What is the best bait for a snap rat trap? and for the bucket with water (bait will be skewered on

[Vicki B.]

Well I put dry cat food and a chunk of peanut butter in the bottom of a 50 gallon garbage can. I found rat poop, but no rat.They must've been on the edge on a piece of sheet metal screen I hung over the edge but they wouldn't jump in. My husband brought home a bag of Rat X looks like we will have to resort to lethal methods. Rat X is supposed to be non toxic to other species only kills rats . Not good reviews on the product but worth a try.

 

[Howard E]

For you rat trappers, this is something you might try.....and modify it by hanging a mini snicker's bar from a piece of string from the center of the lid so rat has to go to the edge of the plank to sniff it. Juuuusssst out of reach.

Amazing to me how many youtube channels there are devoted to trapping rats and mice.

Most promising seem to be these simple "walk the plank" types and the rollers. Both seem to need a tunnel to get them off the bucken/barrel rim so they can't reach in. They also like the seclusion and security of tunnels so will readily enter it.

Watch enough snap trap videos and all seem to have a problem in that the traps are too small for the rats. Bigger rats can reach a long way with his nose without hitting the trigger, or even if he does, when the snap bar comes down, his head and neck are not fully within the trap. They don't have to stick their neck out to get to the bait.

And watch enough videos of rat traps, rat killings with dogs, etc. and you quickly realize the futility of nabbing a few of them at a time if you are dealing with a massive infestation. I found out the same thing years ago when I tried to shoot flocks of starlings. I could get 20 a day, which seemed like a lot, until I realized the roost they were coming from held several hundred thousand of them.

Rat poison is about the only thing that is ever going to thin the herd enough to matter. But if poison isn't an option for you, then traps it is.

PS: If drowing rats isn't your thing, then put an ad on Craigslist for live rats. Perhaps some snake charmer in your area will buy them from you to feed the snakes? Turn them into a profit center!!!!

 

[Vicki B.]

I put out the Rat X last night and sprinkled the dust left in the feeder from the laying crumbles over the top of the pellets. They licked out every minute particle of chicken feed dust and left the pellets!I have a lot of cats, dogs hawks and owls around I am really fearful of secondary poisoning using normal rat poison.I like that dunk tank idea but I have a feeling my genius rats will figure it out.

 

[Chi-kan]

I have purchased two of these, they work, https://www.jefferspet.com/products/ratinator .The first night I used it in my chicken run I caught 15 rats. If you purchase one get back to me, there are a couple of tricks that make it work better and simple mods that must be done to make it function properly ( I actually posted the mod on the site I linked in the reviews). Over a three week period I caught 54 rats that I relocated about 5 miles away. Remember if you see two rats you have at least ten.

I put out the Rat X last night and sprinkled the dust left in the feeder from the laying crumbles over the top of the pellets. They licked out every minute particle of chicken feed dust and left the pellets!I have a lot of cats, dogs hawks and owls around I am really fearful of secondary poisoning using normal rat poison.I like that dunk tank idea but I have a feeling my genius rats will figure it out.

 

[Rugbygainz]

Bacon has never failed me over the years. If you have some extra time on ur hands buy an air rifle thats what i did. Actually had some fun in protecting my chickens and this way I was able to make sure I never accidentally trapped another species which has happened in the past...

 

[Birdinhand]

i'm going to try and make a Dunk The Rat Trap or buy one. I have kind of had it with the snap traps. the traditional victor rat traps are so intense to set, if one goes off in my hands it totally freaks me out, leaves me with my heart racing and ears ringing. the plastic alternative works pretty well, way easier to set but not as effective at killing the rats so I end up finding them still alive or just a paw left in the trap and I feel bad, that and the fact that I end up losing one or so a month and just get tired of replacing them. seems that the rats either can get away with the trap trailing them or a cat gets them, in either case I end up not finding the trap. as for poison, I just feel like it's not a long terms solution, in fact it's creating a selection pressure that is making the rats gradually more and more resistant to it and I just don't like the idea that i'm making the very thing I'm getting rid of stronger or possibly poisoning unintended wild life. I have a pretty bullet proof coop, so they don't get inside, but I do keep at it to keep the background population down as a preventative measure. so Dunk the rat trap is next on the list for a try.

 

[John123john]

I make a diy rat trap, and as for bait i use peanut butter.

 

[The Moonshiner]

I like to bait all my traps with rat poison.
That way they're effective.

 

[Blueeyez]

I have had the best luck using a little ball of those fruit by the foot snacks that kids eat! The strawberry flavor seem to work exceptionally well lol Very fragrant and super sticky, definitely caught more mice using these than anything else I've tried