Bait

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Bait is any tempting substance used to attract prey when hunting or fishing. It can be used with traps, ambushes, or fishing lures. Baiting is common in both recreational and commercial fishing, but using live bait is illegal in some places.

For hunting, baiting is controversial because it can go against the idea of fair chase, but it is still used for pest control, varmint hunting, and culling.

Baiting is widely used to catch fish. Traditional bait includes nightcrawlers, small baitfish, and insect larvae. Groundbait, or chumming, uses offal to attract fish in deep water. Modern fishermen also use plastic lures and electronic baits along with traditional options.

Do not use trout or salmon as bait because it can spread whirling disease.

Natural saltwater baits include croaker and shrimp, which fish recognize. For red drum, good baits are menhaden (pogy) and, in the fall, croaker.

In some safari hunts, leopards have been attracted with a dead antelope placed high in a tree; the hunter may watch from nearby or stalk the animal when it comes.

In bear hunting areas, bait is often sold at gas stations and hunting shops. Baits usually combine a sweet substance with a strong aroma, such as rotten meat or fish, and hunters wait in cover for the prey.

An infamous case in 2015 involved a poached lion that was lured out of a protected area with a planted carcass.

Poisoned bait is widely used to control pests. Bait products include a food attractant and a poison. For ants, a slow-acting toxin lets workers carry it back to the colony; for flies, a fast-acting toxin stops egg laying. Baits for slugs and snails often use metaldehyde, which can be dangerous to children and pets.

In Australia, baiting campaigns target foxes, wild dogs, and dingoes to reduce problems for livestock and communities, run with government or local wildlife agencies.

Hunters also use carcasses to attract feral pigs; shot animals may be left in the field to lure more pigs over the following days.