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

[JenBirdRansom]

I have a family of Norway Rats that come visiting every night. I bring in all the food at night (fun with 4 coops) but I know they are still trolling. I have caught one with a snap trap but now the other won't take the bain again. I've tried and the good baits and I think they know that one of their own was whamboozled.

What else can I do? I can't shoot it because I'm too residential and I seriously don't want to wait for that thing. I have 2 small kids and when the baby sleeps, I sleep.

Ideas?

 

[DinosRBirds]

I think( not from experience since i don't have one) that a carton with a hole in itand a snap trap with bacon as bait inside would work the best.

 

[nanaimochick]

I was so excited when I caught that rat, and then I saw another one by my hot tub yesterday... they are so big and healthy. There is a bird feeder there - sorry birds, no more food. I have set 2 traps and a bucket with corn and dog food floating around just below a nice ledge where they can access the bucket. I'm going to use poison if this doesn't work and just keep all pets locked up for a while.

I like the idea of putting the bait under the trap pad, very smart! I wonder if it would be better to put some sand / soil over the trap to hide it a bit?

Wish me luck!!

 

[HeatherLynn]

For rats or mice we use chocolate. I use little metal bowls or deep lids we happened to have laying around. I pour in a nice portion of chocolate chips. For rats we actually use the useless small trap that the farm store sells with the bigger ones. We thought they were junk until one of the kids had the idea of baiting it and sliding it under the rabbit cage where he saw a huge hole. They keep coming back too. Tonight we got lucky. We lost a bird last night to a bigger predator so we were out resetting traps and trying to catch the bugger. When I saw the rat across the coop I told him to shoot. A 22 makes nice work of a big rat, and in a confined space it was quieter than I thought it would be. I keep all the food locked up but that hasn't helped with the rat issue. We seem to have to set traps constantly just to stay on top of pests and predators.

 

[groundpecker]

Peanut butter. I have not seen a mouse or rat in a couple years thanks to my cats and snakes around the house.

 

[Bullitt]

What about a dog to keep away big predators like foxes and coyotes, and a cat or two to take care of the mice and rats?

My grandparents had a manx cat that caught mice, rats, gophers, and other small animals. They also had a Queensland Heeler that kept watch over the chickens.

This may not be the solution for everyone, but for those living in the country, a good dog and a cat roaming over the property can help a lot with pest control.

 

[nanaimochick]

What about a dog to keep away big predators like foxes and coyotes, and a cat or two to take care of the mice and rats?

My grandparents had a manx cat that caught mice, rats, gophers, and other small animals. They also had a Queensland Heeler that kept watch over the chickens.

This may not be the solution for everyone, but for those living in the country, a good dog and a cat roaming over the property can help a lot with pest control.

My dog is about the size of the rats (toy poodle) and we have allergies so cats are definately not an option. Have just caught #2! He was going after the roast beef fat... hoping for more results this morning.

 

[nanaimochick]

For rats or mice we use chocolate. I use little metal bowls or deep lids we happened to have laying around. I pour in a nice portion of chocolate chips.

OK, that's a new one!! Gonna try that tonight! Thanks.

 

[HeatherLynn]

We sorta got pushed into the chocolate part. The little mice has chewed through the foam insulation on the house and found a way in. They managed to chew up and nibble on 4 bags of chocolate chips. I figure they liked it enough to tick me off, they could like enough to spring a trap. Works pretty dang well too. Even caught a possum with chocolate, purely accidental. The possum trap was baited with fish, the rat one with chocolate. Instead we got a cat in the fish one and a possum in the chocolate. The kitty cat went free and the possum didn't.

 

[nanaimochick]

We sorta got pushed into the chocolate part. The little mice has chewed through the foam insulation on the house and found a way in. They managed to chew up and nibble on 4 bags of chocolate chips. I figure they liked it enough to tick me off, they could like enough to spring a trap. Works pretty dang well too. Even caught a possum with chocolate, purely accidental. The possum trap was baited with fish, the rat one with chocolate. Instead we got a cat in the fish one and a possum in the chocolate. The kitty cat went free and the possum didn't.

I forgot to buy the chocolate but I did buy peanut butter and will try that tonight. My daughter says it's almost as fun as fishing I thought that was pretty funny.