Trapping Rats What bait

Guns.com Vault
Gather App
M

mike7mm08

Buckeye
Joined
Mar 14, 2005
Messages
1,709
City & State/Province
Milwaukee Wisconsin
Got a situation. My mother loves animals. My dad recently passed and she needed a distraction. She got into feeding the squirrels. I bought her a feeder specific for them hoping to keep the mess to a minimum. Well if we are feeding squirrels might as well feed the birds too.

Across the alley from us we have apartments with dumpsters as well as a restaurant. I knew we had a rat population. Well they have invaded my yard now.

Now these are not your standard rat. Put a collar on them and they could pass as the neighbors chihuahua. After several nights of snap traps being set off numerous times each night I got a small live trap on order. Honestly think the snaps traps are too small.

My concern with any trap is catching a squirrel. The snap traps I would just run at night for a few hours after the dog was out for the last time for the night. The live trap won't end up attached to the dog so I can set it and forget. But I need a bait that will draw the rats but unlikely to attract the squirrels. Any suggestions?
 
I always use raw bacon. Squirrels are vegetarians and the smell of raw bacon is pretty strong helping to attract rats. Bacon can also be hooked to the trap so it cant be licked off. I use snap traps screwed to a piece of 2x4 so the bigger rats cant drag it away.
 
Ahh,, the reason I have a job.

Animal feeders.

Anytime you try & feed one type of animal,, you WILL attract other animals, often undesirable ones. many animals carry diseases,, and CAN & WILL eventually infest your home. Then you have to call someone like me to fix the problem.

Smaller live cage traps can & will work fine. As for bait,, as noted,, bacon, can be an effective bait. However, to make sure you have catches, and not missing bait & empty traps,, you must secure the bait inside the cage in a place where the rats have to step on the treadle, causing the trap to work.

As to how to secure the bait. For small cages,, I use the small diameter empty cat food cans. I actually punch a pair of holes in the bottom of the can, (dual purposes here,) to run a U shaped wire through. The bottom of the U goes on the inside,, with the tails of the wire out the bottom. I then wire the can to the inside center of the trap in the back, where they can't move the bait can anywhere,, and only get to the bait by entering the cage and stepping on the treadle. The holes also allow water to drain out if it rains on the trap.
Next,, I cut a small piece of 1/4" mesh wire that is just a bit bigger than the diameter of the can. I place the bait in the can, then I push the wire in place over the top of the bait. It makes the critter have to WORK at the bait,, and giving you an almost guaranteed catch.
Also, the mice will want to get the bait. The wire covering it will make it harder on them.

Next,, use multiple traps. A minimum of 4 traps will surprise you with more catches than you expect. Set them in different places,, as the animals will want "distance" from other critters trying to get the bait.

Now,, there are other methods of catching rats & mice,, but that's the way to use a live trap, and get results.
 
I vote for trapping the squirrels with the rats. Fill a 5 gallon bucket with water; let anything you don't want to kill go in the yard, drown the rest in the traps. The squirrels will figure out to avoid the traps pretty quick. The rats might also, but that's a risk either way.

I would not want to deal with releasing a live rat from a trap. They are disease carriers and I can't think of any cases where they're not considered a pest.
 
Ty, after you have 'em in the trap, then what?

When trapping groundhogs, raccoons, 'possums, etc in our garden I simply carefully shoot 'em thru the openings in the cage with a .22 pistol.

Other options?
 
Ale-8(1) said:
Ty, after you have 'em in the trap, then what?

When trapping groundhogs, raccoons, 'possums, etc in our garden I simply carefully shoot 'em thru the openings in the cage with a .22 pistol.

Other options?
Click to expand...

The humane thing to do would be to chauffer them over to Nelson Dewey's house for safe release. :D
 
I've actually seen video of squirrels eating eggs and baby birds. Surprised this man. Those were city squirrels though. Maybe they were taught differently in Urban Squirrel Culinary School. Don
 
Ale-8(1) said:
Ty, after you have 'em in the trap, then what?

When trapping groundhogs, raccoons, 'possums, etc in our garden I simply carefully shoot 'em thru the openings in the cage with a .22 pistol.

Other options?
Click to expand...

I used to shoot them through the cages, but I've had to repair several cages and ones targeted at smaller rodents will almost certain have too fine a mesh to miss with a .22.

5 gallon bucket full of water works for smaller traps/rodents. 55 gallon drum or large plastic bin full works for larger ones. Dispose of carcasses over fence for 'yotes and such. Have yet to find one the following day.

Peanut butter will certainly attract squirrels. It's what I use as a general purpose bait, in a cup (aerosol cap, usually) wired to the cage.

I used to superglue nuts to the triggers, but they got wise to that.
 
NikA said:
Ale-8(1) said:
Ty, after you have 'em in the trap, then what?

When trapping groundhogs, raccoons, 'possums, etc in our garden I simply carefully shoot 'em thru the openings in the cage with a .22 pistol.

Other options?
Click to expand...

I used to shoot them through the cages, but I've had to repair several cages and ones targeted at smaller rodents will almost certain have too fine a mesh to miss with a .22.

5 gallon bucket full of water works for smaller traps/rodents. 55 gallon drum or large plastic bin full works for larger ones. Dispose of carcasses over fence for 'yotes and such. Have yet to find one the following day.

Peanut butter will certainly attract squirrels. It's what I use as a general purpose bait, in a cup (aerosol cap, usually) wired to the cage.

I used to superglue nuts to the triggers, but they got wise to that.
Click to expand...

That's why I use .22 cal. shot shells to dispatch small animals in live traps.
 
The difference between a squirrel and a rat is that one of them has a bushy tail.

The "Have A Heart" live traps are quite effective. I used (while in CO) peanut butter,
smeared on the trip lever. Any other bait tends to be stolen and consumed elsewhere.
If you have not figured out how destructive squirrels are, just wait a season or so. It
cost me more in repairs of my back patio, due to squirrels, than it cost to build it.

Disposal: Try a .177 cal pellet pistol to render them immobile and then two grocery
store bags to go in the trash.
 
Ale-8(1) said:
Ty, after you have 'em in the trap, then what?

When trapping groundhogs, raccoons, 'possums, etc in our garden I simply carefully shoot 'em thru the openings in the cage with a .22 pistol.

Other options?
Click to expand...

I tie a rope to the trap and take em for a swim only take a minute or so! ps
 
Never had to deal with rats. However, the mice I have dealt with love the aforementioned peanut butter. We use an old school spring trap. We do have a lot of feral cats that do a good job controlling the rodent population.
 
Peanut butter can be licked off by mice & such and never trip a trap,,, including the small mice snap traps. While it's a good bait,, it must be placed in a way for them to "work" the trap.

As for dispatching a critter.

Obey the law.

Squirrels are considered game animals in most states as far as I know. As such,, understand the laws of your state before trapping or dispatching or releasing them. (Here in NC,, due to disease concerns,, mostly rabies, relocating them is illegal.)
Dispatching a critter.
A lot depends upon your laws AND your location. Inside city limits,, discharging a firearm, (and some places call any airgun a firearm,) is illegal. Outside city limits,, the pellet guns don't damage cages.
Drowning wildlife in cages MAY be illegal,, (it's illegal in NC) so know the laws first.
Rats are considered vermin & don't usually fall under the jurisdiction of Wildlife. As such,, drowning MAY be legal where you are.
 
Slight divergence from thread:

Snap traps with a STALE chocolate chip wedged in, are usually good for eight or
more mice.
(CO Outward Bound School {in the 60's} I was living in a tent for the Summer and
there were GOBS of field mice. - - - I set up the trap, laid down to go to sleep and
before I could pull up the blanket there was a snap. Cleared that one and reset,
then went to lay down, didn't even get into bed and SNAP. Repeated more than
five times before I just left the last one for the morning. Cleared out more than
twenty in three days. - - - - THEN had to clear out the rats that were doing the
clean up of the dead mice. - - - .22lr pistol handled the rats very well (back in 1961)
 
Unfortunately I am in the city. If not the AR barrel would of been rather hot. Multiple targtes and like I said this things are scary big. If I did not have glass block windows in the basement I would have a snipers nest built and the suppressed 22 taking care of things.

Anyways I got some live traps on order from amazon. Plan to feed them for a couple days before arming the traps. Will probable go bacon or catfood.

As for dispatch things are funny in my state. While illegal to discharge a weapon in the city. State law allows for a landowner to hunt and trap all small game and non game animals without any restrictions. To be legal I will have to drown them. Or they go in the garage and the last thing they see is the muzzle of a MKII government dispensing some birdshot.
 
Don't use cat food,, as it'll attract other critters. Use the bacon, and secure it in the trap. If you don't have a small metal can (like the cat food cans,) use anything similar. OR,, wire the bacon into anything you can, and make them work for it. And you do not have to "feed them for a few days" to get them.
 
Hi,

My sister, who's not a gun fan but got Granny's "all pests must die" gene, wiped out a whole colony of rats that had gotten into her attic using walnuts hot glued to the trigger of an old standard Victor rat trap. When she first learned the critters were in the attic, she found walnut shells from the orchard in there. Might as well stick to something they like! If she did any flyfishing, we could call it matching the hatch. ;)

Rick C
 
Ale-8(1) said:
Ty, after you have 'em in the trap, then what?

When trapping groundhogs, raccoons, 'possums, etc in our garden I simply carefully shoot 'em thru the openings in the cage with a .22 pistol.

Other options?
Click to expand...

Put the entire trap, animal included, into a large p,attic bin filled with water. Kills the pest, and mostly cleans the trap for the next use.
 
Are yall talking about using a piece of cooked or raw bacon in the trap ?
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

M
Click Bait
Replies
15
Views
459
Cofaler
Cofaler
4
For you desert rats. Zzyzx road video.
Replies
1
Views
170
Fox Mike
Fox Mike
Kevin
Mice, Rats and Squirrels ~or~ Party in the Attic
2
Replies
54
Views
1K
Killer Bee
Killer Bee
turd
What to do with peaches
2
Replies
45
Views
1K
dadstillsurfs
D
xTopGun
what Bison's do for fun . . . . .
Replies
28
Views
1K
M118LR
M

Latest posts

Back
Top