Rats are a little different than mice. The pail trick will work on mice but rats........ not really.   Rats need three things. Food, a home and a mate. Get rid of just one of these will drop your population.   So, first off. Clean up your yard. If it's not your yard, then possibly a neighbour needs to clean theirs. Get rid of their food source. Do you live near a garbage shed, restaurant that has a grease bin? Or something like that?   Try to locate their denning ar