12 



farmers' bulletin 896. 



are more durable. Traps ^vith tin or sheet-metal bases are not rec- 

 ommended. 



Guillotine traps of the type sho^Yn in figure 5 should be baited 

 Avitli small pieces of Vienna sausage (Wienerwurst) or fried bacon. 

 A small section of an ear of corn is an excellent bait if other grain 

 is not present. The trigger wire should be bent inward to bring 

 the bait into proper position for the fall to strike the rat in the neck, 

 as shown in figure 6. 



Other excellent baits for rats and mice are oatmeal, toasted cheese, 

 toasted bread (buttered), fish, fish offal, fresh liver, raw meat, pine 

 nuts, apples, carrots, and corn, and sunflower, squash, or pumpkin 

 seeds. Broken fresh eggs are good bait at all seasons, and ripe 

 tomatoes, green cucumbers, and other fresh vegetables are very 

 tempting to the animals in winter. When seed, grain, or meal is 

 used with a guillotine trap, it is put on the trigger plate, or the trig- 

 ger wire may be bent outward and the bait placed directly under it. 



Oatmeal (rolled oats) is recommended as a bait for guillotine traps 

 made with wooden base and trigger plate (fig. 7). These traps are 

 especially convenient to use on ledges or other narrow rat runs or 

 at the openings of rat burrows. They are often used without bait. 



A common mistake in trapping for rats and mice is to use only 

 one or two traps when dozens are needed. For a large establishment 

 hundreds of traps may be used to advantage, and a dozen is none too 

 many for an ordinary barn or dwelling infested with rats. House 

 mice are less suspicious than rats and are much more easily trapped. 



Fig. 0.— Method oi" baitiu:j;- yuillotino trap. 



B59M 



