all ive ever tried is anise oil,but when i do set a hut if its big enough it gets 3 traps at least

Lennon's muskrat super all call. Best I have used. Right about the coons. They are attracted to it also.

This is from my experience. When setting marshes or sloughs with houses, feed beds etc. I use no lure at all. If I have a very large feed bed or I can see several worked spots at the base of the house or structure I set more traps.
When trapping on my small river (wadable) I have some unique features due to the geography. Reed canary grass was planted in the 30's 40's and 50's to control erosion along our streams here. The canary grass creates bunches of roots right below the soil surface and are quite shallow due to the fact canary grass is a wetland type grass. The bank underneath that root clump erodes out and one gets shelves all along the bank. Depending upon water levels when trapping there maybe shelves that are great rat hangouts and some feeding areas can be 4-8 feet along the bank. Is it at these sites I will stake to set 3 traps that won't touch each other and also use a lure stuck on the bank under the shelf. With that much space the rat can be anywhere, so the lure can get them over my trap when they come. I don't catch more but maybe catch the number I want in say 3 days instead of 4-5 days.
Those shelves are dynamite mink and coon sites too and with lure when you have a coon they blow the whole place up. I set PVC pipes with baits on both ends hoping to catch the coons before getting in there but it is only partially successful. All the other open water sets I use no lure or bait.

Bryce

Trapper Art made a great lure called Muskratter. Not sure if Adam still makes it, but it was deadly on the river. If he doesn't make it anymore his muskateer is an awesome second

I whip up my own with rat glands, a little bit of of castor, anise oil , Everclear and glycerin. Seems to do the job for me.

If I use rat lure the coons will either eat the rat or destroy the set & the hut. When I set a hut I might have 5 traps set and connect on all of them the first night. Wish I could use lure but I just scoop a little mud and smear at the set and usually the coons will leave that alone. We are over run with the darn things.

Agreed. Muskratter was my favorite during those high priced rat years.

I dont trap a lot of rats,and dont use rat lure.I used to use some gland in spring rat trapping back in the day.
I know for a fact that Bob Wilsons green beaver lure attracts rats and the odd otter.No coon here but I bet it attracts them too.

Does anyone remember High Karate aftershave? Bob Wilson’s green beaver lure smells very similar for a reason lol

https://phoenixartisanaccoutrements.com/products/lo-haiku-eau-de-parfum-edp-a-musky-classic


Here you go

Homemade poplar bud oil

Can you share the method for making homemade poplar bud oil?
Thanks

Late spring around here poplar buds are out and sticky and gooey. After a good blow they seem to be on the ground every where. The simplest way to make it is to gather the sticks with buds up and steep in a Crock-Pot with oil.i usually leave them in all day at low. I've used grape seed oil with good results
I first used this as a beaver lure change up and found out my sets kept catching rats

If you have a double boiler use that or just a mason jar placed In hot water.

Pick the buds then place them In the top part of the double boiler or In the mason jar. Then add about a 1/2 cup of olive oil or you can use mineral oil or glycerin oil. Just use enough to coat the buds.
Get the water boiling then place the top of the double boiler in place or place the jar In the water. Cut your heat to a simmer then simmer for about a 1/2 hour. Use use a colander or some cheese cloth to strain off the oil. And your good to go.

Thanks

I used cherry extract that I bought at the grocery store. Dipped a q-tip in, and jabbed in back of notch in bank. Chunk of carrot wouldn't hurt, but that attracted nutria too.

Hudson seal is a good one.

The best lure I have found is cheap dollar store spearmint toothpaste. Have caught more on that than any commercial lure , but lenons, and Carmans Hudson seal would be my top 2 choices for commercial lures.

Always thought Hudson Seal shined above the rest when I used to use rat lure. That said I haven't used rat lure in about 8 years and noted my rat catch didn't go down, when I quit using it, but UP....since by the time you apply rat lure to a trap or two, you could have set another trap (or two). Not to mention chasing coon after coon around the marsh with a hunk of rebar or .22. Coon are highly attracted to about any rat lure.... and coon remakes on a rat slough takes up considerable time. That said, coon need managing as well.

The only place I'd use rat lure now is somewhere that is featureless and too difficult of terrain to make a feature. Rats are very curious and will investigate about anything out of the ordinary...especially a hole.

I do like Clays thinking on using it 3 rd of 4th check however (or when you've taken the bulk of the rats). We also know when we've taken the bulk of the rats as mink start showing up in our rat sets.

And as always....To each his/ her own.

My wife enjoys bottling the Muskrat Lure as it smells good and she can bottle at kitchen table while watching the fishing poles.

When I was getting ready for work today she yelled for me to come and see our mink visitor.

Thank you to all that continue to use our Muskrat Lure, we sold out of 4 oz in two days at the NTA show in Iowa.

Asa Lenon is doing great and we visited both before and after the Escanaba, Mi Trapping Show., We always say we are going to lunch and end up on a UP back road some were returning many hours later to take him home. Always puts a smile on his face when I tell him the amount of Muskrat lure we moved. He warns to watch out when the rat prices go up.