25 January 2025

Shrew bait

Hello everyone,

I am interested if anyone has experience with shrew trapping and what baits are they using.
When trapping mice we often used mealworms.

I was surprised when in this article it looks like there is a peace of meat as bait:
https://www.grefa.org/74-grefa/3712-en-grefa-tambien-pensamos-en-las-musaranas-canarias

Do people know if this works well/ better or worse?

Greeting Jens

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dactylor
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3 Comments

  • 26 January 2025
    Daan Drukker

    I’ve heard that live mealworms work very well. I haven’t tried it myself yet though, so I do not have any more details than that

    • 26 January 2025
      JimBo

      I trapped a lot of shrews in Europe using Sardine in oil (non spicy of course). If you need to make a ball to attach the bait to the trap trigger, you mix the sardine in oil with flour and some drop of water.

  • 26 January 2025
    mikerichardson

    I find insect pupae works best for shrew bait, although they can be very difficult to get hold of in some countries. In the UK, fly pupae (known as casters) are a popular fishing bait, and can be readily purchased from fishing stores, or online. They can be kept in a fridge or freezer until needed. I’m always sure to use non-dyed casters.

    The live food industry (for captive reptiles and amphibians) is another source of insect pupae. For example, waxworms, silkworms, and mealworms can be purchased in pet stores, or online, and kept until they turn in to pupae.

    If pupae are unavailable, dried mealworms are an alternative. In the UK they can be purchased online, or from pet stores, usually as food for birds. The mealworms can be soaked in water before use to increase bulk. Dried mealworms are also easy to travel with.

    In countries where non of these are available, dried sardines or meat can be used to attract shrews. However, I would avoid using these as bait in areas where they can attract swarms of aggressive ants, and/or predators (such as raccoons, jackals and foxes) that will damage or move the traps trying to get to the bait.

    As a final note, it is now possible to purchase canned insects (usually crickets and locusts) from pet stores in many counties (e.g. UK, USA and Canada). Although expensive, these products may offer another form of shrew bait, especially for times when insect pupae are unavailable.

    I hope this helps.

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