What is a Bait Station?
A rodent bait station is a box designed specifically for rats and mice. At these stations, you can kill rodents with poison. This reduces the possibility that curious children or dogs will eat the baits. Putting out bait at a station is a simple process. You can use any brand of bait you like, and then set them up in rodent-prone places.
As a preventative measure against unintentional poisoning, this apparatus contains a bait block and keeps it out of reach of children and pets. Bait stations don’t constitute a trap. Do not look for dead rodents in the bait station because they do not exist. Mice and rats instead visit the station, consume the poisonous bait, and then leave, typically returning to their nests, where they perish one to two days later.
You shouldn‘t panic if you find that some of the bait has been eaten but there is still plenty left. Even consuming a small bit of bait can kill rodents. To give you an idea, a single 1 oz bait block can wipe out as many as 12 mice, and a 4 oz bait block can take out 10 rats. Therefore, since baits can eliminate both small and large populations of rodents, pest control companies use them frequently.
Rodent bait stations are very efficient at what they do. Additionally, you can also combine bait stations with other methods, such as mechanical or adhesive traps, to form an effective strategy for eliminating rodents. Therefore, if you have a lot of rats or want to get proactive about getting rid of them, using baits and traps together is the way to go.
How to Use a Rodent Bait Station
Rodent bait stations are the way to go when you require effective rodent control, with the convenience of being able to kill one rodent or a whole colony. You can effectively deal with rodent pests in your home by using bait stations.
Small rodents like mice and rats can be endearing in the pet store, but if you spot one running across your kitchen floor, you have a serious infestation on your hands. Both mice and rats can have anything from 24 to 72 pups from a single breeding season. They could carry and spread diseases and dirt. Unfortunately, they can chew through anything they get their teeth on in a home or apartment, including doors, cupboards, walls, insulation, wiring (perhaps causing electrical fires), and just about anything else.
Where to Place Bait Stations
Indoors
Locations near a rodent’s nest and food source are prime spots for setting up bait stations. Wherever you decide to put them, here are some suggested locations for bait stations within your house.
- Wherever you can spot gnaw marks, grease smears, or poop on the walls or in the corners.
- Hidden either under or behind the kitchen’s appliances
- Placed along the walls of a basement, garage, or attic.
- In the attic and any drop ceilings above the areas where you’ve observed or heard rodents.
Outside
When using bait stations outside, they should be strategically placed around the home’s perimeter. Set traps in the vicinity of the aforementioned exterior doorways.
- The bottoms of doors and windows, including garage doors
- A home’s utility service entrance
- Ventilation systems for crawl spaces and clothes dryers
- All around the perimeter of garages and other outbuildings
- Next to the trash/recycling bin, the compost bin, and stacks of wood
- Always orient station entrances towards their backdrops.
There is more leeway in where you can put the child and dog resistant stations, but you still shouldn’t put any rodent control items in locations that kids and dogs frequently visit.
Step 1: Bait and Place
It is important to carefully position rodent bait stations in and around buildings, taking into account the location of current rodent activity. Rat stations should be 25 feet apart. Mice stations should be kept at a distance of 15 feet. Most homes of a typical size only need four or five bait stations. Position bait stations in well–covered regions to encourage rats to enter them.
Because rats avoid open areas in favor of walls, install the stations flush against the wall with the flat side facing the wall. This will allow the rodents to easily use the entrance holes on either side. Once you know how many and where to put them, you may fill the bait stations with rodenticide bait and secure them.
Wearing gloves when working with stations will help keep your scent from lingering. Rodents may avoid the station if they smell you.
Step 2: Monitor
Every 5–7 days, you should examine the stations to see whether new bait needs to be set. A reduction in the rodent population will result in fewer frequent station inspections. Make sure to keep an eye on the bait and replenish it as necessary until you no longer see any signs of rodent activity or consumption.
Inspection and Maintenance
The only required maintenance for a rodent bait station is emptying the station of any unused bait before storing or discarding it. When emptying out the stations, you must wear gloves and dispose of unused bait in accordance with label instructions.
The primary function of a bait station is to store bait. Since this is the case, they consist of a small number of individual pieces. The lock on many bait stations keeps out larger animals and children.
Key Takeaways
Rodenticide bait is safer around children and other animals when it is stored in a rodent bait station.
Put them where they will do the most good. Rats will feel more at ease approaching and entering the station if they are strategically placed in highly rodent-populated areas.
If you are dealing with a rodent infestation and would like professional help from a top rated pest control company, On Demand Pest Control is here to help.
