I have no experience of them, but there are electric traps that are supposed to kill them humanely. At least that’s how their maker, Victor, markets them. Not too expensive, so perhaps worth a try?
I’ve seen this on 'tinternet. Problem I see is it’s a case of checking it everyday with only one ‘sorted’ each time. Plus indoor use only.
You must have seen a different one.
Just looked it up, it’s called " Victor® Zapper Max Outdoor Electronic Rat Trap"
Outdoor use, safe for pets (I guess not pet rats) and children, and can catch/kill up to two at a time.
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I didn’t know there was an outdoor version 
I spoke to a pest control guy only recently, due to our small community of Barn conversions having a problem with rats. He is an old-ish guy who has been doing it for years and is not expensive.
His advice is that Rats will always appear if there are sources of food available. (almost irrespective of how many you kill.) Food waste on compost heaps and Bird Feeders are nearly always the main culprits, even the bits dropped by the birds at the base of the feeders. A lot of people will not give up their bird feeders.
He was also reluctant to introduce poisons into the environment, although he would if we insisted.
We haven’t decided what to do yet.
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I have read somewhere that cats don’t (generally, at least) tackle rats, which are too large and dangerous for them.
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Rats are extremely difficult to shoot with something like an air rifle. They move quickly and unpredictably. And, of course, they do not provide a very large target.
Maybe I’m just a good shot 
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Possibly. Though if they are occupied with feeding then they may stay still enough for long enough. It isn’t so much the accuracy of the shot that is the problem, but that they are fast and skittish, and tend not to stay in one spot for long.
For the most comprehensive info on this topic do a Google search for “UFAW guiding principles in the humane control of rats and mice”.
Should throw up a pdf that if followed will ensure compliance with all legislation.
Think we owe all living things the right to be killed quickly and without unnecessary pain.
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I have contacted a local pest control expert and they will be arriving shortly. See what they say and cost.
My late father used to trap grey squirrels in a cage and then drown them; must have caught over 100!
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F.A.O. Innocent Bystander
The relevant legislation is The Wild Mammals (Protection) Act 1996
This Act makes it an offense for any person to mutilate, kick, beat, nail or otherwise impale, stab, burn, stone, crush, drown, drag or asphyxiate any wild mammal with intent to inflict unnecessary suffering.
Exemptions apply when:
- the attempted killing of any such wild mammal as an act of mercy if he shows that the mammal had been so seriously disabled otherwise than by his unlawful act that there was no reasonable chance of its recovering;
- the killing in a reasonably swift and humane manner of any such wild mammal if he shows that the wild mammal had been injured or taken in the course of either lawful shooting, hunting, coursing or pest control activity;
- doing anything which is authorised by or under any enactment;
- any act made unlawful by section 1 if the act was done by means of any snare, trap, dog, or bird lawfully used for the purpose of killing or taking any wild mammal; or
- the lawful use of any poisonous or noxious substance on any wild mammal.
A “wild mammal” means any mammal which is not a domestic or captive animal.
A person guilty of an offence under this Act shall be liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding level 5 on the standard scale, or a term of imprisonment not exceeding six months, or both. Additionally, provided that where the offence was committed in respect of more than one wild mammal, the maximum fine which may be imposed shall be determined as if the person had been convicted of a separate offence in respect of each such wild mammal.
Like you, I have an air rifle and I am licensed to use it for vermin control (in Scotland). I also have concerns about taking a safe shot at a wriggling rat in a box.
Unfortunately, I saw a rat in my garden last summer and decided to kill it with a spring loaded trap rather than shoot it. When I checked the trap the following morning it contained a rat’s tail and a leg which was avulsed at the hip joint.I don’t know whether the rat gnawed these parts off itself or the body was taken by a stoat or fox. Both shooting and trapping are problematic and potentially inhumane. Perhaps vermin control is best left to the professionals.
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I shall read further on this, but the final clause may be significant. In any action I take to dispatch rats it is certainly not with intent to inflict unnecessary suffering, rather it is with the intent of swiftest death within my means. I shall have to check the law specifically in relation to where I live, but this is a pointer as much of our legislation is very similar to uk.
(N.B. It is not I who has an air rifle - though I do have a bow and arrows.)
I don’t understand why anyone needs to investigate that, your own conscience should tell you it’s not ok.
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it is amazing how many people’s conciences do not, sadly.
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Makes my blood boil, the lack of empathy is a worry.
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I believe The Wild Mammals Protection Act 1996 appertained to the entire U.K. but was amended in Scotland to include cruelty issues in fox hunting in 2002
I think The Act provides enough guidance for what is unacceptable behaviour as well as it’s illegality.
If you can’t treat an animal humanely then get a professional to act for you. We all spend a fortune on audio equipment so why grudge a few pounds for proper vermin control.
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For a lot of such people that lack of empathy extends to more than just animals.
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If you were referring to my post, I hoped it was clear that I in no way want to cause suffering to an animal, but I do want to remove rats from where they are a thorough pest and if left unchecked will only get worse. I want to kill them as swiftly and painlessly as possible - and I don’t believe that poisoning with legal rodenticides that cause a slow death taking several days is more humane than a swift dispatch after trapping. Ditto shooting with an airgun and possibly not causing instant death. Ditto use of cats (or snakes!). What I want to investigate is whether the law indeed bans killing in particular ways, as first was indicated by @TheDuckofEdinburgh, though the detail he/she then provided appeared not to be about pest destruction but deliberate cruelty. I want to use a means that is as swift and least distressing to the animal as possible within my power to do, but would prefer not to be breaking the law in so doing.
As for professional services, where I live it I understand from others that it can be many weeks before someone comes unless a matter of direct health threat, they use rodenticde poisons - and commonly need to be called out several times a year for repeat treatment.
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