Why Baiting Is Like Fishing And Real Estate

The young fisherman asked the “pro” about which lures he had used to catch so many fish, and the “pro” proceeded to name lures similar to the ones the younger angler had been using all day.

When pressed for his technique, the pro smiled and said, “Guess I just know where to place my lures. And, most times, they bite.”

In my career in pest management I find myself constantly revisiting how that lesson applies so aptly to pest management operations. Consider for a moment how often we hear, at industry meetings, professionals inquiring of each other, “Which bait do you think is best for mouse (cockroach, ant, etc.) control.”

But, as with fishing, the key to success when baiting and trapping both vertebrate and insect pests, is, as the pro fisherman eluded to and as they say in real estate, “Location, Location, Location.”

WHY LOCATION IS KEY. First, one of the most important principles in understanding pests such as rodents, cockroaches, ants, termites and urban wildlife is that these animals tend to be opportunistic in their gathering of food, water, nesting material, harborage, warmth or other resources. If, for example, while randomly foraging, or traveling along established runways, these animals encounter food, chances are good they will seize the opportunity, and utilize the food.

Second, in those areas where resources are discovered repeatedly, the animals will repeatedly revisit these areas, resulting in “high activity areas” within their home ranges. Also, the use of high activity areas may be reinforced by the pests via pheromonal cueing, which assist them in locating these areas over and over again. Rodents, urban wildlife, cockroaches, ants and other urban pest groups utilize pheromones to assist them in locating and revisiting resource areas.

Therefore, when using baits — whether for rodents or roaches — maximum results are best achieved by first conducting good inspections to identify the pest’s high activity areas, and then placing the baits in those areas. Do not bait and hope the animal will go searching or smelling their way to your baits. Often there is ample food within our buildings for pests. So they do not need to spend a lot of their energy foraging great distances from their harborage to find new food. Thus, locate your baits so that the pests basically “bump into” them during their daily foraging activities.

Occasionally, when failures in the field occur with a particular brand of bait, some professionals are quick to start thinking about switching brands. But assuming you are using quality products, you’re not likely to see a dramatic difference between most of the leading rodenticide and insecticide bait brands or the general trap baits. Failures with leading bait brands may result from many factors, but often, the primary reason is poor location.

The “location rule” applies equally well to the use of our various trapping devices, including those traps which do not utilize a food bait attractant such as glue traps, curiosity traps and insect light traps.

With urban wildlife, successful live trappers are repeatedly asked as to what is their “secret” bait for trapping raccoons, skunks, squirrels, rabbits, etc. But here too, locating the trap so that it intersects the animal’s path during its daily travels is the primary key to success. A raccoon, for example, when visiting suburban yards, often utilizes established pathways around the yard. Often these trails follow ornamental borders which provide the raccoon with a sense of security as it travels about. Locating a raccoon trap on or very close to these trails is far more effective than locating the trap randomly within the yard and hoping the raccoon will smell a “great bait” and travel to the traps.

When trapping moles, the difference between success and failure is for the most part, entirely dependent upon a good location, as a mole trap doesn’t offer any bait whatsoever to lure the mole into the trap. Taking the time to carefully “read a yard” to determine the moles’ high activity tunnels usually results in quick capture. Poorly located traps, even when placed in seemingly active tunnels, may never capture a mole.

IMPORTANCE OF BAIT. All this talk about bait positioning is not to say that the baits themselves do not play a critical role in obtaining good results. Obviously they do. Following good placement location, your baits must be fresh and attractive so they will compete with the animal’s regular food sources. In fact, many times the pests have built up in large numbers because there is an ample amount of attractive food lying about the account. Still, even though the pests have access to an established food source, they tend to seize the opportunity of sampling the new food that you have designed for them to “accidentally encounter.”

So if you want the “big fish” time after time, go for proper location. Become proficient in identifying the specific pest’s high activity areas, and locate your baits, traps, and monitors in those areas. Fish where the fish are, and they’ll bite.

Dr. Robert Corrigan is president of RMC Pest Management Consulting, 5114 Turner Road, Richmond IN 47374, telephone 317/939-2829.