How to Use Your T-Rex Rat Trap
Got your T-Rex trap and wooden tunnel? Here’s how to get the best from it.
A well-placed, regularly checked trap helps reduce rats around your property and protect local wildlife. Always use the trap inside its protective wooden tunnel.
Need a trap and tunnel? Tamahere residents can buy a T-Rex trap + locally made wooden tunnel for $25.
See how to buy and collect →
Step 1: Choose a Good Location
Rats usually travel along sheltered edges rather than across open ground.
Good places for your tunnel include:
on flat, stable ground so it doesn’t wobble
tight against a wall, fence, hedge or building edge
near compost bins, chicken coops, woodpiles or fruit trees
anywhere you’ve seen droppings, gnawing or other rat activity
Tip: If you haven’t caught anything after 3–4 weeks, move the tunnel a few metres and try another likely route.
A rat tunnel beside a garden shed—an ideal location for rats looking for food or shelter.
Step 2: Bait and Set the Trap
Open the mesh door at the back of the wooden tunnel and slide the T-Rex trap out.
Place a small, pea-sized blob of bait directly onto the round bait tray inside the open jaws. Use a stick or butter knife to keep your fingers clear.
Slide the unset trap back into the wooden tunnel, facing the front entrance.
Once it is safely inside the tunnel, press down firmly on the rear lever until the trap clicks into the set position.
Close and secure the mesh tunnel door.
Best baits to use: Peanut butter, Nutella, or mayonnaise.
Avoid: Meat or cheese, as they rot too quickly in Waikato humidity.
Tip: Use only a tiny amount. Too much bait makes it easier for mice or slugs to steal it without triggering the trap.
Step 3: Check Your Trap Regularly
Check the trap every few days at first, then at least once a week.
Remove any catches.
Refresh the bait if it looks stale, mouldy, or has been eaten by slugs.
Clear any grass or leaves blocking the tunnel entrance.
Step 4: Deal with a Catch
Put on a pair of gloves.
Open the back mesh door and pull the trap out.
Squeeze the rear lever over a rubbish bin to release the rat without touching it.
Bury the carcass, or wrap it in a paper bag and place it in your household rubbish.
Wash your hands thoroughly.
A young PFT volunteer checking a successful T-Rex trap in a local gully.
Step 5: Help Us See the Wider Picture
Already using Trap.NZ? Join our project so your trap locations and catches contribute to the wider Tamahere picture. Join our Trap.NZ Project
Not using Trap.NZ? That’s fine — you can still trap independently.
Need help? Contact Us or ask in our Facebook Group.
Image Credits: PFT volunteers
