12 Best Baits for Rat Traps

If you’ve ever gone full-blown DIY with rodent control, you’ll most likely come across all kinds of traps and baits. Plus, everyone knows that rats love cheese, right? That’s what most cartoons show, at least. But that’s not exactly the case.

You see, while rats will nibble on cheese, it’s not considered the best bait for a rat trap. In fact, several other food sources attract rats much more than cheese, which means that they’re also much more effective as bait. Some include animal proteins, like bacon, and snacks, like chocolate.

So, today, we’ll look at what to bait a rat trap with and how you can ensure that the rodents won’t just run back to their nest with said bait.

What Is the Best Bait for a Rat Trap

In general, the most effective bait will be the food source that a rat is used to eating. For example, if you find a lot of rat activity around the bird feeders outside, using seeds as bait will be very effective.

Alas, here are some of the best baits we suggest you use when dealing with a rodent infestation.

Nut Butter

The fatty nature of any nut butter is very enticing to rats. More specifically, get some peanut butter and use that as rat bait, as it is one of their favorite food items to nibble on.

Nuts and Seeds

If you don’t want to waste your peanut butter on rat bait (honestly, we don’t blame you), go for other nuts or seeds. These will be a little bit harder to secure, but you can use some glue or just a tiny bit of nut butter to keep that nice and tight.

Chocolate

To be fair, rats seem to have a very similar appetite to humans. While chocolate isn’t that nutritious, all rodents will go wild for it. Just make sure to add some melted pieces instead of individual square ones, as these tend to stick to the trap, making them more effective.

Sweets and Gumdrops

Here’s one that better in the mouths of rats than ours. If you’ve got any sweets or gumdrops lying around, simply melt them and add them right on the trap. The excess sugar in them will be enough to get any rodents hooked (pun intended).

Berries

If you’ve had rodents eating your fresh berries in your garden lately, the best way to catch them is by sacrificing just a couple more of these sweet fruits. Split them up into smaller pieces and scatter them on and around the trap for the best way to catch rats.

Dried Fruit

Dried fruit, being chewier than its fresh counterpart, is an equally great bait that’s also usually cheaper. Also, since these don’t have such a high sugar content, they won’t attract any other nuisances, like bugs or insects.

Cheese

Look, while we did point out that rats don’t love cheese, it doesn’t mean that they’ll not happily nibble on it. The key to using cheese as rat bait is to go for a cheese spread or melt blocks of it so that the rat won’t just bring it back as loot to its nest.

Bacon

Taking a look at animal proteins, bacon is the top one, especially if you add some of that bacon grease on top. And, yes, while it might be a waste of some good bacon, it’s definitely one of the most effective baits you can use to lure rats to your traps.

Deli Meat

Deli meat, just like bacon, is one of the most enticing food items you can use as rat bait. The only bad thing about it is that you must glue it onto the trap to ensure that the rats don’t just take it away without triggering the trap.

Pet Food

Rats are known to eat all kinds of pet food, whether dry or wet. Considering that they have a preference for the wet version, spreading some of it across your traps will be the perfect way to get them caught up on these.

Insects

While adding insects to traps isn’t the best idea, it’s certainly one of the most effective ones. Most rats will have lived off of insects at some point in their lives, so the familiar smell and taste will be very attractive to them.

Nesting Material

Remember, rats love building nests, whether that’s in your attic or backyard. So, if you caught on an infestation early on, adding some nest material to your traps will be the best way to stop them right on their tracks.

How to Bait a Rat Trap

Now that you know what bait to use, it’s time to see how you can use it efficiently. If you opt for solid items, you must glue them down to the trap to ensure the rats don’t just run off with them. You won’t have to worry about that if they're spreadable or meltable.

Also, you must handle the traps and the bait with gloves to avoid contaminating them. If a rat smells a human scent on the trap, it’ll surely not approach it.

Where to Place Rat Bait Stations

To find the best place for your rat bait stations, you must find the rats’ entry points. Usually, these are somewhere around your garage, roof, or attic. Also, if you have any holes or cracks in your house, most rats will be able to fit inside, so you’ll need to cover these with some steel wool and place traps around them.

Get Rid of Rats Immediately, the Green Way

While not attending to a rodent infestation might seem like an ok idea, let us tell you that it’s not. Rats, in particular, can give birth to around 35 pups in a year. So, you’ll need to get rid of them rapidly and efficiently. And there’s no better way to do that than the green way!

At Green Rodent Restoration, we pride ourselves in providing the best rodent control services in SoCal. Contact us now for a free estimate!