Rats..... a first time for everything

I see in my post above I said sunflower seeds. Sorry but that’s wrong pumpkin seeds is best. You can use a needle and thread them onto the trigger. So they really need to tug at it to get it lose. Draws them in when there dry as well as wet.

while on the subject of baits for rats a student did a study in Waimana some years ago when they set up the mainland Island in there for Kokako - what do rats like = okay no 1 peanut butter - 2 - white choclate buttons - 3 - marzipan ( that yellow heavy layer they put under icing on a cake - sadly Tuhoe have chosen to let that whole project go to ruin

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Another 2 today for the Pud

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Originally Posted by No.3

I dunno, but I do know for a fact we get some big hua mice same as the fat arse rats. I think the issue may partially be to do with the fact that peanut butter is not our go-to bait as the little sods have too many other options in the form of garden and tree crops. Apple is one of our mainstay baits for traps - and those little plastic traps with the 'bait tray' arrangement with little nubs works for peanut butter but not for apple or other fruit baits.

What I've been doing is using the peanut butter as a 'glue' to hold the fruit option in place, and it works with tube traps and the victor style traps but I think the issue is the tray on the plastic traps allows the mouse to pull the tastier fruit piece away before they trip the trap. I think that this means that the plastic traps might only be getting a peripheral whack on the end of the snout or something that isn't fully fatal and it's allowing the rodents more fight time to eventually pull out from under the trap's jaws. With the Victor-type traps the fruit piece is hooked into the trigger plate and any movement or pulling on the fruit pings the bail arm straight onto mousey's head/neck which is quickly fatal.

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A wrap around with cotton works well even with butter or fat.i figure it gets caught in nibbling teeth or moves trigger enough to set traps off.done this forever on mouse traps.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by No.3

I dunno, but I do know for a fact we get some big hua mice same as the fat arse rats. I think the issue may partially be to do with the fact that peanut butter is not our go-to bait as the little sods have too many other options in the form of garden and tree crops. Apple is one of our mainstay baits for traps - and those little plastic traps with the 'bait tray' arrangement with little nubs works for peanut butter but not for apple or other fruit baits.

What I've been doing is using the peanut butter as a 'glue' to hold the fruit option in place, and it works with tube traps and the victor style traps but I think the issue is the tray on the plastic traps allows the mouse to pull the tastier fruit piece away before they trip the trap. I think that this means that the plastic traps might only be getting a peripheral whack on the end of the snout or something that isn't fully fatal and it's allowing the rodents more fight time to eventually pull out from under the trap's jaws. With the Victor-type traps the fruit piece is hooked into the trigger plate and any movement or pulling on the fruit pings the bail arm straight onto mousey's head/neck which is quickly fatal.

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I’ve used fine fuse wire to hold a sultana on the plate on those wee grey plastic traps, fiddly to do but one sultana is good for 4-5 mice (at least)

a little piece of cellotape gives 3-4 mice per peanut butter bait

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Originally Posted by 7mm Rem Mag

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Another 2 today for the Pud

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Something about the yellow eyed versions, the bastards are lethal and proud of it. This one I have is by far the best hunter I've had (damn it, getting sick of cleaning up the blood off the carpet). He goes outside in the pissing rain in the storms just gone, less than 5 mins and back with a mouse looking like he's had to swim for it. Take the mouse off him, dry him off so he's not dripping all over the bloody house and feed a few treats and bugger me, back out into the wild and back in about 3mins this time with another mouse. Repeat drying off, treat regime. Ok back out the cat flap you arsehole I see what's happening here, trade treats for carcasses. Back in about 6 mins with a freaken rat! This time, dried off, rat in bin, treats awarded, cat flap locked, pissed off kitty. Not putting up with that shite all night.

I use envirotools https://envirotools.co.nz/collections/our-products ceiling cat, it works great and no more step ladders or having to handle the decomposing little shites. And all this is very interesting but Rod spent 5 days in the scrub, how did you go? I miss your reports, and happy to have no place names. Cheers Ruger7mm

My home made stoat traps work well on rats.

Last night at barn. As some gin traps can be hard to set light enough to be triggered by a small rat I discovered hanging the piece of dog bikkie on the inside of the cage at the opposite side to the catch of the gin trap. There is more leverage on plate then.


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Im grateful to all the weka around my place. I think they are good pest control. Yesterday I caught a preggy mouse in the hood lining of my ute, It took me days to get it, what a relief. peanut butter (smooth) as bait