A trap that only injures a rat rather than dispatching it is worse than no trap at all, which is why the size and sensitivity of the treadle matters more than anything else about a snap trap.

Pest Stop build this one on the same treadle design as their best-selling Little Nipper mouse trap, but scaled up onto a wooden base with an extra-large treadle sized for rats rather than mice. Bait sits on the treadle; the rat has to touch it to reach the bait, and that touch is enough to trigger the trap.

• Wooden construction
• 111mm (H) x 175mm (W) x 70mm (D)
• Extra-large, sensitive treadle sized for rats
• Single trap per pack
• Described by the maker as quick and humane

On setting it up. Pest Stop don't give us any guidance on bait choice or where to position the trap, so that part is down to your own judgement or the instructions in the box. It's also sold as a single trap, and one trap rarely clears an established rat problem on its own.

Who it's for: anyone dealing with rats in a shed, garage or garden who wants a mechanical trap rather than poison, and understands one trap is a starting point, not the whole solution.