# Mouse bait?



## Blue Hills (18 Mar 2020)

What do the blighters really go for?

I have been aware of the traces of one being out of a night.

A modern clever one bought online proved useless.

I was in an excellent outdoor shop last week 


https://www.tamarackoutdoors.co.uk/

In addition to their regular stock they have a small second hand room at the back - stuff that previous shoppers have exchanged mostly I think.

Somewhat bizzarely, they had a mouse trap - some old brit metal engineered thing.

So along with other stuff I bought it - mostly for novelty value.

But even more bizarely, it actually works - caught a mouse the first night.

Of course I may have despatched the only creature I have but am keen to capitalise on this wonder of British engineering.

What do they really really like?

serious answers only, he said hopefully.


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## Sterlo (18 Mar 2020)

Chocolate is the best, something like a Mars bar, other than that, tinned ham seems to work, I think it's the smell. Whichever you try, it needs changing every couple of days if no takers.


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## wisdom (18 Mar 2020)

Mars bar (small piece)and metal selfset trap.
Works every time.


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## tom73 (18 Mar 2020)

Chocolate syrup works for me. if you have a wilkos near you they sell very effective traps forget the brandname they are plastic but stand up to use. May look crap but boy they are good much better then the old type.


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## wisdom (18 Mar 2020)

Mouse Trap Self Set https://g.co/kgs/2Pgbgc 

Here's the link


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## Blue Hills (18 Mar 2020)

Sterlo said:


> Whichever you try, it needs changing every couple of days if no takers.



fussy sods are they? I thought they survived on tiny bits of often old edible matter.
Or you mean you need to attract them with a smell over and above that less enticing stuff?

The bait that got the one the other night was some small crumbs of my home made cycling snack and a raisin.

many thanks for the reply - in particular I hadn't considered meat!


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## Blue Hills (18 Mar 2020)

wisdom said:


> Mouse Trap Self Set https://g.co/kgs/2Pgbgc
> 
> Here's the link


thanks but should have said I was after a humane one.
Which my brit wonder is - when I got up the door on it was closed - couldn't quite believe there was anything in it as I could feel no struggling/wobbling when I picked it up - took it outside, opened it and the thing ran happily off. Must have been a cool philosophical mouse just biding its time.

oh by the by - it had left a bit of crap in there - those small round balls - I left that in when I rebaited with some other stuff as I had the idea that that might attract others - give other creatures the feeling that they were returning to a previously colleague-tested source of food.

Would folk recommend I leave that or take it out?


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## Reynard (18 Mar 2020)

An ordinary sprung mouse trap baited either with peanut butter or dried fruit.


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## Blue Hills (18 Mar 2020)

Reynard said:


> An ordinary sprung mouse trap baited either with peanut butter or dried fruit.


interesting - a major component of my home-made cycling snack is actually peanut butter - and it does have bits of dried fruit in it, plus of course the fresh raisin/sultana or whatever I added.


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## Reynard (18 Mar 2020)

Blue Hills said:


> interesting - a major component of my home-made cycling snack is actually peanut butter - and it does have bits of dried fruit in it, plus of course the fresh raisin/sultana or whatever I added.



Nuts and fruit are a big component of what small rodents (other than the carnivorous ones e.g. shrews) eat in the wild. Mice and voles are opportunists, but they do prefer things that are sweet and have a high calorie value.


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## Bonefish Blues (18 Mar 2020)

Nutella


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## Adam4868 (18 Mar 2020)

Chocolate...failing that get a cat.


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## glasgowcyclist (18 Mar 2020)

The catch & release traps I used recommended peanut butter as bait. Worked every time.


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## Milzy (18 Mar 2020)

Blue Hills said:


> What do the blighters really go for?
> 
> I have been aware of the traces of one being out of a night.
> 
> ...


Mice are natural seed eaters but they love fatty sweet things like peanut butter and various junk foods.


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## Reynard (18 Mar 2020)

Adam4868 said:


> Chocolate...failing that get a cat.



Well, my twosome take care of any micees that enter into the house, but I use traps in the garage as there are things in there that do not go terribly well with cats...


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## Adam4868 (18 Mar 2020)

Reynard said:


> Well, my twosome take care of any micees that enter into the house, but I use traps in the garage as there are things in there that do not go terribly well with cats...


My cat is a killer ! Drives me nuts bringing stuff to the back door...frogs are the worst.They make a horrific noise when tortured by a cat.☹️
But no mice since we got her,we live near a park and golf course and had quite a few.


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## Reynard (18 Mar 2020)

Adam4868 said:


> My cat is a killer ! Drives me nuts bringing stuff to the back door...frogs are the worst.They make a horrific noise when tortured by a cat.☹
> But no mice since we got her,we live near a park and golf course and had quite a few.



Lexi is a pretty dab hunter as well. I get everything from shrews to wood pigeons and just about everything else in between. Poppy is what I'd call a hobbyist in comparison. Her specialty are rabbits...


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## Adam4868 (18 Mar 2020)

Reynard said:


> Lexi is a pretty dab hunter as well. I get everything from shrews to wood pigeons and just about everything else in between. Poppy is what I'd call a hobbyist in comparison. Her specialty are rabbits...


What cultered cats...mine just has the "if it moves kill it ! " She even goes after flies,with some success i must say.


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## Drago (18 Mar 2020)

Peanut butter or chocolate spread work very well,


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## Reynard (18 Mar 2020)

Adam4868 said:


> What cultered cats...mine just has the "if it moves kill it ! " She even goes after flies,with some success i must say.



Sky raisins!!! Poppy loooooves sky raisins! 

I'd hardly call Lexi cultured - she generally rips the heads off things she catches...


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## roadrash (18 Mar 2020)

mrs roadrash had a shock last night , she heard one of the cats unpstairs , when she checked , she found rusty under the bed, he wasn't alone he had brought a crow with him, feathers everywhere.


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## Reynard (18 Mar 2020)

roadrash said:


> mrs roadrash had a shock last night , she heard one of the cats unpstairs , when she checked , she found rusty under the bed, he wasn't alone he had brought a crow with him, feathers everywhere.



Oh yes, when they start plucking a bird or rabbit inside the house, that's when you find out the real definition of "mess"


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## Phaeton (18 Mar 2020)

Where did you release it, hope it was a good distance away or you're probably just recycling the same one.


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## Wobblers (18 Mar 2020)

Blue Hills said:


> thanks but should have said I was after a humane one.
> Which my brit wonder is - when I got up the door on it was closed - couldn't quite believe there was anything in it as I could feel no struggling/wobbling when I picked it up - took it outside, opened it and the thing ran happily off. Must have been a cool philosophical mouse just biding its time.
> 
> oh by the by - it had left a bit of crap in there - those small round balls - I left that in when I rebaited with some other stuff as I had the idea that that might attract others - give other creatures the feeling that they were returning to a previously colleague-tested source of food.
> ...



Damp mouse droppings contain leptospirosis, which can give you a very nasty illness. Make sure you don't have any cuts or grazes on you hands when handling the trap, or wear gloves. It's best to release the mouse far away from your house, otherwise it'll be back tonight.

As for bait, I've found that strawberry jam, cheese and peanut butter all work.
The jam was licked off the trip plate without springing it.
The cheese was lifted off the trip plate without springing the trap (little sods!).
The peanut butter worked very well. I think that because it's sticky, the mouse needs to make more of an effort to get the bait off the plate so is more likely to spring the trap.


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## classic33 (18 Mar 2020)

I've seen butter used. But I've used marmite, bacon & chocolate on traps.

Not all at the same time.


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## numbnuts (18 Mar 2020)

Just bread


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## Adam4868 (18 Mar 2020)

numbnuts said:


> Just bread


Cheapskate !


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## Bazzer (18 Mar 2020)

My parents used to have a periodic (mainly winter) mouse problem. Mice used to get into their cellar from the surrounding fields. They found the mice were choosy and it seemed to vary both from one year to another, but also in the same season. The cartoon stereotype cheese worked, but in the same season the mice also developed a sweet tooth and a grain taste at different times.
The droppings are a sign of them passing through, but look carefully at what they have sampled.


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## numbnuts (18 Mar 2020)

Adam4868 said:


> Cheapskate !


But I get results


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## Bonefish Blues (18 Mar 2020)

Reynard said:


> Lexi is a pretty dab hunter as well. I get everything from shrews to wood pigeons and just about everything else in between. Poppy is what I'd call a hobbyist in comparison. Her specialty are rabbits...


Your cat hunts dabs? Does it wear a snorkel or free-dive whilst it hunts?


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## slowmotion (18 Mar 2020)

We've had reasonable luck with crunchy peanut butter. Rentokil Advanced






traps are the dogs bollocks, BTW.


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## CanucksTraveller (18 Mar 2020)

Humane traps will (sadly) just see the mice come straight back to you. Unless you're releasing a long way away. 
The white plastic traps that come in pre baited packs of 2 in Pounstretcher work really well, again and again. Mine caught about 30 mice in a few months out in the garage where the mice had been happily chewing up all of my worldly posessions.


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## raleighnut (18 Mar 2020)

Ditto the 6 Cats here with Mice


Reynard said:


> Well, my twosome take care of any micees that enter into the house, but I use traps in the garage as there are things in there that do not go terribly well with cats...


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## Reynard (18 Mar 2020)

slowmotion said:


> We've had reasonable luck with crunchy peanut butter. Rentokil Advanced
> View attachment 509091
> 
> 
> traps are the dogs bollocks, BTW.



Yep, these are the ones that I use. There's a knack to setting them, but they're incredibly effective.


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## Slioch (18 Mar 2020)

Peanut butter + Tom & Jerry style mousetrap.

We've got two cats, and they're operating on an American style "catch and release" policy, unfortunately on the indoors side of the cat flap. We always seem to have a mouse under the telly or under the couch. Peanut butter works a treat. Fairly terminal for the poor wee mousey, but hey! We had one that lived under the fridge for several weeks, and the destruction it caused was dis-proportionate to it's size.


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## classic33 (19 Mar 2020)

slowmotion said:


> We've had reasonable luck with crunchy peanut butter. Rentokil Advanced
> View attachment 509091
> 
> 
> traps are the dogs bollocks, BTW.


Isn't that cruel on the dogs?


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## 12boy (19 Mar 2020)

I read that dog kibble was great, having had cheese and peanut butter neatly eaten without springing the trap. The kibble was gnawed but also without springing, so I found the idea of using hot glue to attach the kibble and that worked although the kibble wasn't as alluring as I'd hoped so I hot glued bits of almond and that worked pretty well. I do not like listening to them scurrying around in the house. I've read ferrets go to town on mice, but ever since Ferret Faucet Major passed away where to find one?


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## Blue Hills (19 Mar 2020)

Phaeton said:


> Where did you release it, hope it was a good distance away or you're probably just recycling the same one.


on the front lawn.
I did wonder but it was dark and I didn't want to go further.
Have no idea about mice sense of direction/ability to track back to their adopted home.
Thanks for advice.


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## Blue Hills (19 Mar 2020)

CanucksTraveller said:


> Humane traps will (sadly) just see the mice come straight back to you. Unless you're releasing a long way away.
> The white plastic traps that come in pre baited packs of 2 in Pounstretcher work really well, again and again. Mine caught about 30 mice in a few months out in the garage where the mice had been happily chewing up all of my worldly posessions.


noted - next time will take further away.
Not too far needed surely?
as long as they would have to pass other houses to get back to me surely I'll be fine?
Can't believe that they are especially attracted to me.


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## Pale Rider (19 Mar 2020)

Mice I've had have always gone mad for grain bait.

Last deployment was behind the cooker - I heard mouse activity within a minute or two of putting down the bait.

I know you are after a humane solution, but a few grains would likely do the job and also not do the mouse any long term harm, just give it a poorly tummy.

The instructions say the mouse may need to take several doses of bait before it's killed.

Curiously, it also says rats will be killed with fewer portions - one might think the bigger animal would need more to kill it.

Various brands available, but the stuff I've had has always been greeny blue so may have been made by the same manufacturer.


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## Phaeton (19 Mar 2020)

Blue Hills said:


> on the front lawn.


I had 1/4 mile in mind, but I'm not able to support that with any search, so maybe I dreamt it.


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## Fab Foodie (19 Mar 2020)

Nesquick....


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## rikki (19 Mar 2020)

Peanut paste or sultanas work very well.


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## Asa Post (19 Mar 2020)

Phaeton said:


> I had 1/4 mile in mind, but I'm not able to support that with any search, so maybe I dreamt it.


You need to go much further. 
https://www.pestcontrolberkshire.com/blog/could-a-pest-return-if-humanely-trapped-and-released


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## Blue Hills (19 Mar 2020)

Thanks for the reply but i find it hard to believe that the average mouse would find its way back to me from two miles away. I will however take any future ones further past at least 20 houses.


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## Phaeton (19 Mar 2020)

Blue Hills said:


> Thanks for the reply but i find it hard to believe that the average mouse would find its way back to me from two miles away. I will however take any future ones further past at least 20 houses.


Do you have any Tippex, put a mark on his/her back before you release him/her to see if it's the same one tomorrow


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## Blue Hills (19 Mar 2020)

Phaeton said:


> Do you have any Tippex, put a mark on his/her back before you release him/her to see if it's the same one tomorrow


Will do. Will also accidentally on purpose let it catch sight of an envelope with a false address on it.


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## Phaeton (19 Mar 2020)

Blue Hills said:


> Will do. Will also accidentally on purpose let it catch sight of an envelope with a false address on it.


Or leave a trail of breadcrumbs to next doors air grate


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## Reynard (19 Mar 2020)

Pale Rider said:


> Mice I've had have always gone mad for grain bait.
> 
> Last deployment was behind the cooker - I heard mouse activity within a minute or two of putting down the bait.
> 
> ...



I avoid gain bait.

The reason is this.

A mouse or rat who has taken it will be an easy target for anything that likes snacks-on-legs. Be this a cat, a fox, stoats, owls etc. Introducing a poison into the food chain is quite frankly irresponsible.


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## 12boy (20 Mar 2020)

I agree with the second hand poisoning thing as well. Also, the little desicated mouse mummies can turn up in odd places much later since they crawl away to die of dehydration.


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## Reynard (20 Mar 2020)

I get the flat dried out mice under the carpets if the girls have brought one in and I haven't realised. Oddly, they never seem to smell...


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## 12boy (20 Mar 2020)

Basically mouse jerky.


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## Reynard (20 Mar 2020)

Well, that's a succinct way of putting it.


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## Pale Rider (20 Mar 2020)

Reynard said:


> I get the flat dried out mice under the carpets if the girls have brought one in and I haven't realised. Oddly, they never seem to smell...



A decomposing body will smell for a few days, but then cease to do so.

The smell of a decomposing rodent, to a point, is not unpleasant - it has been described as like moth balls.

Wasn't too bad when it happened in here, although I imagine the small body of a mouse means its smell is not too strong, so it may be possible not to notice it at all.

I've been to a couple of inquests relating to someone who died in their flat and was not discovered for weeks or months.

In both cases the neighbours gave evidence to say they noticed an unpleasant smell on the landing, but it died down before they got around to doing something about it.


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## Reynard (20 Mar 2020)

Well, thanks to chronic sinusitis, my sense of smell is less than stellar... I'll have to take your word for it.


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## slowmotion (20 Mar 2020)

Our mouse smelled really gross for about ten days. It's mortal remains are still resting somewhere unknown in a floor cavity upstairs. Even after a month, there are still traces of it. Rats can stink for weeks on end. Use poison at your peril!


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## classic33 (20 Mar 2020)

Phaeton said:


> Do you have any Tippex, put a mark on his/her back before you release him/her to see if it's the same one tomorrow


Animal markers?


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## Blue Hills (12 Apr 2020)

Thanks for all the help and advice folks.

Update.

My trap has now caught two mice, though in two instances the cunning critters managed to take the bait and not trigger it.

It is possible as per upthread that I have caught the same adventurer twice.

But more progress.

I have discovered that the trap I acquired for a fiver is a professional bit of kit retailing for around £60.

This:


View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qt608TESMmA


and


View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0w2stGYtzNc


and have realised from those vids and othe research that I have been using it in the wrong way - you are supposed to slide one bit out of the other when deployed - this very probably increases the chances of the trigger lever being triggered and you not giving a mouse a free feed.

It also means that you give the mouse substantially more room to sit things out - in this space you are apparently supposed to supply the critter with bedding, more food to keep its spirits up, and for all I know some suitable reading matter. Will consider this and other furnishings.

Apparently the trap was designed by Oxford academics - good to know that something other than Oxford set politicos has come out of that place.

Both mice were unharmed - the second one was taken some distance away and this time I had time to look at the rather cute thing.

Thoroughly recommended - to relieve yourself of a nuisance or, in these restricted times, catch yourself a new pet.


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