HOW TO DESTKOY RATS. 



11 



as they are more durable and are less likely to absorb and retain 

 odors. 



Guillotine traps should be baited with 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 to 

 permit the fall to strike the rat in the neck, as shown in the illustra- 

 tion (fig. 2). 



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

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

 apples, carrots, corn, and sunflower, squash, or pumpkin seeds. 



Fig. 3. — Rat caught in imbaited guillotine trap. 



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. AYhen seed, grain, or meal is used with a guillo- 

 tine trap, it is placed on the trigger plate, or the trigger wire may be 

 bent outward and the bait sprinkled under it. 



The guillotine trap with wooden base and flat trigger pan is con- 

 venient for use along narrow rat runs, or at the mouth of burrows. 

 It may be used in such places without bait (fig. 3). 



Cage trap. — When rats are numerous, the large French wire cage 

 traps can be used to advantage. They should be made of stiff, heavy 

 wire, well reenforced. Many of those sold in hardware stores are use- 

 less, because a full-grown rat can bend the light wdres apart and escape. 



369 



