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Hi this is Kat with DoMyOwn.com. Today we're going to talk about how to place rodent bait stations around the outside of your home. If you've had a rodent infestation before, you know how damaging this pest can be. They can even spread diseases and parasites to humans and domesticated animals. Before you do your treatment, make sure you identify the type of rodent you have – whether it be a rat or mouse. The size of the station and treatment methods are going to be different based upon this.

Once you've determined if you have a rat or mouse infestation and picked out a bait station, we recommend that you keep partially loaded rodent bait stations outside your structure if
you've been the target of them in the past. This will get rid of the rodents before they can enter your home.

It is recommended that you use 4-6 bait stations around the structure. Place one station at each corner of the structure and if needed, one by the front entrance and one near the rear entrance. Be sure to place bait stations parallel to travel paths and right next to a house, fence, or wall.

Once you place a bait station, you need to make sure to anchor it so non-target animals, such as pets and children can't remove the station from the area and get hurt. Some bait stations have accessories that you can purchase separately. If there's not one available for the bait station you bought or if you choose not to get one, you can purchase caulk adhesive or patio blocks from your local home improvement store. You'll then attach the rodent bait station to the patio block with a caulk adhesive, following the instructions on the caulk.

You'll then load rodent bait blocks into the stations as directed on your product label. Make sure to check the stations every 1-2 weeks and add more bait if needed. If you see that some bait is missing, the bait is being consumed and it's working to kill rodents on your
property. Continue supplying fresh rodenticide as long as you still see evidence of rodents in the area. Be sure to remove any bait that appears moldy or spoiled and replace it with fresh bait as needed. Be sure to wear gloves when servicing stations and handling rodenticides.

For rats, you want to place stations 15-30 feet apart, and 8-12 feet apart for mice. Place stations around doors, the area where there are warm air currents or food odors. You should always use rodenticides within 100 feet of a structure per federal law. Monitoring blocks or snap traps could be used in stations to monitor farther away from structures, if needed.

Keep in mind that baits can take up to 5-10 days to kill rodents after they consume. After rodent has eaten a lethal dose of bait, it's normal not to see dead rodents right away. When they begin seeing the effects of the bait, they normally return to a nesting area. This is normally hidden and where they will succumb to the bait.

If you have a roof rat infestation and you see rats crossing fences or trees... we have a special top loader bait station. You can anchor it to a fence or tree branch to encourage the rodents to eat the bait.

For indoor rodent control, other control methods like glue traps, snap traps, and live catch traps can be used. We do not recommend using rodent bait indoors because a rodent may die in an area of your home that you cannot access and lead to secondary issues like bad odors or insects.

Make sure to follow the best exclusion practices we recommend. Rats can fit through a hole the size of quarter – or about the size of your thumbprint – and mice can fit through a hole the size of a dime – or about the size of the tip of your pinky finger.

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