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RAT BAIT

KevinR

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I have rats eating my tomatos, confirmed by my night time trail camera.

Got some traps and research seemed to favor peanut butter in the bait cup. Well, these rats apparently don’t like peanut butter, or, they know what a trap is.

Night time video shows them sniffing the trap and bait then walking right by. Most activity comes between midnight and 2 am.

What is your fail safe rat bait?

And no, I’m not going to sit outside in waiting and drill them with my pellet rifle. I need my sleep. :D
 

Taboma

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I have rats eating my tomatos, confirmed by my night time trail camera.

Got some traps and research seemed to favor peanut butter in the bait cup. Well, these rats apparently don’t like peanut butter, or, they know what a trap is.

Night time video shows them sniffing the trap and bait then walking right by. Most activity comes between midnight and 2 am.

What is your fail safe rat bait?

And no, I’m not going to sit outside in waiting and drill them with my pellet rifle. I need my sleep. :D

Maybe try some tomato slices :p I know they sure enjoy my avocados, as do the damned ground squirrels. :mad: I've certainly used peanut butter with some success and it's also been ignored at others. Rats can be challenging, it almost seems like they attend classes on identifying traps. Hell even my damned gophers seem schooled, so I have several different types of traps and if one doesn't work, I try another.
Good luck, neighbor had rats getting into her tomatoes and ended up wrapping the plants with a shade cloth type material.
 

monkeyswrench

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Peanut butter was the normal one, but you have hippy rats that don't like processed food;)
Apple slices or peaches from a can may work...enough scent to draw them. I used hotdogs before, but it sounds like your rodents may be a bit smarter:)
 

NicPaus

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Wire it in place or they will haul it off. Buy it at feed store that sells hay.
20190917_204303.jpg
 

Bails

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I had a rat guy out and he used peanut butter and put an M&M right on top. He told me the key was to wear gloves as the rats and mice can smell the oils from your skin. So if you touched the traps, try getting new ones and don't handle with bare hands.
 

DWC

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Might be tough if you have tomatoes on the vines. I agree with Taboma to try some tomatoes and see if they’ll fall for it. I had the same issue and ripped all mine out to start getting rid of them.
Make sure you use gloves getting the traps ready. Rats and gophers can smell us a mile away. I use the bait stations, ratx and an electronic trap with PB. The ratx is great if you have pets.
 

MCnParker

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We unfortunately had a rat situation about 6 months ago. I found the best combination was peanut butter with a gummy bear or fruit snack stuck in it. As mentioned before wear gloves when setting the trap. Another thing you might try that will not involve poison near your food source, is spread red chili flakes around the area, it should help a little.
 

liquid addiction

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Try some ranch dressing. They might make a tomato salad with it.

Serious though, I have use it for mice. seemed to attract them enough to snap the trap. Not sure with rats.
 

jetboatperformance

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STG ? this is a bigger problem than I perceived in you folks area ? word is that rats have "rebounded" from a multitude of problems
 

Bigbore500r

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View attachment 809781 Might be tough if you have tomatoes on the vines. I agree with Taboma to try some tomatoes and see if they’ll fall for it. I had the same issue and ripped all mine out to start getting rid of them.
Make sure you use gloves getting the traps ready. Rats and gophers can smell us a mile away. I use the bait stations, ratx and an electronic trap with PB. The ratx is great if you have pets.
This stuff didn't seem to work for me.
 

wayniac

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try wet dog food. is any of this near a building. Ive tracked the little f'ers to where they were coming from, and set traps along paths they used and caught them without bait even.

Wayne
 
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racetrash

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Victor rat trap, bend the little bait thing straight up and push 3 raisins on it. Caught a shit ton this summer up here in the high desert with this.
 

Riverfamlee

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We used one of these victor electronic deals. Caught one everyday with a couple of pieces of dog food. Pretty cool, they walk in and get the shit shocked out of them and die. Just dump in the trash and re-bait until the 4 d batteries die:D. Figured the dog food was attracting them so we feed the dog inside now and never leave any outside anymore. Since then we have been rat free. Lots of youtube vids of this thing in action if you're curious
rat.jpg
 

Riverfamlee

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And poison always works, but it sucks if you cant find the dead bastard. Youre place will be stinky for a week
 
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I used raw peanuts in the shell, a night game camera, and a 6x6x18 wire trap.
The birds will eat your bait, so set it up after the sun sets.

The game camera records Time/temps/humidity/etc. Over the years, I’ve found the best time are between 10pm-3am to catch them.

Also raise the wire trap off the ground with brick or a board 4-8”, and scatter some crushed up around the trap, to build up their confidence.

My largest “roof rat “ had a body 7 inches long, and tail about 18”.

The common brown rats. My largest is 5 inches.

Roof rats like the oranges, and I assume Tomatoes as well.

my neighbor uses an air rifle.
 

NicPaus

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this stuff works....they eat it and regurgitate to feed babies.. its takes a day or two dries them inside out..
I still set traps in tight areas.. caught one that tired to get by it..
Only way I found that works. Traps they get used to. The old lady next door to me free feeds cats and dogs. I go through a pound every few weeks. If I forget and not put it out for a month they will eat a pound the first night. I wire it in the trees on top of the wall between us. I have put out around 40 lbs in 5 years. See the same cats and she has same dog so must be pet safe. No rats in my yard all that matters.
 

Long Way Home

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If you must use it, treat rat poison carefully as it can cause damage far beyond just killing the rats, rats will carry the poison to other places, drop it etc, it than becomes dangerous for other animals/kids in the neighborhood. Try to use bait stations where the rat cannot leave the area, a dead rat that has eaten poison is hazardous waste.
 

Nordie

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A couple few years ago I had a mouse problem. I did it old school with the snap traps, but as mentioned above I used gloves, and I used Nutella. Fuckers could not resist that stuff.
 

Rattle Can Lou

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The best luck I've had with mice is broccoli...they can't resist it. Don't know about rats..never see em...
 

Universal Elements

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Be very careful with the bait stations. My neighbor has rat problems. We do have cats in the vicinity. Instead of eliminating the food source (orange trees, never picks) for the rats, the lazy ass goes and buys some poison traps. Well, a rat bit off a big chunk and made his way into our backyard. He traveled about 100 feet before collapsing and dying. Our 18 year old who is blind has a terrific nose. Found the rat and the chunk of bait that was in the rats mouth. I spotted him a couple minutes later Licking and chewing the bait. I grabbed him and rushed him to the vet. Cost me $800 and a couple of days of bs. The vet had to do charcoal treatments along with other stuff.

EB658C02-DCC1-46C4-A79F-E07E54392661.jpeg
 

BajaMike

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Can’t use poison if you have pets. Cayenne pepper keeps them away, Irish Spring works and peppermint oil works with mice, rats probably just eat it.

Pellet gun sounds best!
 
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LazyLavey

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I dont know if adding some lighting will be possible for you in a garden enviorment but it worked for me keeping those bastards out of my RV.

I placed traps and bait on the other side of the house, away from the RV (to try to lure them over there) and lit the area beneath the RV with some LED strips.

Seriously works.. They dont like light!...

After finding poop in my truck engine compartment I've added a light in there as well.
 

TPC

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Bury the traps for 10 days then wear gloves when you bait them.
We had a straight razor totin’ Cat that kept the Whole neighborhood rat and mouse free but tapped out at 21.
 

thedan

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I drill a hole in a green bait block or three for a bait station and screw it into a foot long 2x4 and place it in a pet safe place(under a pallet under my woodpile). Rats can’t carry it away, and I can see if they are chewing on it. Re-bait when necessary. 2 dogs, 4 orange trees and 5 avocado trees, and it works like a peach.
 

nameisbond

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I use the Victor Zap traps with some dry dog food. I leave some dog food out of the trap. Gets them used to the bait. I catch more mice then rats. Price of living out in the country!
 

termiteguy

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Ok let's start with clearing things up a bit rat bait works really well however it's not a instant kill the need to feed on it several times before its affective. And as far as pets are concerned the should be kept in a bait station but if a dog cat or bird or any thing eats a dying rat and the poison in them it will kill that animal it took at least 3 feedings to kill that little rat it will not kill a 5 pound cat dog bird etc. The cure for rat poisoning is vitamin k which is what dog food has a ton of. If you're afraid the dog has eaten some feed him milk bones rat bait cause bleeding vitamin k stops it,however if you're bating rats and dog food is near by and the rats eat it you're not going to get a kill. 25 years in the termite and pest business.
 

SPFRONTMAN

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Look up rat/mice glue traps on Youtube, pretty funny. Friend of mine uses the stuff at his ranch, works great. You can get it at Home Depot. Or make a trap from one of the home made traps these guys come up with, pretty ingenious what they come up with and make.
 

2Driver

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Contrac. Hands down the best- period.

it dehydrates them so no stink i have 7 acres and I can tell you it cleans up rodents asap.

get it at domynownpestcontrol.com
 

KevinR

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Maybe try some tomato slices :p I know they sure enjoy my avocados, as do the damned ground squirrels. :mad: I've certainly used peanut butter with some success and it's also been ignored at others. Rats can be challenging, it almost seems like they attend classes on identifying traps. Hell even my damned gophers seem schooled, so I have several different types of traps and if one doesn't work, I try another.
Good luck, neighbor had rats getting into her tomatoes and ended up wrapping the plants with a shade cloth type material.

Taboma, this is new for me. Of course I should put tomato in the bait cup since that’s what they like. :rolleyes:

I have a bait in there tonight from the rat trap manufacturer. We will see what happens. Tomorrow night Tomatoes will be the entree.
 

KevinR

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I had a rat guy out and he used peanut butter and put an M&M right on top. He told me the key was to wear gloves as the rats and mice can smell the oils from your skin. So if you touched the traps, try getting new ones and don't handle with bare hands.

Done. Gloves used.
 

KevinR

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We unfortunately had a rat situation about 6 months ago. I found the best combination was peanut butter with a gummy bear or fruit snack stuck in it. As mentioned before wear gloves when setting the trap. Another thing you might try that will not involve poison near your food source, is spread red chili flakes around the area, it should help a little.

Gloves worn. Should I use a CBD gummy bear? :D

Tried chili flakes as you said and no luck. Traps are my latest attempt. Anyone have a cat to rent out?
 
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