Spring trap, with peanut butter bait.
http://lawn-and-garden.aubuchonhard...e_and_gopher_traps/victor_rat_trap-769851.asp
Take a small gob of the peanut butter, tightly wrap it in several layers of plastic wrap, and wire the packet to the trigger with a twist tie. Then poke some small holes with a fork tine or similar so the critter can smell the bait. This way, he can't just lick off the peanut butter without setting off the trap, he really has to tear into it.
I had one rat that licked the peanut butter off several days straight before someone told me this trick. Rats are sharper than mice, it can take a few days before one ventures to take the bait.
Poison--maybe bad for pets and what if the animal holes up somewhere where you can't find it and odiferously rots? Mice might dry up to little mummies, but not a good sized rat.
Sticky paper--God help you it it gets flipped over and sticks someplace you don't want it. One place I rented had a piece of the stuff permanently affixed to the stove. Not a clean kill either, the animals do things like dislocate joints and stuff before someone comes along to finish them off. And a rat might manage to flip the thing over with him stuck to the paper. Last thing I need before my morning coffee is finding a live rat laminated somewhere.
Spring trap is usually instant death. Though in one case, I did find myself chasing around a rat in the wee AM wielding a spanner. The trap had just caught the end of his nose, dragging it around slowed him down some, but not as much as you might expect. In such a case it is probably a good idea to stop and put some sort of shoes on, even if one doesn't mind doing battle with the rat clad in whatever passes for nightclothes.
http://lawn-and-garden.aubuchonhard...e_and_gopher_traps/victor_rat_trap-769851.asp
Good hunting or trapping.