The ultimate rat Bait

[Stern Fox]

I have just had the best rat shoot of my life in a massive grain barn, must have shot 100+ in a few days.

Anyway i want to share with you guys an amazing method for attracting them using lard a jelly mould and a few scraps of food.

1. get 5Lb of lard (7p each from tesco)
2. mix in left overs, bird seed or what ever you have spare.
3. let it set in the fridge

The food is to heavy the little gits cant carry it away to safety, so they slowly nibble it which gives you time to shoot!

or you can buy fat balls from your local pet shop and leave them in the netting and steak them to the ground.

If any of you guys and gals have any other favorite methods of attracting your quarry then post it here! The crazier the better

Has anyone tried ground baiting with rabbit food for rabbits? using the fishing method of hiding and shooting balls of ground bait at them?

I sat in my car on the farm and catapulted balls of rabbit food into the "swim" waited 30 mins and bagged a nice rabbit. It only took another 5 mins or so until others turned up to eat, This continued for a while until they got the message!

Your views please?

[Dakine]

Something i heard in Airgunner a while back was that Cat food, Tuna and a tablespoon of Cocoa powder is great for attracting rats, I havent tried this yet but it sounds like it should work. Anyone tried this???

[KDX200]

Bones from fried chicken.

[Steyr]

Anything with a strong scent - oily, fishy, nutty, sweet etc will attract the brown rat.

The trick is to hold them in position so you can level your sight and slip the shot.

Make it big so they cant grab and run and/or use something wet and smelly so it soaks into the ground and they come to investigate.

One that I liked was a suggestion of getting straw bedding from a tame pet female rat and watching the males come to check out the scent from a female.

Rats are not too fussy what the eat (and that includes themselves) so I would consider anything you have to hand even things like bounty bars or peanut butter etc.

Fishing bait is also good.

[baz]

I buy a large tin of the cheapest smelliest dog food, punch a few holes in it and wait for ratty to find it, he cant move it so has to sit and eat

Baz

[snock]

Put your bait in an old crisp packet.
You then can hear the little buggers, although if you know where they appear, or have a real infestation...just use a heavy/very smelly bait.

Last week i used a mix of chocolate powder and milk, it was mixed into a gluey consistency, so they had to stay and chew a lump off of it.

That worked well.

[Cam.]

Hi all

I am new to this ratting lark, and I use what I have dubbed as "bait parcels".

I am using 18" x 18" square foil with some stale, smelly food (stilton cheese) in the middle of it. I am shooting at about 15 -20 feet and you when I can hear the rat(s) on the foil I know it's time to switch the lamp on and "blat".

When I have finished shooting, I refold the foil carefully and take away the food leaving the ground clear of litter.

Campbell

[sparky]

I buy a large tin of the cheapest smelliest dog food, punch a few holes in it and wait for ratty to find it, he cant move it so has to sit and eat

Baz

I know one professional pest controller who used to dip his silencers

Pete

[snock]

Campbell.
Have you experienced the rats being a tad tentative, stepping onto the foil?

This sounds like a good idea.

[dodgemaster]

I found those fat balls made with seed that you buy for the wild birds and then smother the top with peanut butter is an excellant way of attracting them and they seem to sit around it like they are all sitting down to dinner

[Cam.]

Snock

Many thanks.

The rats where we shoot are VERY tentative and we have to shoot at night, using a lamp.

What we tend to do is; sit in the darkness and if we hear the foil or, after a minute or so, we switch the lamp on.

The problem I am having is finding the right pellet for my Steyr LG100 High Power. I seem to be hitting the rats but they run off. A few nights ago I used a H&N .177 H point which did the trick, instantly. The problem with the H points is they appear not to be as accurate as my Air Airs.

I have posted a question about the choice of pellet and JSB's have recommended.

I am now looking at the new SB XVF-01 nv attachment, and I am waiting to see if it can be attached to my Leupold front adjusting AO scope.

Campbell

[snock]

I use RWS Hobbies for Rats.
They are very light, soft and flat headed.
They fold up better that H-points, especially at short range.
I use them in .22.

[Cam.]

Snock

What do you reckon they are like in .177?

Campbell

[dodgemaster]

if you are shooting at short range try dai sung pellets, a lot of kinetic energy transfer with them

[Brian.Samson]

...I seem to be hitting the rats but they run off. A few nights ago I used a H&N .177 H point which did the trick, instantly. The problem with the H points is they appear not to be as accurate as my Air Airs.

That's odd? - between me and my shooting buddy we've shot over 5,000 rats last year - pretty much all of them with .177 JSB's or variants of.

If ratty is side on I go for a head shot just behind the eye - I tend to find they go motionless for about 5-10 seconds before twitching, but it's not often they run off. If I'm presented with a head on shot I tend to aim high chest. The extra penetration of the .177 causes alot of tissue damage as it cuts through mr rattus and they tend to drop like a stone on the spot. Head shots head on can actually be deflected by the rat's skull so I go for neck/high chest in those cases.

I've tried H points, .22's, .25's (I've had a good old experiment on what works best) and to be honest, I find the best pellet choice is the one you can place the most accurately - calibre doesn't matter and I've also tried .22's upto about 20fpe - no more effective than a 12fpe .177 in my experience.