deBugged

As mice are becoming more fussy with their eating habits, the pest control industry has to move with the times and look for alternative baits rather than just baiting blindly with the same old preparations. Lets face it, if a mouse had the choice between a sausage on the floor of a restaurant kitchen and some dry tastless bait, the sausage would win every time!

Very shortly, it is thought that the industry will lose all concentrates due to the Biocidal Products Directive. Before if we were faced with a stubborn infestation, then we could look at using an active ingredient concentrate such as calciferol (which is now illegal in the UK due to the BPD) mixed with an attractive bait base to gain control.

In the last couple of years, we find ourselves as pest controllers with a new generation of baits that concentrate on attractiveness rather than active ingredients.

Now, the professional pest controller can chose from delights such as aniseed flavored bait or chocolate smelling grain, all of which claim to be the ‘caviar’ of the rodent world and irresistible to rodents! As of yet, these claims still remain, on the whole, unfounded.

Lately it is not just the flavour of the bait that the manufacturers are playing with. They are experimenting with the consistency and formulation of the bait base. There is strong evidence to suggest that mice in many cities have developed a liking for baits containing high levels of carbohydrate or protein hence the latest introduction of pasta based baits to the ever developing arsenal of attractive rodent baits.

It is my opinion that none of these new baits will ever be able to match up to the freedom that concentrates gave the professional pest controller to experiment with bait bases and show their creativity.