What food you need to put in your mousetrap to successfully catch mice and rats

The old-fashioned snap mousetrap isn’t always the first thing we think of getting when we spot mice and rats inside, thanks to all the fast-acting and low-effort options available now. But with some rodenticides no longer on store shelves, it’s worth giving the classic pest control method another try.

If you’ve been put off using snap traps because they fail to attract any mice, expert Matthew Jones wants you to reconsider. He told nine.com.au there isn’t one specific food, such as cheese, that attracts mice, and you can look to the mess they’ve made for clues.

“Rodents perceive their environment through smell rather than sight. The product that is attractive to them can differ by location. When a healthy rodent eats cheese, for example, other rodents can smell it in their faeces and realise there is good cheese here, so they will also eat it,” Jones, national service innovation and development manager at Rentokil, said.

“Look at what the rodents are already eating around you. If they are unfortunate enough to be eating Lindt chocolate in your house, you’re actually better off putting Lindt chocolate on the snap trap rather than cheese because they will go for the chocolate a lot quicker.”

The rodenticides no longer on shelves are known as second-generation anticoagulant rodenticides – they can now only be operated by professional pest controllers. The move follows a review by the Australian Pesticides and Veterinary Medicines Authority because of the impact on other animals, such as native species. 

“It means that, especially in a residential setting, some of those options available in the past now require a qualified person to get those types of treatments done moving forward,” Jones said.

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“They still work really well against rodents, but we don’t want other animals to be consuming them.”

However, you can still purchase first-generation anticoagulant rodenticides, which are baits that require the rodent to feed on it multiple times before it dies, and physical traps. 

Jones said these will still work against the occasional mice and rats that get in but if there’s more than that you should call an expert.

It’s important to consider what you can do to deter rodents rather than just relying on baits and traps when they get inside. This includes keeping the area around your home neat and tidy.

“Rats in particular are neophobic, meaning they’re scared of new things in their environment, and mice are readily predated on by a whole range of animals,” he said. 

“Making sure the area around your house is nice and clear of debris and timbers means that to get to your house, they are exposed to birds, cats, and dogs. If you create that sort of neutral zone around your house, they’re far less likely to cross that barrier.”

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You also need to look at “blocking all the holes, keeping the doors closed, and having a really good look when you bring things in and out of the building to make sure you’re not inadvertently carrying [rodents] inside a box or something like that. That’s the main line of defence.” 

A common and affordable method for blocking holes is using steel wool, but Jones said it doesn’t work by itself.

”The steel wool doesn’t stop them from chewing through – their teeth are quite tough – but it is resistant to them chewing it. However, you actually need to lock it in the hole because they are quite persistent at pulling it out if it’s in their way. You need to use some sort of glue or liquid nails to lock it in there so they can’t pull it out,” he said.

“For larger areas, strips of aluminium, skirtings, making sure they are all tight fittings, and draught excluders on external doors to seal the gap across the bottom are all quite effective at keeping them out.”