Guides4Homeowners Useful Information & Guides
Mice are more than just a nuisance. They are pesky little intruders who can take over your spaces, spread dangerous diseases, trigger allergies, contaminate food, and damage your property. But how do you protect your home and property from these nefarious rodents?
Of course, the first step is to go on the offensive, which means cutting off access to your house, building, or premise and then removing all the steady food and water supply. However, if you still find signs of mice or you continue to hear the unmistakable squeaks, scratchy, and scuffling sounds, then it’s time to fight back.
One of the most effective and more modern methods is to use a combination of traps, stations, and bait for both indoor and outdoor procedures. Rat and bait stations are specifically designed to protect non-targeted animals and children from exposure to the poison. They are placed in the activity areas to attract mice and rats to feed on the poisoned bait.
Note that there’s a legal requirement in the UK and the EU to have lockable or tamper-proof bait stations whenever you are baiting outdoors or in public areas.
Mice and Rat Poison; An Overview
Rat and mice poison are commonly referred to as rodenticides. They have different levels of effectiveness based on the type and amount of poison they contain and whether they work with one dosage (single-feed) or several dosages (multi-feed).
Types:
Over the counter rats and mice bait formulations are typically available in the following forms:
- Pellet baits which can be available in bulk or place packs
- Block baits which can be available in different shapes and sizes (take into consideration the size and type of your bait station/trap before purchase)
- Liquid baits
- Meal baits which are made out of highly palatable seeds and grains
- Soft baits
How Do Rat and Mice Baits Work?
We won’t get into scientific details of how rat and mice baits work, but it’s worth noting how they work so you can select the right product according to your situation. Rodenticides are generally classified into two according to how they work:
Anticoagulants: these types of rodenticides work by significantly interfering with the activation of Vitamin K, one of the most critical components in the production of blood clotting factors in the rodents. In short, they interfere in the ability of the rodent’s blood to clot.
Non-anticoagulants: these types vary in the way they work, but many of them interfere with the calcium levels in the rodent’s blood. They also interfere with their nervous system. Most of them have a single-feed working mechanism.
*Quick tip: to improve the effectiveness of any bait, eliminate all the rats and mice’s natural sources of food or any competing food sources. This will reduce bait shyness and ensure they have no option but to feed on the bait.
Top 7 Best Baits for Mice Traps and Stations:
Features:
- Irresistible and palatable wax blocks
- Contains powerful concentration of Bromadiolone (bromadiolone0.0025% w/w and denatonium benzoate 0.001% w/w)
- Package contains 300 grams of 15 wax blocks (20 grams apiece)
The pre-formed bait blocks are specifically designed to be used on bait stations. Therefore, they remain secure within the stations and minimize or eliminate contact with the non-targets, including pets and children.
The fact that it has no wax content and is made out of top-quality wheat grain guarantees quick uptake, and the rats and mice will find it irresistible.
Features:
- Maximum strength Formula ‘B’ that contains single-feed Brodifacoum (0.0029%)
- Made out of high-quality whole-wheat grain
- Package contains 10 x 100 grams sachets that you can empty into bait stations
- Comes with nitrile safety gloves for handling the poison
The tiny pellets design means that they are irresistible and can be easily delivered into any bait station or mice traps.
One sachet packs enough grain and poison to kill up to 40 mice and rats. This makes it quite effective and budget-friendly since a single pack can knock out even an extensive infestation.
Features:
- Comes in a 150-gram package with 6 x 25 grams sachets
- Contains lethal dose of Brodifacoum (0.0025% w/w)
- One packet contains enough poison grain to kill 40 mice and rats
- Irresistible Single-feed sapphire grains with active formula
The Ratkil grains are home friendly and are perfect for use in bait stations and traps around sensitive areas of the house, such as kitchens, food preparation areas, and other rooms.
It comes in a safe, resealable pack that contains 6 x 25 grams of lethal Racan force grain. It’s an anticoagulant type of rodenticide, which means it will kill rats and mice a few days after consumption. Typically around 4-10 days later.
Features:
- Comes in a resealable pack
- Package contains 6 x 25 grams of highly potent whole wheat grain
- Racan force grains that contain (Brodifacoum 0.0025%)
Perfect for use in known resistant areas and within tamper-resistant bait stations where rodents are most active. However, you may need several packs to eliminate a full-scale infestation.
The block baits are specially designed from top-quality food materials, preservatives, flavours, which means whey will remain fresh even when exposed to harsh weather conditions such as wet weather. Their unique design also makes them perfect for all kinds of bait stations.
Features:
- Package contains 30 pieces of all-weather block baits (around 10 grams apiece)
- Moisture resistant bait blocks
- Multi-feed advanced formula with lower toxicity (50% less poison)
- Bait blocks contain Difenacoum, which has no known resistance
- Fast-acting poison that kills within 24 hours of consumption.
- Less messy and stays clumped together even when nibbled. This prevents cross-contamination
- Easy to follow icons on the packaging to guide you on how to use the product
These bait blocks are perfectly suited for homes and family environments. The lower toxicity will certainly give families and pet owners more peace of mind whenever they use them.
The packaging contains easy-to-follow on-pack directions to select the most effective bait solution for you. The universal design of the bait blocks means that they can fit into just about any bait station.
It’s manufactured using top-grade quality pasta poison with a lethal, single-feed effectiveness that contains Brodifacoum. The pasta bait ensures a great uptake and rapid results, which is what you want when you are in the thick of an infestation.
Features:
- Highly palatable ruby pasta bait
- 6 x 25 grams sachets with 0.0025% w/w Difenacoum
- Sweet, irresistible scent that attracts mice and rats immediately
- Home approved and fast-acting formula
- Perfect for all kinds of bait stations
The Contego rat and mouse killer bait works perfectly with bait stations and, therefore, suitable for use in business premises such as factories, restaurants, and commercial kitchens.
These blocks are made using top-quality culinary-grade food materials such as wheat flour, chopped wheat, cereals, and proteins. The ingredients are bound together by edible waxes and given a chocolatey aroma that can trigger the rats’ and mice’s curiosity and eventual consumption.
Features:
- Comes is a 300 grams pack with 15 x 20 grams block baits
- The wax bait blocks contain the highly bitter denatonium benzoate to discourage human and pet consumption
- An irresistible chocolatey scent that will immediately attract rats and mice
- Multi-feed poison (Bromadiolone 0.0025% w/w & denatonium benzoate 0.001% w/w)
- Manufactured through hot casting process to ensure the ingredients are intimately mixed and the wax can tolerate humidity
- Also available in multi-packs
These Roshield block baits have been the number one choice for many professional operators due to their effectiveness and the fact that they work with almost every bait station.
Note that it’s an anticoagulant type of bait and will require several feeds, which is the recommended procedure for long-term high population control.
FAQs About the Best Baits for Mice Traps and Stations
All types of baits often come with instructions and directions on the product labels. Here are some answers to some of the most frequent queries about baits for mice traps and stations:
1. What Should I Consider When Selecting the Best Mice and Rat Baits?
There are a few important considerations when it comes to choosing the right baits for your exact situation.
Here are a few factors you should consider before purchasing any type of bait:
- Type of poison
- Toxic vs. non-toxic: this refers to the toxicity levels of the poison to humans and other animals rather than their effect on rats and mice
- Fast-action vs. slow-action: as the name suggests, slow-acting poisons don’t kill the rodents immediately, but they are still quite effective since they will not correlate the food to how sick they are feeling.
- The required poison dosage: this has no relation to the quantity of the bait you have to put out but rather how much the rodent will have to eat before it succumbs to the poison.
- Ease of use: most baits are quite easy to use since they attract rats and mice. But it’s still important to purchase products you can easily handle or replace as and when needed. However, most rodenticides take a little bit of time to work, and you only need to put them out for a couple of days to see the results. There’s usually no need to handle them every day.
2. What Do I Do If My Pet Eats Rat Poison?
Identify the active ingredient in the formulation and call your vet immediately. You can find this information in the packaging, or better yet, bring the container with you to the vet if you are having trouble identifying the active ingredient.
The sooner your pet is treated, the less likely the overall damage. Avoid administering any kind of treatment for poison ingestion without your vet’s direction.
You may want to consider using low-impact poison if that’s safer around pets. This doesn’t mean it’s not effective when consumed by rats and mice. Rather, it means that there will be significantly reduced damage if ingested by pets and other non-target animals.
3. How Long Does it take for the Rats and Mice to Start Succumbing to the Poison?
This depends on the type of bait you are using. Some baits with fast-acting poison can kill mice within 24 hours of consumption, while others can take 2-3 days. Baits with slow-acting poison may require multiple feeding actions to kill the rodents. This may take more than 4-5 days before they succumb to the poison.
4. How Often Should I Replace or Replenish the Bait in the Bait Station?
You should replace or replenish the bait on a need-it-or-not basis. Rats and mice are attracted by the freshest of bait. Moldy, dusty, or decayed bait won’t attract them. Consider replacing bait after 4-6 weeks.
5. How Many Pellets Does it Take to Kill A Rat?
Depending on the toxicity of the poison, it can take anywhere from 1-2 pellets to several pellets to kill a rat or a mouse. If you use bait with a slow-acting poison, the rats would need to continue feeding for a couple of days before they succumb to the bait. This could require around 6-30 pellets for rats.
6. How Do I Dispose of a Dead Rat or Mouse?
First off, you should never try to handle a dead rat or mouse directly. In fact, steer clear of its faeces or any of its nesting materials. That being said, the sight of a dead rat can be quite unsettling. If you aren’t up to it, then get a professional or someone else to take care of it.
Nevertheless, here are a few simple instructions on how you can safely dispose of a dead rodent:
- Put on a pair of rubber gloves,
- Spray the dead rat or mouse and the surrounding areas with disinfectant,
- Place the dead rat or mouse inside a plastic bag.
- Seal the bag and place it inside another plastic trash bag
- Dispose of it in your outdoor trash bin.
- You can keep the trap or bait station (after properly disinfecting it) and use it again, or you can choose to dispose of it.
You may want to check with local authorities if they have any special
How Do You increase the Success Rates of Your Traps and Baits?
The correct use of traps and bait stations will significantly increase your success rate and ensure you quickly bring an infestation under control in the least possible time. Here are some quick tips:
- Act immediately you see the first signs of an infestation: as soon as you spot, hear, or notice signs of rats and mice, start baiting at once. The trick is to try and eliminate them before they settle in and start expanding their families. Rats typically breed about six litters a year, consisting of up to 10-12 pups. Therefore, two rats can breed exponentially within a few short months.
- Place several traps and bait stations around the house: this will increase your chances of eradicating the infestation once and for all. For every one rat you spot, there are several other family members hidden around the location.
- Carefully select the best location: rats and mice are essentially creatures of habit. They will likely appear on or take the same pathways when they go in and out of their hiding places. Place your traps and bait stations where you notice the most activity.
- Choose the right kind of bait: you won’t lure rodents into your traps without the right bait. Most types of bait stations and traps come with their own bait or, at times, recommendations for the right kinds of bait. Refer to our recommended list of seven best baits for mice traps and stations if you need more guidance.
- Keep pets away: while most mice traps and stations will not harm your pets, they can stir curiosity and interfere with the entire baiting process. The rats may avoid the traps and stations altogether.
- Knowing when to stop baiting: one of the most common baiting mistakes is ending the process prematurely. Don’t remove your traps and bait stations just because you have caught a few rats. Instead, keep baiting until you stop seeing the tell-tale signs such as droppings.
Conclusion:
While most of the recommended baits in this guide are single-feed baits, some are also multiple-feed baits. Both methods work efficiently, and each of them may be better applied to a particular situation. For instance, multiple-feed baits are generally recommended for an extensive infestation or where there’s a large population of rats and mice.
Before you begin your baiting program, it’s absolutely critical that you first eliminate all other sources of foods. Remember, the baits only work if they are consumed, and if a rat or mouse is already feeding itself, it may not be attracted to food in a bait station.
Therefore, introduce bait stations and traps into the population when you have eliminated as many competing food sources as you can.
Recurring infestations can be frustrating and quite disheartening, so it’s important to get the baiting right.
Good luck!
