I would use a havaheart trap because I wouldn't smash my fingers and I could put a big piece of cantaloupe in it. I suppose submerging the trap in the creek for a while would take care of the rat. I'd rather it be faster but I don't have a firearm and if I turned it loose for the dogs to kill that would be kind of bizarre. I did see a trap with a battery setup to shock them, but I'm afraid I'd knock off my lizards or birds. This rat is about the volume of a tennis ball.

I've been out to put cages under some of the long branches of my tomato plants - the cages are too tall to prop them on top of but if I lay them on their sides it at least keeps them a few inches off of the ground. Lots of tomatoes under the vines.

SRS