the trick is to use *bait elastic to tie bait on to the trap or cotton, bait elastic is used for holding bait on to fishing hooks (mainly sea fishing) so you could say it's designed for the job, ;0
*available at all good fishing tackle shops
forgot to say we're having problems with their bigger mates the rat, we are using a mix of rat sized spring traps and cage traps, baited with everything from kippers, fish head, dog food even tried olives with varying degrees of success, so far I have accounted for 6, Troy the dog 1 but now the rats are fighting back, they gnawed through an electric cable which meant we lost all power to the yard and to our water supply, it took us 2 days to find the damage, so the fight is on
oh the joys of rural living