So, here’s what went down with my rat mess last month. I was scratching my head over these pesky critters running wild in my backyard shed, chewing up all my tools and leaving droppings everywhere. It drove me nuts, so I knew I had to tackle it myself without wasting too much cash.
Getting Started with the Experiment
First off, I grabbed some regular bait that everyone swears by—peanut butter and those store-bought cheese blocks. I figured, “Hey, this ought to do the trick,” ’cause they’re cheap and easy to find. So I set up traps all around the shed corners, smeared the bait nice and thick, and waited around like a fool for a couple days.
Turns out, hardly any rats fell for it. A few traps snapped shut but got nothing but air, and the bait got gobbled up by ants instead. I was standing out there in the rain, feeling like a real idiot, staring at empty traps. That’s when I remembered this crazy tip from a buddy about “rat cheese”—apparently, it’s just a mix of super-stinky cheese and some bacon grease to make it extra tasty for rodents.
Switching to Rat Cheese
I decided to give this “rat cheese” thing a whirl. Took a block of sharp cheddar from my fridge (the smelliest stuff I had), melted it down in a pan, and stirred in some leftover bacon grease. Made a nasty, gooey paste that reeked to high heaven—even the dog started barking at the kitchen. Next, I coated the same traps with this homemade sludge, placing ’em in the same spots as before for a fair test.
- Step one: Set out about 10 traps with rat cheese around dawn, when rats are most active.
- Step two: Checked traps every few hours, snapping pics on my phone to track results.
- Step three: Kept my eyes peeled for any critters avoiding it or messing with it.
By afternoon, things started popping off. First trap caught a fat one, then another snapped shut right as I was watching. They were hauling tail toward that stinky mess like it was a five-star buffet.
Why Rat Cheese Works Better
Seeing how quick those rats fell for it, I realized the key is in the stench and stickiness. Regular bait? Too mild—peanut butter dries out fast, and store cheese doesn’t ooze enough juice to lure ’em in. But with rat cheese, the combo of funky cheese and greasy bacon sends out a stronger smell that travels farther, and it clings to the trap trigger better so they can’t just nibble and run.
After three days, my trap count shot up: caught eight rats with rat cheese versus just two using my old methods. The problem? Pretty much sorted. Even better, I didn’t need fancy gear—just what I had lying around.
So, if you’re dealing with rat chaos, skip the basic bait and whip up this cheese mix. It’s dirt-simple and actually does the job without breaking a sweat.