Hedge Hills

My husband found one swimming in our pool.  He couldn't catch it and the rat made it's way under our fence into the neighbor's yard.

Question about trap setting- what do you do with a rat once you catch one?

First, I hope you added some extra chlorine to your pool.   Rats can harbor diseases,  I would hate to think I was swimming where one had been.

I only use "kill" traps and I place the dead rat in a large plastic zip-lock type bag and then wrap that in a trash bag and dispose of it in the garbage can.  

I don't use live traps for the reason you asked,  "what do you do with a live rat ??"

Orange Zone neighbor

When I caught the rat in a live trap, I left it in the shed where it was caught until it died.  A friend who caught one had a barrel of water handy, dumped the rat in the barrel and closed the top until it was no longer with us.

I dont like rats anymore than anyone else but starvation/ drowning them seems cruel. 

Spend a few dollars over at Home Depot or Lowe's and buy the old time rat traps.

One "SNAP" and its over.  They are reliable and reusable.

I bait mine with peanut butter and rinse them in a bucket of bleach water each time I have to remove a dead rat.  Luckily I have not seen or caught any in the last week.