Buying bait from suppliers is becoming a rather expensive issue. Has anyone had success with a particular recipe where the bait lasts for a long time eg month to 5 months. Looking to catch rats, mustelids, and possums. I was thinking of cinnamon and using terracotta plugs (from Connovation) to hold the lure but need a carrier oil/liquid. However this might work for rats and possums but unlikely for mustelids.
Thanks
I believe the carrier for Connovation lures is very likely glycerol, which is readily available and cheap.
I have posted on longer life lures for rats and possums, but I imagine you might be able to adapt some of it to your challenges:
Terracotta lures for Victor traps
Mouldy bait? Potassium sorbate
Mould-resistant Nutella lure aka “rat truffles”
I am also interested in the application of Nara lures, but I am yet to try them.
Let me know if you would like to discuss further. I would be interested to hear how you go.
Thanks Dan. I was already on the track of making my own terracotta lures but went and bought a terracotta tray that was non absorbent ( fired at a higher temperature I was told). Appears most pots in shops are like this. Thought of a terracotta wine cooler as a replacement but use mine and have not as yet looked for another.
I have ordered a number of terracotta lures from Connovation (salmon and Cinnamon) as need them for dual purpose (catching Rats/mustelids/possums/cats). Once these have run out I will try your suggestion of glycerol as the carrier for lure scent. I have been using PoaUku from Connovation which has been good for rats but over 6 months not a single mustelid, which I know are there.
I should really be more scientific in my approach re success rate but there are so many factors such as weather, site of trap, human scent etc. that influence catch success, that I’m not sure worth the effort plus difficult to do controls and statistical analysis for significance (last did this 56 years ago!).
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You are quite right, some of the terracotta pots and trays are fired at a higher temperature (which increases vitrification) and they have closed porosity. I tested a few items I already had for absorbency and found a few that worked fine. I have used the Connovation chocolate lure with good results.
I also have difficulty catching mustelids. It would be good to know if the salmon variety of lure is effective on mustelids and/or cats.
We have just started baiting with a salmon oil/mayo mix and so far seem to be getting good results on mustelids. I have also noticed an increase of cats (from not ever getting them in traps to having got 3-4 past 2 months.
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This may be interesting. I have been using 2 Doc200 traps in my yard all this year with very limited success. I know there plenty of rats nearby as they will come out in the daytime to steal the bread scattered for the birds. I have been baiting with my peanut butter/ vitamin c tablet mix, plus some broken biscuit & bread chunks scattered nearby. Yesterday I had some solidified coconut oil well past its best by so I put some chunks in both the traps & lo & behold!, both doc200s contained a dead ships rat this morning.
Congrats on the kills!
As a rule, seeing rats during daylight hours indicates that there is a large population in the area, so ramping up your trapping would be a good idea. If you have the time and energy, I recommend checking your traps daily for a few weeks to get on top of them.
In order to make your tunnels more attractive to rats, it would be wise to stop feeding the birds for a while.
Rats love both animal and plant fats, so I’m not surprised that the coconut oil worked. A mixture of coconut and peanut oil should be very effective. Rats also like vinegar, so a proper salad dressing might be lethal!
I highly recommend trying some animal fat(s) in your tunnels, because they are irresistible to rats. Bones with scraps on them are also effective, like chops with gristle on them or bones from a roast. If you also trap mice, use the mice as lures. In summer, you’ll have to dispose of them quickly, though. If you don’t have a pair of tongs for your traps, you should buy some.
Ship rats love avocados, so buying a few of the cheap, small ones are worth trying.
Continued success!
What ‘other items’ have you been using Dan?
We briefly trialed sponges on our mustelid traps (around a terracotta lure) to help prevent everything getting so oily, but quickly found that in some areas the rodents quite liked eating them!
Hi Tui, you have momentarily lost me. Could you highlight the comment I made? I make so many (inane?) comments that I may have forgotten. Happy to help if I can.
Sorry Dan! Thrown you in the deep end back to last year some time! The post/comment I was referring to was this one, specifically where you mentioned you tested some things you already had for their absorbency.
No problem. I was referring to several terracotta pots and saucers I had in the shed. However I did also try the hydroponic “clay” beads sold in garden centres. They didn’t seem to work as well as the terracotta saucers. The beads just didn’t seem to have the right size or type of porosity, but perhaps one could investigate that further.
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