Build a better mousetrap.......

[jbig31]

With the weather getting colder, our little friends are making their way into our garage.

What kind of traps are you guys using? We've had recent success with these:



But they are quite expensive. They run about $2.50 apiece and are a one-shot!

I'm trying to be humane about getting rid of them, but I want quick results. Not big on the idea of poison baits seeing that we run a daycare in our household.

[Hammie]

Just an old-fashioned trap exactly like the one in the picture below. I like to hear when I get one.

[LeAnn]

I use my car... it seems to be great for frying mice... bleh.

But seriously I don't know. We tried sticky pads, traps, poison, the works... ended up being that cats were the solution (My neighbors had a sudden increase in cats with out resulting decrease in mice... they were so bad at one point they were eating our window screens!!!!! That and snakes... but I dont think you want snakes in your garage either...

I wonder if anyone has tried electronic pest control... I read it doesn't work... :-\

[fatediesel]

Originally Posted by Hammie

Just an old-fashioned trap exactly like the one in the picture below. I like to hear when I get one.

Those are the ones I use as well. I've got them baited with peanut butter because I've heard that's the best bait to use for mice. I've also got some sticky traps as well. I haven't caught any mice in my basement yet but there are times I see their droppings so I know mice have been in my basement. Right now I've got about 6 traps in my basement, with the weather getting colder I'll probably put out about 8 more.

[LeAnn]

I think maybe the country mice are smarter... I have never caught a mouse in the snap traps... I only seem to catch poor little birds in the sticky ones... so obviously I dont recommend those at all.

[Hammie]

Originally Posted by fatediesel

Those are the ones I use as well. I've got them baited with peanut butter because I've heard that's the best bait to use for mice. I've also got some sticky traps as well. I haven't caught any mice in my basement yet but there are times I see their droppings so I know mice have been in my basement. Right now I've got about 6 traps in my basement, with the weather getting colder I'll probably put out about 8 more.

Originally Posted by LeAnn

I think maybe the country mice are smarter... I have never caught a mouse in the snap traps... I only seem to catch poor little birds in the sticky ones... so obviously I dont recommend those at all.

You need to put them right up against the wall if you don't already. They will rarely take the bait if they are more than three inches away from the wall. At least, that is what my grandfather always told me.

[fatediesel]

Originally Posted by Hammie

You need to put them right up against the wall if you don't already. They will rarely take the bait if they are more than three inches away from the wall. At least, that is what my grandfather always told me.

Yeah, I've got them against the wall. I don't think there are any mice down there right now but I expect to see evidence soon as the temperature drops.

On a side note, a couple years ago my office was having a minor mice problem. One day I was working at my desk and heard a loud snap and looked down and saw a mouse had been snapped in a trap about 8 inches from my feet. That scared the crap out of me, I hate mice. We've since hired Orkin to come in every week and spray something and haven't had any issues since then.

[Beta Man]

Yep.... old-fashioned type....... and peanut butter is key...... I put a big glob of it in a zip-lock bag with a plastic knife, so I don't worry about keeping a 'contaminated' knife/peanut-butter supply.....

The best reason to use peanut-butter (besides the fact that they love it/smell etc) is because cheese is often just pulled off by the mouse.... peanut-butter gets into the metal parts, and they want to sit there and eat it all off, and it eventually goes off while they're gnawing on it.

[Hammie]

Originally Posted by fatediesel

Yeah, I've got them against the wall. I don't think there are any mice down there right now but I expect to see evidence soon as the temperature drops.

On a side note, a couple years ago my office was having a minor mice problem. One day I was working at my desk and heard a loud snap and looked down and saw a mouse had been snapped in a trap about 8 inches from my feet. That scared the crap out of me, I hate mice. We've since hired Orkin to come in every week and spray something and haven't had any issues since then.

I went around and sprayed any holes with low expanding foam. I found about three potential places the buggers might find a way into my basement. I'll set up a few in the next couple weeks.

[jbig31]

Not a big fan of the sticky traps. Now, I'm all for getting rid of the mice-but NOT by them literally pulling their fur off trying to escape.

[SquidPuppet]

Originally Posted by Beta Man

Yep.... old-fashioned type....... and peanut butter is key...... I put a big glob of it in a zip-lock bag with a plastic knife, so I don't worry about keeping a 'contaminated' knife/peanut-butter supply.....

The best reason to use peanut-butter (besides the fact that they love it/smell etc) is because cheese is often just pulled off by the mouse.... peanut-butter gets into the metal parts, and they want to sit there and eat it all off, and it eventually goes off while they're gnawing on it.

Yep. And the old fashioned ones are the most humane. No suffering.

[Psybits]

I can't see the picture of the mouse trap in the OP here at work..
is it one of those T-Rex mouse traps?
http://www.amazon.com/Trapper-Mini-T.../dp/B003K947Q6


there's this tv series "Verminators" I think its a Discovery Channel series (I watch it in Netflix)
but they show you all sorts traps and all sorts of ways with dealing with different kinds of pests..and yeah according to them peanut butter is the best bait.

at home before we made a make shift trap
we used a trash can with a swivel top
something like this except a tad smaller

then we placed a stick on its side at an angle to make like a bridge and balance a small piece of bread at the center of the lid over night, and the next day, mouse is inside..only problem is how to dispose of it since it's still alive.

this worked for us since we only had small mice..big rats on the other hand, might be able to just jump out, or tip the trash can.