The Best Bait for Mouse Traps: What Actually Worked in My House

Here’s the thing. I’ve tried a lot of mouse bait. Too much, honestly. Old farmhouse, fall season, cold nights—mice show up like uninvited cousins. I tested different baits on real traps in my kitchen, pantry, and garage. I kept notes. I counted catches. I cleaned up the mess. I wish it wasn’t true, but it is.
For a quick side-by-side look at other homeowners’ bait results, the chart over at 5StarShare gave me a great benchmark before I started experimenting.
That post—titled “The Best Bait for Mouse Traps: What Actually Worked in My House”—gives the distilled bullet-point results if you just want the highlights.

What I’ll cover, quick and simple

  • My setup and how I tested
  • Baits that worked great
  • Baits that flopped or gave me trouble
  • A weird winner I didn’t expect
  • How I bait traps now (step by step)
  • Safety notes if you’ve got kids or pets
  • My final picks

My setup (yes, I got nerdy)

I used three trap types:

  • Victor metal pedal snap traps in the pantry and laundry room.
  • Tomcat Press ‘N Set snap traps under the sink.
  • CaptSure humane catch-and-release traps along the garage wall.

I rotated bait by spot, like a tiny mouse buffet. I set traps at night and checked at 6 a.m. I kept a sticky note log on the fridge. Real glamorous, I know.

I even mounted a budget cellular trail cam in the garage to catch footage of which bait the mice approached first; if you're tinkering with that idea, my field test of several models is summed up here: I tried a bunch of cellular trail cameras—here’s what actually worked.

Top baits that actually worked

1) Peanut butter (Jif and Skippy)

  • My results: 7 mice in 48 hours in the pantry with a Victor snap trap. Another 3 in the laundry room over a weekend.
  • Why it works: It’s sticky. It smells strong. They have to lick, which keeps them on the trigger.
  • Pros: Cheap, easy, spreads tight on the metal cup.
  • Cons: Messy if it smears; dogs go nuts for it—watch that.
  • Tip I learned: A pea-size smear is enough. I press it into the trigger with a toothpick, so it’s hard to steal.

Industry pros back this up, too: the Environmental Literacy Council points out that peanut butter’s mix of fats, sugars, and a strong nutty aroma gives it near-irresistible nutritional appeal for rodents.

2) Chocolate hazelnut spread (Nutella)

  • My results: 4 catches in two nights under the sink with Tomcat traps.
  • Pros: Stickier than plain chocolate. Smells sweet. Stays put.
  • Cons: Can melt near the stove and drip.
  • Tiny fix: A dab on a cotton swab stuck into the trigger cup kept it from sliding.

3) Cooked bacon

  • My results: 3 fast catches in the garage with a Victor trap. One jumped off the shelf—startling.
  • Pros: Strong smell; they come fast. Works well in cold spaces.
  • Cons: Greasy, and it can slide if your trap angle is off.
  • Trick: I tied a small bacon crumb with unflavored dental floss through the trigger hole. Sounds extra, but it stops bait theft.

4) Sunflower seeds (Planters)

  • My results: 2 in the pantry, 1 in the garage, same week.
  • Pros: They love seeds. Crunch keeps them busy on the trigger.
  • Cons: Easy to steal if not secured.
  • Fix: Press a seed into a thin smear of peanut butter. Best of both worlds.

5) Dry pet food (Purina cat chow)

  • My results: 2 in three nights near the laundry room.
  • Pros: Strong smell when wet, cheap if you already have it.
  • Cons: When it dries out, it loses scent.
  • What helped: Drop a tiny bit of warm water on the kibble to wake up the smell, then set it in a peanut butter dab.

What flopped (or almost flopped)

  • Cheese: I know. Cartoons lied to us. I got one catch with cheddar, then three clean thefts. Soft cheeses slide; hard cheeses pop off.
  • Raw oats alone: They nibbled and ran. When I mixed oats with peanut butter? That worked. Sticky matters.
  • Marshmallows: One nibbled. No catch. Too puffy. They took tiny bites and left me salty.
  • Plain chocolate chips: Hit or miss. Better when warmed and pressed in. I’ll reach for Nutella first.

The weird winner: Tootsie Roll

  • My results: 3 catches in two days in the pantry with a Tomcat trap.
  • Why it surprised me: I softened a Tootsie Roll with my fingers, rolled a pea-sized ball, and mashed it onto the trigger. It stuck like a champ and didn’t melt.
  • Cons: Sticky fingers. Also, you’ll want to eat it. Don’t. Ask me how I know.

How I bait a trap now (my easy method)

  • For snap traps:

    1. Use a pea-size dab of peanut butter.
    2. Press it into the trigger cup with a toothpick or the back of a spoon.
    3. If I need a longer “stay,” I mix in a pinch of oats so it clings.
    4. In the garage or cold areas, I switch to bacon or a Tootsie Roll ball.

  • For humane traps:

    1. A thin smear of peanut butter at the far end.
    2. One sunflower seed pressed into the smear as a “target.”
    3. A tiny piece of paper towel under it to keep cleanup easy.
    4. Check morning and night, always.

Placement matters more than we think. I set traps along walls, with the bait end touching the wall. Mice run edges. They don’t love open floors.

Little mistakes I made (so you don’t)

  • Too much bait: Big globs get licked without a catch. Small bait makes them work.
  • No tilt check: If a trap leans or wobbles, the trigger changes. I use a level phone app and a folded sticky note shim.
  • Strong cleaner smell: I scrubbed hard once and caught nothing for two days. I switched to mild soap and water on the area. Better.

Safety notes if you’ve got kids or pets

  • I place snap traps in covered boxes with a hole cut for mice. A shoebox works. This saved my dog’s nose.
  • I wear gloves, not for “human scent,” but for hygiene. I toss them after I reset a trap.
  • I keep bait containers high up. No accidents, no extra drama.

My terrier mix is still curious about anything that smells like bacon, but my dad’s calmer senior dog never bothers the traps. If you’re hunting for a low-energy companion that’s easy to manage around bait stations, this list of the best dogs for seniors breaks down breeds that stay chill even when the pantry smells amazing.

My final picks (ranked from my own results)

  1. Peanut butter (Jif or Skippy) — most catches, easiest to place.
  2. Nutella — great stick, sweet smell, good under sinks.
  3. Bacon — strong pull in the garage or cold spots.
  4. Tootsie Roll — weird, but sticky and steady.
  5. Sunflower seed + peanut butter — the “busy beak” combo.

If you want one thing to try first, go peanut butter. If that slows down, switch scents. I rotate peanut butter, then Nutella, then bacon. It keeps them curious. To see how pros rank different pantry staples, EcoGuard Pest Management has a handy breakdown that lines up with what I found—peanut butter still tops the list, but chocolate and cheese have their place when used right.

One small story to end

Last fall, I heard tiny feet in the pantry at 2 a.m. Not cute. I set two Victor traps with peanut butter and one humane trap with sunflower seed in peanut butter. The next morning, I had two snap catches and one live capture, which I released by the creek. I reset, and by the end of that week, the scratching stopped. Quiet pantry. Happy me. Sleep again.

You know what? Bait doesn’t have to be fancy. It has to be sticky, smelly, and placed right. That’s it. Keep it simple, keep it safe, and check early.

If you find yourself awake during those late-night stakeouts and want a little real-time human company, I sometimes hop into the friendly live rooms at GayChat where a supportive crowd can keep you entertained—and maybe even share a few DIY pest-control war stories—until the mice finally take the bait.
For anyone in the Chicagoland area who’d rather meet up