In a pest monitoring system (21) and method, a monitoring device (111) is located in proximity to a structure and includes a bait product (113) and a sensor (116) disposed within the bait product. The sensor includes a filament (118) encased within an encasement (119) and reactive to exposure to the environment exterior of the encasement such that at least one electrical characteristic of the sensor changes in response to such exposure. A communication member (121) is connected to the bait product in communication with the sensor to determine the at least one electrical characteristic and send a signal indicative of the at least one electrical characteristic. Based on a plurality of the signals received from of infestation of pests at the at least one monitoring device and a level of degradation of the bait product is determined.
