What Food is Irresistible to Mice: Preparing the Perfect Bait

Make your house pests-free! We'll explain what food is irresistible to mice and how to use it as bait.
By
Phyllis McMahon
Phyllis McMahon
Research Writer
Phyllis teaches English Literature at a local college and loves writing in her free time. She’s also a great cook – her British beef Wellington is something the best res read more
reviewed
Reviewed By
Chas Kempf
Chas Kempf
Expert Consultant
Chas works in a professional pest control company and knows all the nuances of this job. Also, he’s a fantastic tennis player and loves to organize BBQ parties for his fam read more
Last updated: September 02, 2023
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Mice are unwanted guests in virtually every home. When setting up traps to drive them out of your residence, you must opt for an effective bait to get results. With bait, it’s about the quality, hardly about the quantity.

If you’ve been wondering what food is irresistible to mice, there’s almost no limit to your options. Mice are attracted to various foods, especially those rich in fat, protein, and sugar. They are also attracted to foods with a strong smell. This attraction makes these foods ideal as mouse bait.

This article will discuss the best food to catch mice. On top of that, it will tell you how to place mouse bait properly. At the end of this article, you should have enough information to opt for an effective mouse bait.

Best Food to Catch Mice

We know the questions on your mind right now are; What do mice like to eat? What food are mice attracted to? Rest assured, we will get you answers about the best food to trap mice in this section.

Fruit jam, sweets, honey

What Food is Irresistible to Mice: Preparing the Perfect Bait

As we already mentioned, mice love sugary foods. Fruit jam is one of those sugary foods in this case. It comprises fruit, sugar, pectin, an acid (maybe lemon juice), and water. The higher the sugar content of the fruit jam, the higher its efficacy as mouse bait.

Sweets are another food that’s irresistible to mice. Needless to say, they contain a high concentration of sugar. So, it makes sense that they easily attract mice. Put loose candy on your trap and watch mice run to it.

Do mice like honey? Absolutely! That’s because honey is naturally sweet, and mice like that kind of thing. Just a dollop of honey will draw the animals to your trap.

Talking of sweet foods, chocolate is one of the most irresistible foods to catch mice. However, mice are not attracted to all kinds of chocolate, so you must keep that in mind. Specifically, they prefer milk chocolate to dark chocolate. That’s because dark chocolate features theobromine, a cocoa ingredient that mice do not fancy Trusted Source Theobromine as undesirable substances in animal feed Theobromine (3,7-dihydro-3,7-dimethyl-H-purine-2,6-dione) is a colourless and odourless 3,7-dimethylxanthine with a slightly bitter taste naturally present in the cacao tree (Theobroma cacao L.) and its seeds, and consequently in cocoa products and by-products. efsa.onlinelibrary.wiley.com

Furthermore, mice are fond of cookies because they contain either refined or brown sugar. Cookies with high sugar content will easily catch the attention of loitering mice. For the best results, leave a trail of cookie crumbs that leads to your trap.

You could even mix the cookie crumbs with peanut butter—another effective food for luring mice to traps.

Nuts and grains

What Food is Irresistible to Mice: Preparing the Perfect Bait

Not many foods are better at attracting mice than nuts. These animals love all kinds of nuts you can think of; walnuts, peanuts, almonds—the list goes on. Nuts are typically rich in protein and a great energy source for mice. So, it’s no surprise that these destructive animals love to take a bite from nuts.

The good thing is that nuts are easily accessible. They are a staple in most kitchen cabinets, so you shouldn’t have trouble finding them as your rodent bait. Besides nuts, mice take an interest in grains and seeds. These foods are another kitchen mainstay readily available when you need them.

Alternatively, opt for grain-based cereals. Apart from the grains, the sugar in cereals also attracts mice.

Meat

If you’ve noticed the presence of mice in your trash before, there’s a good chance they were there for meat remnants. Yes, these rodents love meat. It doesn’t matter if the meat is wet or dried; mice do not discriminate regarding their love for meat. You can use their interest against them by attaching a small portion to your trap.

Fruits and vegetables

What Food is Irresistible to Mice: Preparing the Perfect Bait

Fruits are a significant draw for mice. Their smell and natural sweetness make them easy targets for these pests. The irresistible fruits include orange, apple, pineapple, grape, strawberry, raspberry, blackberry, and others available to you. Just place a bit of your chosen fruit on your trap, and the mice will come calling.

Fruits are not the only natural foods that catch the attention of mice; vegetables attract them too. If you have cabbage, carrot, or kale at home, you have an effective mouse bait to eliminate the invasive rodents in your house.

Soft cheese

What Food is Irresistible to Mice: Preparing the Perfect Bait

If you’re a fan of cartoons, chances are you’ve seen mice go after cheese. But do mice like cheese in reality? Yes, mice like cheese but not just any cheese—they prefer soft, smelly cheese to hard cheese. This is not surprising, considering hard cheese looks less attractive and has a weaker smell.

Soft cheeses’ attractive look and smell make them easy prey for mice. They also contain fat and protein—both favorite ingredients of mice. Moreover, the high stickiness of cheese makes it a good bait.

How to Place Mouse Bait

Now that you know the irresistible foods to catch the mice terrorizing your home, let’s discuss how to place mice favorite food.

Wear gloves

When you’re handling mouse bait, you should always wear gloves. Mice have a strong sense of smell, which makes them capable of smelling a human touch on food. The last thing you want is for the rodents to avoid your bait.

Even if you’re using one of the best mouse poisons, you need to use it correctly to get results. That means wearing your glove when using it.

Using a convenient mouse trap can also make life easier for you. Choosing a trap from the best electronic mouse traps might be an excellent way to go.

One trap per catch

Don’t use a trap for more than one catch without cleaning it. Remove residue of the previous bait with water before adding a new bait. You might be surprised, but mice can smell their kind on a trap. So, always use one trap per catch so you do not repel your targets.

Besides, opt for a humane trap if you’re not up for using mice killer food. Most users have described the Kat Sense Humane Trap as an effective choice. It features a bait cap to hold the bait and doesn’t harm the trapped mouse.

If you want to consider more options, our list of the best humane mouse traps has enough in store for you.

Change foods

Mice might ignore a food you think is irresistible to them. In such cases, clean the trap and change the food to another one of the many options.

Moreover, you could opt for a chemical bait to eliminate the rodents. According to most reviews, the J T Eaton JT Eaton 704-AP Block Anticoagulant seems like a capable poison. It uses an apple-flavored scent attractant to lure mice to their death.

Final Thoughts

Mice are notorious for messing with food in houses. Interestingly, the same foods can lead to the rodents’ exit. However, not all foods are attractive to these pests. Mice quickly go for foods rich in sugar, protein, and fat. We’ve given so many examples of irresistible foods in this article. You can opt for any of them that is readily available to you.

Know that you can use the best bait for mouse traps and not get the desired results. Therefore, you must place the bait correctly to have any chance of getting rid of the mice troubling your house. Finally, we hope you now have sound knowledge of what food is irresistible to mice. Mice are agents of various diseases Trusted Source Diseases directly transmitted by rodents Most dangerous diseases transmitted by mice. www.cdc.gov and shouldn’t be allowed home in your residence. Happy hunting!

References

1.
Theobromine as undesirable substances in animal feed
Theobromine (3,7-dihydro-3,7-dimethyl-H-purine-2,6-dione) is a colourless and odourless 3,7-dimethylxanthine with a slightly bitter taste naturally present in the cacao tree (Theobroma cacao L.) and its seeds, and consequently in cocoa products and by-products.
2.
Diseases directly transmitted by rodents
Most dangerous diseases transmitted by mice.
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