This is one of the most frequently asked questions in amateur pest control, and there is no clear answer either way. Our Formula ‘B’ grain bait and blocks are both soaked in the second generation anti-coagulant rodenticide bromadiolone, both are suited to indoor and outdoor baiting and both are highly palatable to mice and rats. So where does the difference lay?
There are a number of key differences which merit consideration when deciding which form of the rodenticide you should use to ensure that rodents consume the LD 50[1], or whether you should utilise both in your eradication strategy.
Palatability: Ensuring that your bait is an appealing food source is of great important when getting rodents to eat the poisoned bait rather than choose an alternative food source.
Mice prefer foods which are highly palatable, such as whole grains, and will often choose foods without a wax coating. Whole wheat grain baits are the closest form of bait to their diet in the wild, Formula ‘B’ grains also benefit from being wax free in content and thus have high uptake.
Rats have very little sensibilities when it comes to food and will eat both non wax and waxed food, however our bait blocks are made from wax-free blend of food-grade ingredients increasing their palatability.
Eating habits: Where there is food, there is competition. Rodents have heightened senses while feeding and can easily be startled, they can also be out-competed by other rodents while eating poison bait. As such it is best practice to cater to the eating habits of the rodent, ensuring that the LD50 is ingested in one sitting in a short time frame.
Mice have a tendency to ‘kibble’ whole grain, in the wild this is to remove the husk and is an eating habit they take to grain based poisons. As Formula ‘B’ Mouse Killer Poison is soaked in bromadiolone, not coated like some cheaper brands of mouse poison, there is no risk that poison will be discarded as any part of the grain ingested contains the poison.
Rats will gnaw, our blocks from Antec Du Pont have been designed with multiple grooved ridges which act as gnawing edges aiding uptake and increasing the speed at which rats can consume the LD50.
Location and conditions:
Our Bait blocks are ideal for baiting in damp conditions or places subject to occasional flooding, being weather-proof they remain intact even when submerged in water. As such represent the ideal option for baiting in drains and outdoors.
Other conditions:
When baiting around children and pets it is always advised to securely seal your rodent bait in a lockable bait station or tunnel, ensuring that non target species cannot access your rodenticide. Unlike grain bait, blocks can be locked in place inside bait stations and tunnels. Ensuring that even if picked up by children or animals, the bait will not fall out of the box and be consumed. Being locked in situe also means that rodents cannot take bait blocks to the nest where it can be distributed amongst several rats and thus reducing the likely hood of consumption of the LD50.
In summary, there are a number of variant factors between grain and block, however both are highly palatable to mice and rats, and assuming that you have limited alternative food sources regardless of whether you go with grain, blocks or both the rodenticide will be consumed and the rodent population put into decline.