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Homemade Bait Dispenser 

Toxic bait dispenser for applying baits for ground dwelling animals don’t seem to be professionally manufactured. Fortunately, you can build your own homemade bait dispenser with some simple tools and materials.

The following homemade bait dispenser is made of 1/4-inch rod (about 30 inches), a washer, split rivet, and an end section of 1-inch copper pipe.  Bend the rod to form a handle on one end, then flatten the other end and drill a hole through it to take the split rivet.

1 tsp bait dispenser
1 tsp bait dispenser. Photo by Stephen M. Vantassel

Drill a hole through a section of pipe and use the washer on the inside of the pipe. Measure the volume of the pipe section with water against a standard measurement (be it teaspoon or tablespoon, depending on the toxicant you plan on using.  Grind or cut the pipe to match the needed volume.

It’s a great way to dispense bait around burrows of ground dwelling animals. Just be sure to ONLY use the device for toxicants.

Stephen M. Vantassel helps property owners resolve conflicts with vertebrate animals. He has written several books, including The Wildlife Damage Inspection Handbook, 3rd ed.

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Homemade Bait Dispenser

  • You can build your own toxic bait dispenser with the following materials.
  • 1/4- metal rod. About 24 inches in length
  • Washer
  • Split rivet
  • 1-inch wide end section of copper pipe

Cut it the end pipe to appropriate measurement size. Drill a hole through it  heat and bend the metal rod to crest a handle  flatten other end  droll a hole through the rod  connect the pipe, washer and rod with the split rivet. Check the capacity of the pipe again to ensure it is still the right measurement. Enjoy using the dispenser.

1 tsp bait dispenser
1 tsp bait dispenser

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Suspend Baits and Lures

Suspend Baits and Lures

Bait stick to hang paste bait in a cage trap. Photo by Stephen M. Vantassel.
Bait stick to hang paste bait in a cage trap.

Experienced wildlife control operators (WCO) familiar with cage and box trapping know that suspending bait, as opposed to throwing it on the trap floor, offers several advantages. First, suspending bait allows the bait molecules 360 degree access to the surrounding air increasing the chances that animals will smell it. Second, suspended bait is less vulnerable to ants that can carry it away. Finally, the attractiveness of the bait can be enhanced by the visual curiosity of a suspended object.

The development of paste baits allowed cage/box trappers to hang the bait off the ground and take advantage of the benefits of suspended baits. Note, hanging bait stick was related to me by Robert Erickson.

About the Author

Stephen M. Vantassel is a certified wildlife control operator who helps individuals, businesses, and agencies resolve wildlife damage issues through training, writing, expert witness, and research. His latest books are the Wildlife Damage Inspection Handbook, 3rd edition and The Practical Guide to the Control of Feral Cats. He can be contacted at wildlifecontrolconsultant at gmail dot com.

If you would like your publication, video, or product reviewed, please contact the author at the e-mail above.

Copyright

All postings are the property of Stephen M. Vantassel and Wildlife Control Consultant, LLC. Text (not images) may be reprinted in non-profit publications provided that the author and website URL is included. If images wish to be used, explicit and written permission must be obtained from Wildlife Control Consultant, LLC.

 

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Rats and Bait Stations

Rats and Bait Stations

English: Four young pet rats.
English: Four young pet rats. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

An article entitled “Foraging behavior of wild rats (Rattus norvegicus) towards new foods and bait containers” published in the May 96 edition of Applied Animal Behavior revealed some interesting characteristics of rodent neophobic behavior that should interest those wanting to control rats.

 Rats and Neophobia

We have all heard of how rats are considered neophobic, meaning they avoid new things. Well the truth about that behavior is a little more complex than that. Rats actually are quite curious about objects when they are in a new area or when constantly exposed to a changing environment (e.g. a dump).

New Items NOT New Food

The neophobia is most pronounced when a new object is placed in an environment familiar to them. The researchers found that rats are not afraid of new foods, they are afraid of new objects placed in their familiar environment. So using bait stations can reduce the attractiveness of baits to rats because they fear this new object. The researchers suggested that in situations where control is expected to be reinstated some time in the future, service professionals should leave the stations so they become part of the rats’ familiar environment. Better yet, provide non-toxic bait on occasion to keep the rats interested in the box. That way, when control needs to be reinstated, the neophobic elements of the station will be eliminated.

About the Author

Stephen M. Vantassel is a certified wildlife control operator who helps individuals, businesses, and agencies resolve wildlife damage issues through training, writing, expert witness, and research. His latest book is the Wildlife Damage Inspection Handbook, 3rd edition. He can be contacted at stephenvantassel at Hotmail dot com.

Copyright

All postings are the property of Stephen M. Vantassel and Wildlife Control Consultant, LLC. Text may be reprinted in non-profit publications provided that the author and website URL is included.

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Skunk and Woodchuck Presentation at Connecticut Nuisance Wildlife Control Operators Association

English: Striped Skunks (Mephitis mephitis)
English: Striped Skunks (Mephitis mephitis) (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Skunk and Woodchuck Presentation at Connecticut Nuisance Wildlife Control Operators Association

I will be speaking at the Connecticut Wildlife Control Operators Association on Saturday, March 26, 2011 in East Hartford.  My topic is skunks and woodchucks. I will be focusing on the findings of researchers that would be potentially useful for wildlife control operators.

Some of the findings include the skunk mortality and habitat selection preferences, a possible new bait for woodchucks, the effects of repellents on woodchuck gnawing behavior, and some new research being done by myself in Lincoln, NE.

I hope you decide to join us as the Connecticut Nuisance Wildlife Control Operators Association meeting is one of the best state wildlife control operator seminars in the country. It should be as the association is one of the oldest, most active, and most politically successful of all the state wildlife control associations in the United States.

Stephen M. Vantassel is a certified wildlife control operator and is available for presentations, workshops, writing, and consultation on wildlife damage management issues.

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