There’s a scene in the movie Charlottes Webb when Templeton the rat is strolling and singing through the streets after the county fair eating everything from donuts to apples. However, when trapping for rats there are times when the rats seem to be very particular about what they eat or don’t eat. Have rats, known for scavenging and trash diving, developed a more refined pallet?
In short, rats can be picky eaters if given the chance. Rats must be selective on what they eat; this is do in part to their physiology. Rats do not have the ability to vomit. If a rat eats a food or toxin that makes it nauseous that rat must wait until the food goes through their system to exit. For this reason rats are very cautious when presented with a novel food. This behavior is known as “taste aversion”. In order to get rats to take baits faster the removal of all other food sources must be accomplished.
When trapping for rats its imperative to remove all other food sources to make the bait more attractive. Rats do not want to venture far from their nests when seeking food. When all other food sources have been removed and locked up the bait in then traps becomes more and more enticing.
Rats can be picky eaters. It’s in their genetic code to be neophobic (cautious of new things) and approach novel foods with skepticism. When targeting rats using familiar foods will make for a more effective bait. If one can use the food they’ve been eating as bait it will lower their resistance when trapping. Eliminating all other food sources will also make your rat bait more attractive and your rat trapping cycle more effective.
“To the hungry no bread is bad”.