Mice destroy and contaminate everything in their path- from food to personal property to paper documents and clothing. However, you may not want these creators and their destructive dispositions in your home and still want them to live regardless. This is where humane mouse traps come in. These traps allow you to capture mice around your home and release them humanely and safely to places far from your home.
While this might sound straightforward, it’s not always so. The type of bait you use for your mousetrap will determine whether you will trap mice or not. Your bait is as essential as your trap. This is why choosing the proper bait is necessary. This article will guide you on choosing the best bait for humane mouse trap and what to do when your trap is not catching mice.
Mouse traps only have one function: getting rid of mice. There are numerous ways to do this, and one is to use the humane mouse trap. However, what does “humane” mean in connection to getting rid of mice?
Humane means different things to various people. And the dictionary meaning of humane is distinguished by compassion, tenderness, and sympathy for animals and humans. It also means acting in a way that leads to the least harm to animals or people.
With the above definitions, we can conclude that humane mouse traps are ways to eliminate mice in the home without killing them or causing them harm. The primary aim of a humane mouse trap is to capture a mouse without taking its life, as numerous mouse poisons do.
With its safe construction and positive reviews, the Blinc Humane Mouse Trap is an ideal example of a humane mouse trap.
Here’s how a humane mouse trap works.
In 2020, there were over 8300 rodenticide poisoning cases in the United States alone. So, it’s unsurprising that numerous homeowners are prone to using other methods that do not involve poison, like mousetraps, to eliminate mice in their homes.
It doesn’t matter if you are using a live trap or snap trap; the role of bait in attracting and capturing mice in the home is crucial. Here are the most effective lures to attract and catch mice in your home.
Mice love the smell and taste of nuts and seeds. This makes peanut butter a perfect bait for catching them. Peanut butter also has high fat and calorie content, which is necessary for the mice in your home. Another option to consider if you don’t have peanut butter is hazelnut spread.
You should not spread excess peanut butter on the trap if you want to use it as bait. A pea-sized quantity is more than enough to attract and trap them.
Gumdrops and marshmallows are ideal options if you are on a budget or want cheap baits. Mice are attached to these baits because they are incredibly rich in sugar. All you have to do is put one piece or more in the trap and leave it to do its job.
Like peanut butter, mice are also attracted to chocolate because it is a rich source of calories. Chocolates also have intense flavors and smell that force mice out of their hiding. However, research and know the kind of chocolate that will work best for your trap. This is because there are various types of chocolates. Many homeowners agree that regular chocolate and milk chocolate performs well.
Cats are helpful when hunting mice since they are natural predators. They have potent senses that allow them to perceive mice’s presence in the home and get rid of them. However, cats’ pet foods also attract mice.
Mice are opportunistic feeders. So, they would feed on anything as long as they are attracted to it. The pet food of your cat has the necessary nutrients mice need to survive in your home.
Although mice love wet food, they will also eat dry pet food littering around the house.
So, it would be best if you didn’t always clean up after your cat after they have eaten. Utilize this opportunity and place your mousetrap near the remaining pet food instead.
As earlier stated, mice love eating nuts and seeds. They will never give up the opportunity to eat seeds and nuts if they are in your home. There are numerous seeds and nuts you can use as your baits. We advise you to use sunflower, bird, and pumpkin seeds if you want the best results.
Many people think cheese is the best bait for mice because of the movies they have seen. However, mice are not that attracted to cheese the way you have been made to believe. Many kinds of cheese won’t be effective in trapping the mice in your home. However, it is better to use soft cheese instead of its cheddar counterpart if you want to use cheese as your bait. Some soft cheese with potent smells that would captivate mice includes brie, camembert, and blue cheese.
Mice will willingly risk their lives for a slice of deli meat such as sausages and bacon. It doesn’t matter if the deli meat is cooked or raw; mice will go after it. Some homeowners prefer to use the grease of cooked bacon to attract mice because of its strong smell.
However, the significant problem is that deli meat goes bad quickly at room temperature. So, you must keep checking your deli meat bait regularly if you want to use it as bait. You should also change it regularly.
Another effective bait to trap mice is fruit jam. Fruit jams are sticky and sweet, like hazelnut spread and peanut butter. All you have to do is to put the correct quantity at the far end of your trap. This will force the rodent you want to catch to enter the trap.
However, a negative side effect of using fruit jams as your bait is that they also attract other pests, such as ants and cockroaches. So, you must check your trap frequently to avoid this from happening.
All the cartoons we watched growing up that feature rodents always have them eating and enjoying hard cheese. However, that’s not the same in reality. Unlike cartoons, mice are hardly attracted to hard cheese.
Usually, mice are nut and seed lovers. So, they are naturally captivated by any bait from seeds and nuts. It’s not advisable to use hard cheese like cheddar for your mousetrap. You might not trap any mice. They will find other more attractive foods by rummaging through your cupboards and home.
If you want to use cheese, soft cheese is the ideal option. Mice are inclined to go for soft cheese because of its potent smell. So, they pick it faster than hard cheese.
In some circumstances, your humane mouse trap won’t be as effective as it should be. There are numerous reasons why this occurs. Here are some tips to follow to make your trap work better and as expected.
Mice in the home are a problem many homeowners fear. And they should. Mice can destroy so many valuable things in the house. And using humane mousetrap is one of the best ways to get rid of them. However, having a mouse trap is not enough. You also have to use the best bait that would help to attract mice to your trap. With this guide, choosing the best bait for humane mouse trap has been made easy for you.
