Salami. Keeps forever and gives off an attractive smell, and it's hard to delicately lick it off without setting trap off. Tie it on with thread.

"Tie it on with thread."

Unwind some picture hanging wire and use a single strand twisted around the bait and the trigger.

Small scraps of dog biscuit with a little peanut butter under them also work well.

A mouse can eat so delicately that it wont trip the trap unless they step on the tab. I changed to traps with the big yellow plate rather than the metal tab. Now I cath mice 3 out of 4 times rather than 1 out of 4.

You only need to put a TINY schmear of peanut butter on the trap, barely big enough for a human to see it. If you put a lot on, the mice can eat it without tripping the trap.

Good luck with the traps and be careful with disposal. My husband is currently recovering from hantavirus and we've learned about disposal in detail from the NM state health department.

First, spray the trap and mouse with a 1/10 bleach solution and leave for several hours to dry. (Bleach and/or sunlight kills hantavirus.) Wear rubber, latex, or nitrile gloves. Dispose of the mouse and trap in a double plastic bag. Be VERY careful of breathing any airborne mouse feces or urine. NEVER, and I mean NEVER, sweep or vacuum mouse droppings!!! If cleaning up an infested area, wear an N-95 respirator map and (possibly) protective clothing.

The absolute best bait for mice is using the wooden traps with the small flat brass or copper bait tongue that curls up in the front. Then take a piece of Nacho Cheese Dorito and use enough to wedge a piece in the bait tongue. I use it religiously and have caught mice sometimes in minutes.

Corn chips, tied on with string, although I've had mice remove that too without triggering the trap. Never did find the string.

Try tying it on with many wraps so they cannot get to the corn easily, really cover it up with string.

Sticky pads work for the tiny mice. I have had the sticky pad go missing too, big mouse. Found it a few feet away, no mouse.
gail