Not sure which mouse trap bait to use? Here are 10 of the most effective baits to use in your traps plus tricks to catch even the smartest mouse.
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The Ten Best Mouse Trap Bait Choices
Whether the mice in your home have a taste for sweet or savory snacks, one of the following types of bait will be sure to tempt even the pickiest mice.
Here are our top choices of mouse trap bait that will work to catch that mouse.
1. Hot Dogs
Small slices of hot dogs (cooked or uncooked) are easy to use in a mouse trap. They are rich in protein, have a distinctive scent, and can be chopped into any size or shape needed.
2. Bacon Bits
You can use bacon that you have cooked up yourself or even raw. Bacon grease is another great option. Don’t use the bacon bits from a jar or can. I’m not sure what they are made of, but they don’t work nearly as well.
3. Maple Syrup
A dollop of maple syrup placed on the bait trigger works really well. Mice have a sweet tooth, and the sticky nature of the syrup keeps the bait in place.
4. Candy
Gumdrops or other sweet candies are a very effective mouse trap bait. Choose softer candies as opposed to harder ones since they are easier to handle.
5. Peanut Butter
Peanut butter is an excellent choice for a mouse trap bait due to its sticky nature. And mice love nuts, so this works on both fronts. Smooth or chunky peanut butter can be used.
6. Chocolate
Mice love chocolate! Dark, milk, semi-sweet, or white chocolate all work equally well.
7. Soft Strong Smelling Cheese
Contrary to all the cartoons and images of mice eating cheese, it’s actually not one of their favorite foods. However, very strong-smelling or softer cheese can work very well.
Soft cheese is also easier to spread and will stick to the bait plate. Just watch your fingers as you are setting the trap.
8. Crackers with Butter
Bits of cracker mixed with butter can make a great bait for your traps. The mice enjoy the fat from the butter as well as the salty starch of the crackers.
9. Bird Seed or Nuts
Mice eat seeds and nuts in the wild, so this is a natural choice to attract mice to your traps. You can use any type of fat like butter or cooking grease to help the seed stay on the trap.
10. Pet Food
Wet cat or dog food is especially effective. Just don’t place them anywhere your pet can access the traps. Use this type of bait in isolated locations like the attic or crawlspace where pets will not explore.
Other Ideas to Use As Bait
When selecting a type of mouse bait, look for strong-smelling food bits that will draw the mouse into your trap. Foods high in fat or protein are good choices. Mice also have a sweet tooth, so sweet sticky candy or dried fruit are good choices.
Each one of the options above has been used to attract house mice to take the bait. Experiment with a few choices to see which type works best for you. And if you need a few more tips, keep reading to see how to improve your odds.
Watch the Video – 10 of the Best Mouse Trap Baits
What To Do If Your Mouse Trap Bait Is Not Working
If you are using one variety of mouse trap bait and begin to notice that the efficiency is wearing off, be prepared to switch it up.
1. Try A New Type Of Bait
Experiment with another variety of bait for mice in your mouse trap. If you are using sweet bait, swap it out for a savory one like nut butter or bacon.
2. Try a Different Type Of Mousetrap
You may need to try out another style of mouse trap. There are many different varieties of effective mouse traps. It is always a smart idea to try more than one to see which works best in your home.
3. Change Trap Placement
Consider moving the mouse traps to another location where you have mouse activity. If setting up your mouse traps directly next to the high-traffic areas is not working, try setting up the traps adjacent to or just a bit away from these high-traffic areas.
4. Try The Nut In The Middle Trick
If you find the mouse trap bait is gone, but the trap did not snap, the trigger may not be sensitive enough.
- Place a small amount of sticky or gooey mouse trap bait like peanut butter in the bait station.
- Then push a nut or other tidbit in the middle of the peanut butter.
- This forces the mouse to stop on the platform & apply more pressure to the trigger while removing the nut.
This method will prevent the mouse from just grabbing your mouse bait and running away to safety.
5. Use An Electronic Trap
You may also need to select a trap that has a highly sensitive sensor to detect when the mouse is present. You may have baby mice that don’t weigh enough to trigger the manual trap’s snapping mechanism.
Electric mousetraps are more sensitive than some of the snap traps. The Victor electronic mouse trap is known to have a very sensitive sensing circuit while being an affordable type of reusable mouse trap. They recommend a high-protein bait for best results.
A Few Important Things To Consider When Setting Up Mouse Traps With Bait
The first few times that you set up your mouse traps, you’ll want to keep the traps in the same localized area.
Really try to hit those “high traffic” spots close to where the mice are living and sleeping with the majority of your traps. Thankfully this will also be in quieter out-of-the-way spots, like your basement, crawlspace attic, or garage.
You can also set a few along their pathways to and from their nesting zone. This is almost always going to be along the baseboards or hallways. In the kitchen, this may be behind your refrigerator or oven.
Make sure that everyone is aware that you have set up traps so they do not find any “surprises” when they’re moving things around in the kitchen or bedroom.
Are You Smarter Than The Average Mouse?
Choosing the best mouse trap bait is just one part of the puzzle. To get rid of mice in your home, you should understand just how smart, crafty, and instinctive mice are. For a detailed look, check out these important facts about mice.
With amazing hearing, vision, and a sense of smell and touch that is far beyond what most people would have anticipated, trapping mice can be a challenge. You need to be able to outsmart the mice in your home to get rid of them for good.
These little rodents need nothing more than a quarter-inch opening (absolutely anywhere) to gain access to a building or home. On top of that, these little creatures can live inside walls. They may use the interior of your home as a base of operations for midnight raids into your kitchen, bedroom, or pantry.
Mice are highly intelligent. They may react differently to different types of mouse trap bait.
According to the experts at Victor Pest Control (a premier multinational pest-control service), it’s important that you use the best bait for your particular mouse trap situation. You should try different bait solutions until you find the best mouse trap bait for your particular “infestation”.
Mice are crafty little creatures. They may try to sneak away with the bait before getting caught. They will communicate with each other, sharing tactics for stealing bait from the mouth of the trap without ever getting caught.
You are going to want to do absolutely everything you can to use the best mouse trap technology, the proper location, and the right bait for the trap to outsmart these little critters.
Final Thoughts on Selecting the Best Mouse Trap Bait
Trying to figure out exactly what is the best bait for mouse traps can be difficult, especially if you are not getting the results you wanted. However, using the insider information above – as well as some good old-fashioned common sense – you should have no trouble getting great results and getting rid of mice fast.
The best bait to put inside your mouse traps will always need to be adjusted based on your unique situation, but any of the options described above should be more than enough to get you started!
