Most important!
Will your neighbors see you running around the yard with this “ASAULT WEAPON”?
I kid you not!
If neighbors can see you, use a trap or rodent kill.
You don’t want your rodent problem bringing “nuts” to your door.
Good point. If you live in a town or a subdivision, the best way is to shoot from indoors. I used to kill rats in my neighbor’s trash pile that way. The SOB denied that he (and therefore I) had a rat problem so I took matters into my own hands. I’d just open a window and fire from inside a dark room without exposing the gun barrel. No one ever caught on. I imagine that he wondered about all the dead rats that he started finding, but I never jeopardized my position by asking.