There are many ways to kill a rat

Yesterday I walked into the kitchen just in time to see a rat scurrying into a little hole at the bottom of the cupboard. I hate rats. I've hated them since I was 5 and I had a story teller book and tape about the Pied Piper of Hamlin. The pictures were dark and frightening and the storyteller had a goosebump inspiring voice when he spoke about the rats coming into the kitchens at night and their tails "trailing through the butter". There is no doubt we have to get rid of it but the question is how. All of the ways I can think of are fraught with disadvantages:

1. Rattex (also the name of my brother's pet rat which I loathed): At first glance, Rattex seems to be the least messy option especially if you go by the advice of the handyman that used to attend to my digs in Rhodes. He told me that Rattex causes the rat to dehydrate and so it goes outside to look for water and dies outside. I don't know if he was trying to sugar coat the whole experience for me but I found out last night that Rattex causes the rat to internally bleed to death for up to two days. Often it doesn't make it outside as was the case with a friend of mine who eventually traced a curious stench in his house to his roof where one of the afore mentioned rats lay gently rotting
2. Traditional mouse trap: The traditional mouse trap is also an option but it sometimes doesn't kill the rat in which case you have to do it yourself when you come upon it before you've even had a chance to have your morning tea. And then you still have to pick it up and throw it away SHUDDER
3. The new "more humane" glue trap: These days you can get a trap that is covered in glue. When the rat walks over it becomes stuck fast but it doesn't hurt it. I'm not convinced that this is more humane. In digs last year to get rid of a similar problem, Rob used this trap. He came in in the morning to find a rat that had been struggling to unstick itself the whole night but was still alive. He then had to kill it. I know that I couldn't do that.
4. Doing nothing: The last option is to convince yourself that if you don't do anything it might go away by itself. That's all good and well but then you never know if there are tracing of rat dropping on your kitchen counters or whether you're going to feel something small and furry scuttle over your feet at any time.
   

And then what if there are more than 1? Are rats solitary animals or do they hang out in packs? Do you set a number of traps? Do you reuse them each night?

Someone help!