PMPs Weigh in on Rat Baiting

CLEVELAND – When it comes to rat baiting, there is no one-size-fits-all solution. PMPs use everything at their disposal and let the situation dictate the bait they choose. 

Chris Caddel, director of operations for Black Pest Prevention, Charlotte, N.C., commented on our poll on LinkedIn. “Depends on the rat. Roof rats dried fruit. Norways, beef jerky. Never peanut butter due to allergies.”

Concerns over peanut allergies were expressed by several of those who commented on our poll. Regardless, peanut butter remains a popular choice. According to those who responded to PCT's recent reader poll question, 57 percent said peanut butter was their top choice for baiting rats, followed by bacon (24 percent), dried fruit (14 percent) and chocolate syrup (5 percent).

Mike Peaslee, training/technical director for Modern Pest Services (an Anticimex company), Brunswick, Maine, agreed that rodent baiting is very situational. “You need to take time to investigate the foods being fed on, other food choices that are available to them and experiment with different types of attractants and food type baits for the traps to determine what is the best option for the specific colony you are dealing with,” he said.

Similarly, consultant Dan Collins commented that there is no one answer and reminded that trap placement can be as or more important than the bait on the trap. “Entrenched, long-term rodent populations can be finicky and oftentimes exhibit equipment avoidance and disregard behaviors as noted by Corrigan et. al,” Collins wrote on PCT's LinkedIn page.  Collins said inspections and monitoring (i.e., remote sensors, game cameras) help determine optimal trap placement. “Prior to implementing snap traps in the ‘kill position, they should be ‘pre-baited’ with a variety of baits to determine which baits are readily accepted by that particular rat population.”

One bait choice not included in our poll, but that is popular with PMPs (including Peaslee) are Slim Jim’s, the dried meat popularized by pro wrestler Randy “Macho Man” Savage.

Our newest poll question asks: With what frequency do you monitor online reviews?