Best Bait for a Rascally Rat?

Question:

I have just seen a big brown rat on my patio. It came out from under the back door step and went straight over the patio to eat bread that was put out for the birds ….I am terrified of rats and so is my husband , We have a “live rat trap” but want to make sure we set the best bait to catch a rat sooner rather than later …About 3 years ago we had a few rats set up home in our shed , We cleared the shed and watched about 5 big gray rats run! They never returned, but now this big brown one has taken up residence in my garden. I need help to get rid of him …We have a rather large garden pond which probably doesn’t help matters?  I have two small dogs and they can smell the rat , but i fear the rat is bigger than my dogs so they cant really help me … Please help me by telling me the best bait to use ….I was thinking ” chocolate and peanut butter ?? Thanks very much for at least “reading” but I hope you can/will help.

Answer:

If the rat is really bigger than your dogs, there problem that is more urgent than choosing the right bait. Any trap that could catch the rat could also catch your dogs. In this case, you certainly don’t want to use a kill trap placed on the ground! However, you can use a trap set in a location your dogs cannot reach, such as a shelf in your shed or the top of a door jamb.

Your next concern is you want to be absolutely sure you don’t put out a bait that would be attractive to your dogs. This means you should probably use grains rather than scented foods like cheese, chocolate (which is poisonous to dogs), or peanut butter. The best product for this kind of trapping is a – block bait,- which offers the rodent a bite of food from a ball of whole grains that can be placed in a single convenient location rather than spread across the floor.

If you use a block bait, you might choose a product that contains a rodenticide, if and only if:

• You place the rat bait where your dogs, children, and other family members and neighbors cannot reach it.
• You check on the bait daily to see if a rat has taken it, and
• You remove the bait after it’s been nibbled on or after two weeks, whichever comes first.

You don’t want to leave any kind of grain-based bait lying around indefinitely. It can break down and spread poison, or it can be a source of insect infestation, insects being immune to rat poison.