# Making rat bait more tasty?



## darsunt (Dec 29, 2006)

Our contractor has been using some of that blue rat bait. The problem is only some of the bait is being eaten. In the bait box under our trash bin there are rat droppings but the bait is untouched. Our contractor put in fresh bait and said that would fix things.

Is there bait that rats like more than others? And is there a way to make the bait more palatable if the rats are slow to eat it?


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## Handy Vinny (Jun 18, 2010)

darsunt said:


> Is there bait that rats like more than others? And is there a way to make the bait more palatable if the rats are slow to eat it?


Conventional wisdom would have us use cheese; however, this could very easily be a long-standing myth, as well.


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## ajtool (May 30, 2010)

I heard peanut butter works pretty good


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## PAbugman (Jun 29, 2010)

Today's rodenticides will have a lethal effect after one good feeding, although it could take 1-3 days for the rodent to die. It's better to have bait left over (means you put out enough) than not to have enough out-may not be enough to kill the rats if there are many. 

Rats are also "neophobic" meaning fear of new things. Give them time to get used to the bait. Also, make sure that whoever handles the bait does not have gasoline, oil, fuel or chemical smells on their hands. Will cause bait shyness.

What is the active ingredient? What is the formulation, meaning: meal, pellets, solid block, etc.?

Don't try to make it more palatable, you will probably contaminate it with moisture, oil, etc. If they won't eat it, meaning that you still have rats that are not dying, then try a different formulation. Also, find their current food source and try to remove it, or make it harder to get to. You may have a competing food source.

Keep us posted.


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## Tom Struble (Dec 29, 2008)

i think its quite tasty just the way it is:thumbsup:


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## H. A. S. (Aug 18, 2010)

ajtool said:


> I heard peanut butter works pretty good



Rodents can't resist the ol PB trick.

Rats are also cannibals, shooting rats in a barn..most rats would drag, kill and eat the ones that were shot.:yes::thumbup:


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## darsunt (Dec 29, 2006)

I think the exterminating tech is using stuff with bromadiolone, an anticoagulant.

I guess there is no way to make the stuff more attractive to the rats. There are fruit trees on the neighbor's property, perhaps they find that stuff more tasty. Hopefully in fall and winter they'll eat more bait.

At least they ate some. There does seem to be fewer rats around


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## PAbugman (Jun 29, 2010)

Bromodialone is a very good anti-coag; We use a lot of it, as does the pest control industry. It works, as long as they eat it. If the rats are living/eating at the neighbors property and fruit trees, then you may not kill all of them, but as they get used to the bait and stations they will continue to eat, especially when the fruit is gone and competing foodsource is minimal.

Rats are used to human scent and presence; that's why they are called commensal rodents. But chemical smells and adulterating the bait will keep them away. Also, make sure the bait is fresh. Make sure the tech changes it everytime they service, even if it "looks" ok. No need to clean out the bait station as rodents are comfortable with rodent odors, leaf litter, cobwebs, etc. To clean, and you get the "neophobia". If water gets inside and is stagnant, or a rodent dies in there, then a rinse of water and sun drying would be a good idea.


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## jackofmany (Aug 24, 2010)

Wow - lots of good advice from pros and such on this thread. And of course there's the wise crack from tom. Anyhow. Had some experience long ago and would add that rats definately go for dog feces. So there's another food source you might watch out for. Also, my first altercation with a rat was in 79 when i saw one standing up VERY TALL to reach into a bag of dogfood that was accessable. It wasn't the least bit afraid of me till i went after it with a meat cleaver. True story.


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## epson (Jul 28, 2010)

Peanut butter is the most popular and effective bait for rats and mice. It's aromatic, tasty and sticks to the trigger of the trap. 

​


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## PAbugman (Jun 29, 2010)

Wow, Jack , I didn't know about the dog feces potential. Makes sense, probably protein based! Will file that in my memory bank for future use. 

epson-pnut butter is good on rat traps. As far as mice go, I've had a lot of people ask me how to bait mouse traps as they experience mice licking the pnut butter off but not setting the trap off. I suspect that mouse traps may not be manufactured sensitive enough. I tell them to tie a piece of cotton onto the trigger, using dental floss, sewing thread, etc. and smear pnut butter onto the cotton. When they lick it, they get very little. Eventually they bite into the cotton and tug on it. Their little rear end belongs to the trapper, now.

Another terrific bait for rat traps is bacon-the aroma lures them in and counters their neophobia to a degree. Tie it on, also. If you use it outside, hide or cover the trap from non-target animals.


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## epson (Jul 28, 2010)

PAbugman I have put peanut in a cheese cloth and made a ball tied it on the trap and BAM! The little bugger has an eye popper.


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## jackofmany (Aug 24, 2010)

Another thing about Rat traps - as I learned (in PA btw ) rats can also carry off the trap if it snaps and doesn't break their stinking little necks. So - if inside - I secure the trap to a small screw by a thin piece of line. Thin wire or fishing leader. They can chew through thread quite easily. Also - if you are ever in a situation where you hear a trap snap, go right away and check it. Not merely to see the little %@&*$@ suffer, but to kill it so it doesn't gnaw off a limb or something and get away. Sure it'll die if it does - being hemophiliac it'll bleed to death. Rats bruise and bleed alot like humans with Hemophelia A. You sure don't want a dead rat to hole up somewhere. 

I had a few older patients over the years who were on coumadin and when they were getting their meds they'd say something like -"Here he comes with my rat poison" they knew coumadin was warfarin.


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## PAbugman (Jun 29, 2010)

More great ideas, epson and jack. Will remember them. 

Fascinating info about rats bleeding like hemophiliacs-could that be why such small percentages (.005% and .0025% active ingredients) are so effective in todays rodenticides?

Some years ago I worked on a haz-mat team, cleaning up warehouse and shipping accidents mostly. One training manual was titled "The Dose Makes the Poison". Your analogy of medicine and poison reminded me of that manual.


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## nap (Dec 4, 2007)

PAbugman said:


> I suspect that mouse traps may not be manufactured sensitive enough. I tell them to tie a piece of cotton onto the trigger, using dental floss, sewing thread, etc. and smear pnut butter onto the cotton. When they lick it, they get very little. Eventually they bite into the cotton and tug on it. Their little rear end belongs to the trapper, now.
> .


I use Victor traps with the metal bait tab. I take a piece of posterboard weight paper and make a little tube with the ends of the wrap pointing outward. (basically a piece folded over but the fold made open like a tube). I then place the tab into the toothed section of the bait tab and use pliers to pinch it onto the poster board tube. I then fill the tube with peanut butter. The mouse will try to get to the PB inside the tube and in doing so, make the toughest trap snap.

I don't think I have had any escapees using this method.

thank goodness I have never had to deal with rats. I fear I would be too tempted to set up at night with the 357 in hand...waiting...silently waiting.


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## Handy Vinny (Jun 18, 2010)

jackofmany said:


> Had some experience long ago and would add that rats definately go for dog feces.


Whether or not this is true, it certainly is nauseating.


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## rusty baker (Feb 13, 2009)

No matter how tasty you make it, you still can't feed it to your mother-in-law.:laughing:


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