As soon as you notice signs of mice’s presence in your home, be it chewed up fabric, droppings or actually seeing one of the critters yourself, it’s important that you take immediate action to begin eliminating them. You can find some highly effective mouse traps for little cost at many home stores. But just as important as the selection of the trap is the type of bait you’ll choose.
Here’s some information about pest control in Bartlesville, OK to keep in mind when making your selections.
Why is the right bait important?
You might think just about any type of food would work on a mouse, but this isn’t necessarily the case. Mice are much smarter and more instinctive than most people give them credit for being. They have highly attuned senses of vision, hearing, smell and touch, which can make trapping them more difficult than you’d expect. These are creatures that navigate through cracks as little as a quarter inch wide to get into your home—and once they’re inside, their sensory powers make it relatively easy for them to find your kitchen, pantry or other areas of your home that may be of interest to them.
In addition, the intelligence of mice makes them react differently to certain types of mouse trap baits. They are also capable of communicating with each other to teach each other ways of stealing bait from a trap without getting caught. In some cases, even if you’ve found a combination of bait and trap that works well, it may only be a matter of time before the mice in your home adapt and figure it out.
Here are some of the types of bait most frequently recommended by pest control specialists:
- Small slices of hot dog (raw or cooked, either will work just fine)
- Small amounts of maple syrup
- Peanut butter (either smooth or chunky will work)
- Chopped up bacon bits (ones you’ve cooked yourself, not ones that come in a jar, can or shaker)
- Gumdrops or sweet candies (softer candies are better than harder ones so the mice can sink their teeth into them)
- Strong-smelling soft cheeses
- Chocolate
- Bird seed or nuts
- Pet food (wet food for cats or dogs is especially attractive to mice)
The general principle behind selecting an ideal mouse bait is to look for strong-smelling food bits that will attract the mouse to your trap. Mice have a sweet tooth, and are also attracted to foods that are high in fat or protein. All of the above options have been tested numerous times by pest control specialists and have been proven to be effective over and over again.
If for whatever reason your bait of choice doesn’t work, you can try another variety of bait, switch to a different type of mouse trap or try to place the trap in another area of your home that has mouse activity.
For more tips about rodent control in Bartlesville, OK, or for help with an infestation, contact the experts at Excellence Pest Control today.