1. Home
  2. UK Do-It-Yourself Forum
  3. What's a suitable bait for rat traps ?

What's a suitable bait for rat traps ?

Besides poison, what are rat traps usually baited with? I know that mice like chocolate, cheese, peanut butter etc but I assume rats have their own preferences? :)

Reply to
mj
Loading thread data ...

Whatever they're used to. If they're currently living on grain or cow nuts, then feed them that. If they're eating out of dustbins, then try some kitchen waste. Mayonnaise or chocolate always seem to go down well though.

Rats hate novelty. Feed the traps or poison boxes _unset_ for a while first, to get them used to them. Then set the traps and add the poison.

Reply to
Andy Dingley

Bits of humans who despatched their mates - best of all bits of those who contemplate using poison on rats.

Reply to
John Cartmell

sausages are supposed to work

Reply to
Mr Fixit

I heard a maker of rat poison on radio saying that he is successful because he adapts the recipe to suit the food eaten in the country he's selling to. So you'll just have to interview the rats and find out what they've been eating!!

Do you leave out food for birds? Presumably the rats can't get into your bin? Is there livestock (stable, kennel, small-holding) around?

Good luck. Its an uphill fight.

Peter Scott

Reply to
Peter Scott

Enjoy your Weill's Disease. And the flea bites. And the faeces in your food. And the bites.

And get a grownup to tell you the difference between vermin and pets.

Reply to
Huge

I eradicated the rats in our compost heap with a combination of Neosorexa rat poison (buy that off the Internet), rat traps (fasten them down - I lost one altogether) and a .410 shotgun. It took a couple of weeks, but we haven't seen one for a while, now.

We have moles, now, but I'm not bothered about them.

Reply to
Huge

I've already defined vermin. If you want a more objective definition then by all means try it - and you'll almost certainly be on the list.

Reply to
John Cartmell

Just what exactly is your problem??

I'm on the whole an animal-loving veggie, but I have no problem with killing a wide range of animals which would otherwise have an adverse impact on my life. This includes flies, rats, pigeons and a whole range of other critters.

Why do you have a problem with killing rats?

Reply to
Grunff

Scraps after a chicken meal will do very well - that's why the bones and such should never be thrown on the compost.

Keith

Reply to
Keith (Dorset)

We used to have a pet rat. She was lovely. I'd recommend a rat to anyone whose children are desperate for a pet.

Reply to
Geoffrey

Seconded. Pet rats are intelligent, affectionate, clean and amusing pets.

Farmyard rats are intelligent, aggressive, dirty, disease ridden vermin.

Reply to
Huge

Check back at my objection which was to someone killing rats 'because they were rats' without any reference to 'adverse impact'. Also note that the species with greatest 'adverse impact' on everything and everyone else is H. sapiens; unless you provide a much better argument you are justifying general slaughter of all of us. I'd object to that! ;-)

Reply to
John Cartmell

Just ask where the disease comes from and who provided the conditions for the disease.

Reply to
John Cartmell

Glad to see that you're continuing to justify your killfile entry.

Byeeeee.

Reply to
Huge

???

I'm talking about an adverse impact on my own existence - not on the planet as a whole (the latter can take care of itself just fine, and doesn't need anyone's help).

Reply to
Grunff

Cheers for all the suggestions - besides the dead one (by the smell it had been dead for 3 or 4 days) that I found this morning in the attic there have (so far) been no signs of others so I'll keep my fingers crossed that his/her mates don't come looking for him/her. :)

We've been here for a couple of years now and it's the first rat I've seen in the place.

As for what they like to eat around here - we have no external rubbish bins (or anything that rats would like to consume) and the food for the handful of sheep is kept in a strong, sealed plastic container. I guess if we get any others that I'll have to experiment with chocolate and the like.

Reply to
mj

But are you distinguishing between rats that inconvenience you and rats that just happen to be passing? Are you even distinguishing between rats that inconvenience you and something that happens to dine on that rat after you have poisoned it? Humans are far more vermin-like than any other creature unless we use special pleading arguments, so on the 'rats are better off dead' or 'kill vermin' philosophy we should all have our necks on the line.

Reply to
John Cartmell

Would rat fleas actually want to bite humans? Aren't fleas more or less host species specific?

Much the same as the difference between flowers and weeds - one's wanted, the other isn't.

Owain

Reply to
Owain

What planet are you on?

If you make a little more effort, you might come close to being understood.

Not in my house/stables/sheds, they're not. If they were, they'd also get shot.

Let me guess. You live in a tidy little house in a town/suburb, and have zero experience of dealing with a rat infestation. Right?

Reply to
Grunff

HomeOwnersHub website is not affiliated with any of the manufacturers or service providers discussed here. All logos and trade names are the property of their respective owners.