How to make electronic rat traps

Removing rats from your home or office? Eliminating rodents with traps and poisons can often leave injured or dead animals within crawlspaces and walls. Even when the traps are successful, the removal of remains can be as daunting as dealing with a live animal face-to-face. If you are interested in exterminating rats from dwellings and you don't want to mess with injured or decomposed rodents, then learning how to make electronic rat traps can give you an option you haven't seen before.

Cut a 12-inch long base and three matching pieces for the walls and roof from the five-foot long 1-inch by 6-inch board. Cut two six-inch pieces from the remaining 1-by-6 board to be used as the entry and exit caps of the electronic trap. Cut the final wood pieces, which are two 10-inch pieces from the two-foot long 1-by-4 board that will become guide walls to move the rodent toward the back of the trap to be exterminated.

Build the inner walls of the electronic rat trap by securing the two 10-inch 1-by-4 wood rails laid on their side in a "V" formation with nails. At the closed end of the "V," have an opening with enough room for a large rodent to pass. The end of the board that has the closed end is the "exit," and at the open end of the V is the "entry."

Secure the High-Voltage Pulse Capacitor to the space on the base board nearest to the "exit" side of the "V" where the inner walls allow for the placement of this component. Use a cloth strip stapled to the trap floor to secure the capacitor in place. Repeat the process on the other side of the board by securing the (4) D Cell Batteries in the same manner. Keep all "+" and "-" ends together, which helps in the wiring of the electronic rat trap.

Staple wire leads that will do the exterminating to the inside of the inner walls. Run exposed wires from the exit end of the trap halfway up the rails toward the entry and then run the leads to the capacitor. Solder the circuit together by running wires from the batteries to the capacitor load leads. The best way to accomplish this is to solder short lead wires from each batter end to meet at a junction into one wire. Solder the exterminating leads to the capacitor output posts, and solder one of the power source leads to the capacitor's power source leads. You will use the unsecured power lead as the way you can start and stop using the trap. When not connected, the trap is safe after the final discharge has been completed and the power source has been disconnected.

Secure the outside walls and roof to the base board of the electronic rat trap. Cut a large opening in the form of a mouse hole in the 1"X4"X6" entry cap wood piece of the trap. Cut a similar, but smaller opening in the end cap as well. Secure the entry cap tightly with nails, but secure the exit so that it can be removed and reattached easily. You can use a small hinge to make this doorway the access to batteries and capacitor when finished.