Is There A Kind Way To Exterminate Rats?
Signs that you're sharing your home with rats are a sign that it's time to call in the exterminators. This might be your first reaction, and it's a valid one. There's no way to harmoniously live alongside rodents that may have made themselves at home in your walls and ceiling cavity. But although you want these vermin gone, never to return, you don't want them to suffer. Is there a kind way to permanently banish rodents from your home?
Impractical Options
The most humane way to get rid of rodents is the least practical—and it can be so impractical as to be impossible. The catch-and-release method involves specialized traps positioned at key locations throughout your home. These traps feature a central chamber with a self-closing door. The rat enters the chamber (attracted by the scent-based lure inside), and the door closes behind them. The live rat must then be collected and released at an appropriate location.
Complicated
Although this is the kindest option for the rat, it's logistically complicated. You have to purchase the traps yourself, regularly empty them (because leaving a rat inside will condemn it to starvation and dehydration), and then have to release the rat yourself. This release can be complicated, as there are issues of legality—whether you're permitted to release vermin into nearby nature. In any event, extermination means extermination—and although this is a decisive action, it doesn't have to be a cruel one.
Unpleasant Methods
Many exterminators use methods that you may find to be unkind, such as poison, or even gas. This is not a pleasant death for the animal. It's not instantaneous, and it can be painful. This circles back to your original argument that you want the animals (permanently) gone, but you don't want them to suffer. You may have to make a few inquiries, but you should find exterminators who are able to dispatch the rats quickly, cleanly, and without suffering.
Instant and Painless
Look for an exterminator who can set up a series of electric traps. These are compact and can be placed in tight spaces in your home where rat activity has been detected. These battery-powered traps feed voltage through plates on the base of the trap. The animal steps onto the base, having been lured by a small amount of food placed on the trap. The rat then makes contact with the electrified plates and receives a shock that immediately stops its heart. Death is instant and painless.
Even though the act of exterminating rats requires their elimination, it's possible to do so in a way that prevents the rats from suffering.