What is the Best Bait for Catching Mice?

If you have a mouse problem in your home, you’ve likely tried catching these mice yourself. When attempting to catch mice it usually ends in one of two ways. Either with the homeowner being successful and reducing the neighborhood mice population or the homeowner not catching a single mouse and calling us in distress. If you are or have ever found yourself, in the latter scenario you are far from the only one. 

Catching mice is hard work. (We would know!) And many times the homeowner spends so much time and thought on the traps being used, the placement of the traps, and the monitoring of the traps but very little time on possibly the most important aspect; the bait. 

9 times out of 10 the issue with the home treatment is the bait. But why? And which bait is the best bait for catching mice? Let’s get into it. 

Why bait matters?

It is a common misconception that a mousetrap, especially these new-fangled, high-tech ones do NOT need bait. Or that it is not important what it is? Or the more bait the better. All of which couldn’t be further from the truth. 

In order for traps to do their job, which is to catch mice, they have to attract mice. While an occasional mouse may wander into an empty trap to explore or seek shelter, it is not likely many will make the same mistake. The whole reason to use the bait is to make the trap irresistible to the mouse. 

The more attractive the bait – the more mice will be drawn to it. 

So what baits work best to catching mice?

Now that we know we need bait, what kind of bait should we use? Well, this is where things can get tricky. Mice, like humans, have varying tastes, and what attracts one mouse may not attract another mouse. Even within the same house, different mice will be attracted to different baits. 

When choosing the best bait, you may need to put on your detective cap and do some trial and error. You can set out multiple traps with different baits on each and see what bait is the most attractive to your mice. (This is actually the exact technical process we use in new homes.) 

If you find a bait that works, use it! If that bait seems to stop working as well, go back to the drawing board and set up some new experiments. It is possible you already caught all the mice attracted to your initial bait choice. 

And while there is no “best bait” there is a general rule of thumb that tends to help. When choosing mice bait go for high-protein, high-fat. This is why peanut butter and cheese work so well. Baits like wet cat food, meats, nuts, nuts butters, cheese, and other protein-packed fatty foods tend to be huge rodent crowd-pleasures. 

But what if I’m still not catching any mice? 

Even with the perfect trap, in the perfect spot, with the perfect bait – you can find yourself not catching as many mice as you might like. 

And if this happens it could be because of one of the following two reasons: 

#1 You’re using too much bait. Mice are nibblers. And if you’re putting a huge glob of nut butter on the trap the mice are likely nibbling little bits of the butter off the trap and never actually engaging with it.

When they don’t engage with the trap they do not trigger the trap. When they don’t trigger the trap, they cannot get trapped. So you’re likely supporting the mice population in your home, instead of reducing it. A pea-size amount is more than enough. Basically, you want just enough bait to hold the trap open – any more than that is too much. 

#2 You have pregnant mice. If the mice in your home are pregnant they will not be eating as much, as they will be nesting. Oftentimes homeowners aren’t catching mice it’s because they are mating (which is ALL THE TIME) and not eating. 

In this case, you have a few options. You can bait the mice with nesting material like cotton balls, or dental floss. Or you can wait for the mice to give birth and catch them all then. Or you can call the pest control experts to handle the dirty work. 

Let’s review what we learned! 

So in review. When it comes to bait, less is more. Go for high-protein, high fat bait, and remember to vary it up. Be sure you’re filling any entry points and eliminating as much of the mice’s food source as possible while you catch or you’ll never be finished. 

And if you have any questions at all – we offer free phone consultations and are always very happy to help answer questions to help to keep your home YOURS!