It seemed so wrong, but felt so right...

[Sprinkles]

It seems that it’s humane to hit a rodent in the back of the head so that it dies quickly and painlessly. I realize this is kinda the standard, but it’s something I don’t really want to do.

You're willing to bash a rat's face in but not to thump it on the back of the head? I'm not really understanding your logic on that one. I don't think anyone here is arguing that hitting a feeder on the head is humane; the point is it's not nearly as bad as smashing its face in or crushing its foot.