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Tips for baiting rat traps?

StephenSouthwestStephenSouthwest Posts: 635
in Problem solving

A bit of background:

...so I have rats in the compost heap - they've been there for some time and I've been quite happy for them to do their thing.

More recently their activity, and presumably their population, has increased, and we also now have rats in the fabric of our home (which may or may not be connected)

I found this video very helpful: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S1x3FEwfqek
I was particularly struck by his thoughts 3 minutes in, that it is possible to take a view that I could take responsibility to be a rat predator, given that my activity leads to a rise in rat population.

I'm also never going to use poison, taking advice here: https://www.barnowltrust.org.uk/hazards-solutions/rodenticides/

(In the long term, I'm going to fetch a compost tumbler, once I've sorted out transport for it, but in the meantime, and for in the house...)

So instant kill traps are the way to go for me.

The rats seem to treat them with utter disdain - generally simply burying them in the compost heap, and ignoring them in the house. their neophobia does not seem to be wearing off sufficiently over months of undisturbed traps.

My question:

So I'm specifically curious if people who have had success in using rat traps have any tips in what to bait them with or/and how to bait them.

Thank you for your thoughts, Stephen



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Posts

  • WilderbeastWilderbeast Posts: 1,415
    Peanut butter is commonly used in our village with very good success, there has been a surge in numbers in the last year as so many villager's have started keeping ducks. I watched 3 rats running around a neighbours duck shed the other day, they leave too much food lying around and the rats can live under the shed
  • PosyPosy Posts: 3,601
    Chocolate is popular with rats.
  • FireFire Posts: 19,096
    edited January 2021
    That is a startling smart video for Youtube. Thanks very much for that.
  • DovefromaboveDovefromabove Posts: 88,147

    If the rats are happy in your compost heap that indicates that it's too dry and that you're not turning it enough.  You'll make better (and speedier) compost if you deal with those issues, and that'll help deal with the rats at the same time  :)

    Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.





  • LiriodendronLiriodendron Posts: 8,328
    edited January 2021
    Thank you @stephentame for the link to the Barn Owl Trust publication.  I've never poisoned rodents, seeing it as an inhumane, slow and painful death to inflict on sentient beings, however much of a pest they are, but I had no idea how much of a problem the use of rat poison could pose to the owl population.

    Interesting to read about the MAFF-funded study showing that removing "harbourage" (blocking holes, disrupting areas where the rats live, etc) is as effective as poisoning.  (Edited to say:  I guess Dove's suggestion of wetting the compost heap comes into that category...)

    When our cat brought in a baby rat, which briefly took up residence behind the kitchen cupboards, we baited the humane trap which finally caught it, with a piece of chocolate caramel biscuit.  They like fatty things generally.
    Since 2019 I've lived in east Clare, in the west of Ireland.
  • MeomyeMeomye Posts: 949
    I too had heard that rats like peanut butter and chocolate so we baited our humane trap (no I am not kidding!) with a piece of a 'Snickers' bar! and it worked almost immediately.
  • mandyroberts99mandyroberts99 Posts: 235
    Peanut butter or chocolate - I was most sucessful with peanut butter
  • cowslip2cowslip2 Posts: 137
    We have trouble with squirrels on the bird feeders, so could we try Peanut butter in a trap? Hope so, for they are a darn nuisance.

  • LiriodendronLiriodendron Posts: 8,328
    @philippasmith2 - we released ours about three quarters of a mile from our house, on the river bank.  More difficult if you live in a town, of course... I think it needs to be at least half a mile so they don't come back.
    Since 2019 I've lived in east Clare, in the west of Ireland.
  • Blue OnionBlue Onion Posts: 2,995
    My house mice seem partial to peanutbutter with a bit of hard cheese stuck in the middle.. I would expect rats might enjoy that too.  
    Utah, USA.
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