Mice are wise creatures too, at some point in our lives while we’re doing our best to eradicate these pesky little rodents, we have been outsmarted by them, no matter how expensive and sophisticated your mouse trap equipment is. You are starting to wonder, why you still can’t solve your rodent problem, could the problem be your equipment?
The truth is, it can be. But statistics show that mouse traps, even the simplest one does the job just fine. A lot of people even create their own DIY version of a mouse trap, perhaps they believe that their own works better and it can potentially save them money. So no, it’s most probably not the equipment that’s wrong with your mice eradication system, it’s highly likely to be the bait.
The bait for your mouse trap is what’s going to get the rodents to even get near your mouse trap, and thus making it useful. We have compiled the factors and common mistakes people make when it comes to picking the best baits for mouse traps.
Using The Wrong Bait
Because of popular media and its vast depiction in cartoon animations, most people have long harbored the belief that a traditional mouse trap that has a piece of cheese for bait is going to be the most effective in attracting and getting rid of mice.
Unfortunately, though, this method is most probably the least effective way of attracting and catching your household mice. Because while most people are not aware some type of rats do not even eat cheese.
One such example is the common roof rat, they wouldn’t even get near the stuff, let alone eat it. The worst thing is because a piece of cheese just sits on top of the mouse trap trigger, a lot of mice can just sneak and steal your bait and then just walk away.
Another thing that’s good to keep in mind is that not because one type of bait works with one type of trap doesn’t mean that it would work in every type of bait. There are a lot of types of mousetraps out there, make sure that you switch between different kinds of baits and do an experiment and determine which kind baits are effective with which kind of mouse traps.
Another example when you are going to need to switch the types of baits you use is during the wintertime. Mice that swarm your household during the cold months of the year look for more than just food, they also need to warm themselves, and they do this by building nests, and this gives you an opportunity to use bait types that would attract them because of this new need of theirs.
Experts say that based on their experiences, mice scavenge throughout the house looking for materials like dental floss, cotton balls, yarn, and old newspapers, the only job left for you is to find out which type of mouse traps these different kinds of baits would work on.
Using Too Much Bait
More is always better, isn’t it? With many things in life, yes, more is definitely better, but when it comes to mouse trap baits a common mistake people do is that they put dollops of the stuff on the mousetrap which reduces its effectiveness in attracting mice.
The idea is to use just a smear of bait to force the mice to reach further in the trap and activate its trigger when you have large quantities of bait, they might just take it without the mousetrap doing its job. Experts suggest you put around about a pea-sized smear of bait on your mouse trap’s trigger.
Using Not Enough Bait
When most people go over the limit, some do go under the limit. Just as you can use too much bait, there is a chance that you might not put enough and make the mice not even notice that you have put something on there.
The Bait Doesn’t Look Natural
Believe it or not, mice are smart enough to tell whether something is deliberately set up just to kill their kind. When placing your bait, make sure that you don’t ruin its natural appearance as in just the way it would look naturally. Experts do suggest that you use a glove whenever you are putting the bait on the trap.
When you are using tamper-proof mouse stations or snap traps, they lose their effectiveness when you put your bait in without using a glove. Mice can recognize if a bait in place is a trap by using their amazing sense of smell. To avoid leaving your scent on the bait and on the trap, use gloves whenever you are touching the trap, redeploying the trap, and whenever you are disposing of a captured mouse.
Here’s a cool list of some of the best bait for mouse traps you can try to see which will work best for you.
