Fast Food Station -in & out for a meal lickety splits! Do yourselves a favor, and seek a used older variation of the Ratinator, or look for a new go to trap. This was a waste of money, time, and feed. But the Rats absolutely LOVE IT 😍 and hope that it sticks around.

I chose this trap partly because I had tried every other method and trap, with only occasional success. I did see positive reviews of this before purchase and fortunately they turned out to be true in my use case. ​Functionality:​ Why did you pick this product vs others?: I have tried practically every method there is to trap rats. This Ratinator is the only way that has worked consistently. I have caught dozens of rats in my back yard with this trap. Sometimes just one at a time, and on the best days up to three or four or five in a single night. I just bait it with the rats normal diet which in my backyard is the birdseed that falls out of our bird feeders. Some rats do seem to be smart enough to avoid the trap, but unlike every other trap that I have used, these are the exceptions and not the most common outcome. After using the trap consistently in my small backyard for a while I will have caught most of the rats and gradually the remainder seem to learn the danger and stay away. At that point I wire up the trap door so that it cannot close and use the trap as a rat feeder for a week or so with the door wired open so that I can get the rats accustomed to entering it again. I then remove the wire I used to hold the trap door locked open and let it begin trapping again. Rats are definitely smart foragers. Ease of use: The trap is super easy to use. Easy to bait. Easy to remove the rats after they have been caught. Easy to hose off and clean. Build quality: Build quality is fine. The construction is solid, and there are no gaps that even juvenile rats can use to escape. Durability: Durability is great. It has held up to all weather and the finish has held up fine. In other words the paint is still protecting the metal from rusting. I live in Southern California so that is more mild conditions than many live with, but nevertheless if has held up very well. The trap door still pivots freely. The doors that are secured with springs still work as they should. Safety: Part of the reason I was willing to try this trap is that it is safe to use around my dog and cat. No worries about them getting injured in any way by the trap. I judged it safe around the other wildlife that comes into my yard such as birds and raccoons and opossums and coyotes.

We Caught 14 the 1st night and I thought we only had about 6 or 7, that is how great it works, and we have caught alot more since. Just sprinkle some dog food, or mini milk bones in the entry and inside the cage and they go right in. I think it would have taken ages to catch as many as we have by other traps, and even though poison might have, most poisons today are designed to make them go look for water, not realizing that the easiest source of water is a dog bowl or surprise in your toilet. Two words, "unlocatable smell." Anyway, after saying it is a success, there are 3 issues. 1st is a design flaw, the wires are spread too wide apart in one direction and young rats, mice sized and bigger, can squeeze right out. I also bought a single trap live cage and caught a baby in it. I put it in this cage to keep that one going, and to my surprise, it just seemed to run right through and out the back. I thought, wait, is there a hole in it, but on doing that with a 2nd little mouse sized one, I watched as it squeezed right out. If I cant catch the little ones, then I still have an infestation. 2nd issue, it should have a solid bottom. We have carpet, and not only did they make a mess, but they destroyed the carpet under the cage, especially at the corners. If you have carpet, find a board to sit it on that sticks out beyond it at least an inch. Now for the 3rd issue there is probably not much that can be done. Some of the rats are getting very smart about opening its door. I caught a large one in the single trap and put it in this one. It ran to the back, acted like it realized where it was, then immediately ran to the door, grabbed hold of it, and started to open it. I hadn't yet taken the single cage away, and it made about 4 trips back and forth into each cage, opening the door in less than a second. I had to call to my dad to get a bread tie or wire so I could tie the end of the door down so the rat couldn't open it. And, today, the cage was completely cleaned out of food, but no rat in it. Dang smart rats. Here is a tip: I also got a pet water bottle and keep it in the middle where the food is supposed to go. I don't use that for food anymore, but instead just sprinkle it around the inside of the cage. I do recommend this, but it would be better with these changes, and keep bread ties or some kind of small wire handy for locking the door up, especially for transport.

This thing is awesome. As long as you use it right? I can only deal with them on the weekends so I let them eat out of it all week long with a door zip tied open then's Friday night. I clipped the zip tie since they're now comfortable eating inside and Saturday morning I get rid of the rats inside works like a charm. Usually get about 10 to 12 rats every Saturday. Numbers are starting to drop finally.. Just fill the black tub it comes with water drop the cage in.. then empty dead rats out of cage. Dump out water. Refill it. Dawn dish soap in let it soak. Leave it in the sun for a couple hours, then start the process over again. Do not use bleach. They can smell it and won't go in. Been using chicken food and a little stick with peanut butter on it in the middle

**Update: lowered to three stars bwcshee rhe rats learned how to get In and out after a couple of weeks. The door needs a weight or spring-activated version that makes it more difficult. It’s pretty easy for them to just pull the door down and get or or rush a rat coming in and all get out. The death toll is into the 40s though so it’s still a decent trap for as long as it works. I’ve just had to modify it a lot. I added a spring to the door which worked a little bit. Now I’m going to move it and retrain the rats by leaving it open again** Researched a lot of styles of traps. The important qualities for me were: as humane as possible, ability to catch more than 1 rat per setting, only affects the rats/safe for other animals on our property (domestic and wild), as cheap as possible. This trap is definitely the best possible combination of those things. I trained the rats to go to one spot for a couple of weeks before using it because I want to get a lot of them. I used another carabiner to hold the door open and fed them in the trap. I don’t think the bait area is necessary. I spread the food outside the bait area where they can actually eat it. I wanted them going in reliably and eating for a few days first. Then I caught 10 rats in less than 12 hrs the first time I set it. It comes with the drowning tub. They died within 30 seconds or less and no poisons, dangerous/gory traps, had to be used. Emptying it wasn’t not nearly as traumatizing as emptying the snap traps. So, for all those reasons, it gets a high rating. The reasons for not getting five stars are: 1. The trap doors might need to be reinforced to ensure the rats can’t force their way out once in. (I used small carabiners) 2. The rats might be able to bail themselves out if they have enough time to figure out how to pull down the repeating door or rush a rat that’s entering the trap. They likely will not go in again if they manage to escape. 3. The bottom is wire with big enough bars that the rats can dig under it and eat the food without going in the trap. (We put a board under it) 4. The drowning tub is a little small -I had to fill it all the way and still had to squish the trap down a little to finish the job. 5. Emptying the trap after is somewhat awkward but still not too bad compared to the snap traps. It’s a good trap but I think the price is a little high overall. Ultimately, it’s just a wire box with a weighted wire door. And I had to buy carabiners to reinforce it… I would’ve liked to be able to get two traps and 1 tub for about this price and that would feel just right.

If I could give it 1000 stars I would. It’s so rare for something to do exactly what it’s advertised to do, to the letter. Had massive rat problem in and around chicken coop. So many, it was drawing in foxes and feral cats, but with no success as the rats would hide in the coop. Tried bucket traps etc, but nothing worked. Took a shot on this and did as instructed. Tied the trap door open for a few days and baited with some cattle grain. Cut the string and by that evening, one or two were caught. By the next day, 17 were in the trap. Dunked and discarded them for the critters. Super easy to use and to clean out, which I had been worried about, given how small the exit hatch is. Not a problem at all. One tip I saw online was to place the trap on a board, so that they couldn’t tunnel under to eat the bait. Did that from the start. It 100% works. There’s so many BS claims about diff traps on the market, but this one is for real. I know it’s expensive, I had a hard time with the price too, but it’s going to last through my grandkid’s lifetimes and is built really well. If you have a rat problem, this is the solution. Any cheaper thing you buy is just going to be a waste of the money you could have spent on this. UPDATE: put the empty trap back in the chicken coop, in the same spot. Went out today to put some bait in, and it was already full of rats again. At least another 15.. with no bait! Greatest rat trap of all time. Feels like I should buy a pet python or something now since feeding it would be free.

I'd probably rate this item a 3.5/5 but I rounded it up to a 4. I highly regret not watching some YouTube videos for the modifications beforehand as the giant rat that I've been trying to catch for months escaped easily from the back latch. I fed it for a few days to let it get comfortable and finally set the trap. It just rammed through the back door and out it went the first night. Then the second night, it just waltzed out the way it came in after eating all the food inside. It has flaws right out of the box! So there is a video on YouTube that explains adding a mesh panel under the entrance. I did that and caught 2 medium sized rats. The large rat is too smart and won't even go near it now nor the previous traps. At this rate, I may just need to get the electric rat traps. Modifications you need to do: 1. Tie up the back door with zipties or wires 2. Add a mesh lever under the main entrance 3. Elevate the front(entrance) slightly so the door will close properly. 4. Don't buy this and stick to snap traps/electric rat traps Although this trap focuses on humane trapping, the black box that it comes with fits the cage perfectly and that means the cage can be submerged perfectly into the water. Take the rats for a once in a lifetime diving session.

Worth the money! I questioned it at first, but I’ve already been able to catch 20 rodents in my chicken coop!

Caught squat