September 20, 2005
How to catch a mouse without a mousetrap
Humanely
I had a little friend visit my apartment the other week, and for a while there I was ready to make peace with him and co-exist. But after I cleaned up the place and ordered pizza one night, and it crawled up the side of my chair onto the sleeve of my shirt, I knew it was time to bid farewell.
Here's how I caught the critter:
- Get a toilet paper tube and crease two lines to form a flat sided tunnel.
- Put a treat on one end of the tube: A cracker and dab of peanut butter works great.
- Get a tall (at least 20 inches) bucket. A trash can works well.
- Balance the tube precariously on the edge of a table or counter with the treat hanging directly over the tall sided receptacle.
- The mouse will scurry to the treat (they like tunnels) and fall into the trap.
Set the fella loose at least a mile away from your abode.
Postnote: It worked within the hour.
Also, folks have asked how this could work if you don't have a counter or table. Simple: get a piece of cardboard and crease it to make a ramp up to a small trashcan.
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Comments
I need to try this as the mouse in our house scares the crap out of me, found poo on a window cill this morning, GROSS! This mouse ran up my partners leg the other night. I go to bed thinking is this mouse guna crawl up me in bed? Scaredy cat I know. Will give this a go and let ya know how it went. Fingers crossed.
Posted by: Kym | Feb 19, 2012 7:18:17 PM
Worked well for me. We caught a ton very quickly. Note that they are GREAT jumpers, that was the only problem.
Posted by: Eileen | Feb 16, 2012 10:58:09 PM
First night... Still waiting...keep you posted..
Posted by: frank g. | Feb 10, 2012 3:26:44 AM
Luv it. Dats great! A no-kill catch.
Thx
-Della W.
Posted by: Della | Feb 7, 2012 4:05:12 PM
I found your idea today. Got home; set the trap and it took the cracker with the peanut butter within minutes...smart little pest! Decided to set the trap again, but this time I used a paper towel roll. Within 10 minutes we heard the roll fall into the trash can. Got him!!! Wow, a very effective method...
THANK YOU SO MUCH for sharing it!!
Posted by: MERCED, CA | Feb 4, 2012 2:08:02 AM
The people that killed the mice....Why? Must be mean-spirited types. The mice weren't trying to harm you. Would it have been too much trouble to take them just over a mile away?
Posted by: James | Feb 3, 2012 5:26:21 PM
Nothing first night, just now caught the mouse (1am) second night! Thanks for idea
Posted by: Hallelujah | Feb 1, 2012 10:10:30 AM
this will work great, now to add to it, this will get one mouse, chances are if you have one you have more. get a bucket at the top of the bucket you will want to run a thick wire across from one side to the other (this wire needs to be about an 1/8 inch thick so the mice can walk on it, on this wire you will put a plastic bottle with the thick wire running thru the middle (from the cap end to the bottom) now the bottle will spin easly on the wire, but your peanut butter on the bottle in the middle in several places around the bottle. the mice will walk up the ramp to the top of the bucket out across the wire and on to the bottle the bottle will spin and the mice fall into the bucket. i personally put about three inches of water in the bucket which keeps them from jumping and they will drown. where you may have many mice this will keep busy all night long or as long as the peanut butter lasts.
Posted by: Clay | Jan 24, 2012 3:19:19 PM
Thanks for this great idea! We had an infestation last year and my family insisted on using those snap traps :-( I felt awful about it. Now we have another one (or two, or three, not sure!) and they're not falling for those traps. I'm so proud of them. haha can't wait to try this method and hopefully set them free in the forest by my house- they're so cute, I don't want them to die, I just don't want them popping up all the time and scaring me (and also pooping on stuff and possibly spreading disease, etc). Thanks again!
Posted by: Brigitte | Jan 24, 2012 1:25:26 AM
this did not work
Posted by: lindzmady | Jan 22, 2012 10:21:15 AM
stiillllllll no luck. we set up the trap about 45 min ago.we had the lights on still nothing.eny advice
Posted by: lindzmady | Jan 21, 2012 9:37:00 PM
we r trying no luck yet
Posted by: lindzmady | Jan 21, 2012 9:31:18 PM
Tried this idea in desperation after "the mouse" had scorned at least four kinds of humane trap and cheerfully ate all the poison we put down. And now, ten days later we have already caught five mice not just one. We are using a longish, 20cm, counterweighted tube (an earlier try with an unweighted short tube was unsuccessful). And the bait is PB as usual plus grated chocolate, scattered down the length of the tube. I would not have believed that something so simple could be so much more effective than all the shop bought traps but it really is!
Posted by: Pete | Jan 18, 2012 4:37:43 AM
I set it up yesterday after listening to it rumbling around and at first it pulled the tube back and ate everything. Then it set it up again with a counter weight using coins and threw some food inside the trash can only to find everything gone! But as a last resort I filled the trash can with aboutand inch or two of water and left this morning and sure enough it was in there and could not jump all the way out. It did jump and made it 3/4 of the way up though, so be sure you use a big enough container. Thanks a lot for this idea, i have it set up again to see if theres more around.
Posted by: Javier | Jan 15, 2012 11:21:40 AM
we have rats here, do you have any tricks how to catch rats?
Posted by: Lernen | Jan 15, 2012 7:38:25 AM
What a wonderful idea. We only spent 2 days trying to outwit the little blighter. Then we tried your idea and the next morning the mouse was caught. Until my husband tried to put the mouse in a "smaller" bucket and the little guy escaped. So tonight we will try again and hope he is not a fast learner. I suppose you played a lot of "The Incredible Machine" when you were younger.Thanks again.
Posted by: Crinkle Cut | Jan 13, 2012 3:36:53 AM
Hi ! My turn to tell my story :) (I red all the comments, it was very instructive and great fun too ! ) So, as most of people here, I first tried usual traps, and of course, they didn't work (but the cheese was gone, hum.) So I've made this search on google and find this page, great. I'm french, and I live in a little studio...And I search for hours a trash can or else high enough (I've seen this fury thing jump, it's amazing), and I just thought "man, americans have all huges things and big houses, how could I find something big enough here ??? hahaha )I eventually thought that my big glass flower vase could do, and I found some cardboard and was beginning to cut it to do the ramp, but, didn't see it was to close to the vase, and will I was trying to shape it, it push the glass vase, and it fell on the ground and smashed down all on the floor... - - Now, I REALLY didn't have anything big enough, and was really pissed of and hate the fury little cute thing. So, the day later, I went to a friend, living in a bigger apartment, and asked him for anything...We found a huge cardboard-made bag, and I could finally set up the trap. I placed it where I knew the mouse liked to go, balanced the tube (a big one, to be sure) with is favored cheese, at 5 pm, and wait... til this morning...It didn't work...:( The mouse didn't even ate the treat !!! And I sure know it goes there, and like the cheese, and it usually comes every night !!! I tell you, these animals are really intelligent, much more than we are, and I fear, they will rule the planet !!! Have you seen this film The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy ? Well I think I will watch it again tonight... :) (But, I'm still hoping, since this ingenious trap worked with so much of you people, I'll try again, night after night !) Maybe I'll try one of these too : http://www.dezeen.com/2007/10/22/non-lethal-mousetraps-by-roger-arquer/ To be continued...
Posted by: Cecile | Jan 11, 2012 4:41:56 AM
Thanks for posting this... 2 lazy house cats and there's still a mouse roaming around. I just set the trap in the kitchen and will report back.
Posted by: AK | Jan 8, 2012 4:19:29 PM
Solution for those of you who don't want to kill mice...
we have chickens out the back, the mice are rampant, they eat the chicken food at night, we can see the droppings in the feed.
When we catch mice in the live catch method such as this we just take the bucket out and offer it up to the chickens, they love eating mice and are extremely quick, they spend ages chasing each other around the yard and the mice have no chance.
chickens are well fed, live in a cleaner environment, they are so grateful for the protein that they lay us beautiful eggs and everyone is happy :)
Posted by: veronique | Jan 8, 2012 10:47:24 AM
My cat is very smart she decided to bring mouse from garage
inside of my apartment (she likes to make friend, you know... Tom and Jerry). 2 month ago she brought one (I think female) for winter fun, very convenient to have friend inside in such horrible Chicago weather. And everything would be not so bad if tonight she wouldn't bring another one - looks like male, big and smart, jumped over 9" lamp shade which I covered him. Once in a while she brings her old friend in the middle of the night to me, when I'm asleep and let her free again. Now, when I have two illegal emigrants who can produce big family it's to much for me. Tomorrow I will try to make mice camp with help of your advise and peanut butter. Will keep you posted... :)
Posted by: Sofia | Jan 8, 2012 12:01:39 AM
This worked in 7 minutes. Thank you!
Posted by: Erin | Jan 5, 2012 2:56:42 PM
ok im gonna try this, i lost my hamster today & i rly wanna find HIM before im gonna go get another because i still have that guarentree 4 him. I ONLY HAD HIM FOR THREE DAYS THEN I WENT TO TAKE HIM OUT & HES GONE! HES NOT IN HIS CAGE!!! :"( his name was DRAGON. if its works then i say......... THANK U!
Posted by: destiny | Jan 5, 2012 1:55:51 AM
This is a great trap! We set this up with 3 tubes with a dime as a counter weight, and got one the first night. Super for baby mice!
Posted by: peep | Jan 2, 2012 7:43:20 PM
Now a 2 liter bottlewith some bread or cracker broke up that has so
E peanut butter on it will catch a mouse wouldn't think they cud fit in he but they can. And put it in the spot where you think the mouse is going at and check it in about 30mi s or hour and it will be in the bottle. Best part is screw cap on and he surely trapped but even without that they can't get out because I've watched several I trApped couldn't find the he and it works really well js
Posted by: Unknown | Jan 2, 2012 3:25:58 AM
Does anyone know how to modify this to catch a small rat living in our garage? We've tried springs traps to no avail. It just eats the peanut butter off the trap. Wouldn't the tp roll be too small for a rat? The exterminator called these rats "roof rats".
Posted by: sfcindy | Dec 27, 2011 3:33:02 PM
Thought other methods of catching our furry lodger would be too unkind and tried yours instead, just as described - with the addition of using a bucket that has a lid.
Caught our mouse within the hour and have rehoused him in the local park.
Thank you.
Posted by: fulhamfellows | Dec 22, 2011 5:23:45 PM
This set up is PERFECT! We've caught two in the past two days. Ours have been outsmarting the traps and poison, but they seem to be falling for this one. HA!
Posted by: Ethan | Dec 19, 2011 4:33:24 PM
I live in a new build appartment, above a restraunt. I noticed we had mice after randomly finding a dead one on my open-planned kitchen floor. Since then I have seen another one or two in my flat.
I'm not interested in poison because 1)It's cruel and 2) I don't fancy it rotting away in my home.
I'll try this soon for sure, especially as they've started helping themselves to my naan bread.
NO ONE TOUCHES MY NAAN, GOD DAMMIT!
Posted by: Tom F | Dec 8, 2011 3:30:07 AM
So since about a month ago I heard the pitter patter of little feet but I figured it was nothing. Mind you, my room is on the second floor. So since I got the flu I slept in my living room I actually saw it about 2 inches high and 4inches long.
We tried to get it out of the closet but it ran behind our computer deal. We moved the desk and tried to get it away from there , then it ran up the stairs .
We didn't know what else to do but we think this could work actually, from seeing that it worked for most people we've decided to try it
Posted by: joselyn | Dec 6, 2011 11:03:56 PM
This really worked! Silly mouse will stop eating my peanut butter cups now:) 
Posted by: Lindsay | Dec 6, 2011 3:37:56 PM
When I first found this technique, I was a little skeptical it was actually going to work, But I can honestly say IT DOES WORK! The first night we had it set up we caught a mouse, The very next night we set it up again and caught a second mouse. I have caught atleast FOUR MICE IN 2 WEEKS of using this method. Surprisingly this method works better than the 15-or-so death traps we have arranged around the house(havent caught even 1 with the death traps) THANK YOU FOR POSTING THIS:)
Posted by: Chelsea | Dec 3, 2011 6:38:29 PM
It don't work, the rat took the food but then it went backwards and escaped!!! Rats and Mice are more smarter than humans are! :D
Posted by: Eimantas Noreikis Charlie Walcott Gyan | Dec 3, 2011 12:59:07 PM
even our spanish mouse understand this, but ours jump really high,
So take care the trash can is high enough!!!! thank you great thinking!!
Posted by: saskia | Dec 1, 2011 12:44:11 AM
any idea if this will work with rats?
Posted by: mike | Nov 30, 2011 1:21:59 PM
Wow! I tried the tp tube--no luck for about an hour. (After dark) Then I set the tp tub and a papertowel tube side by side. Turned off the light, went into another room. 25 minutes later I checked: Zowie! both tubes were down in the bucket along with the little gray mouse! I think he bumped the tp tube, then went through the pt tube. Fantastic!! Thanks!
Posted by: Zay | Nov 27, 2011 11:15:34 AM
I tried this yesterday! It worked! But, I was going to release them but...they were baby mice!! I had caught a mouse in a normal mouse trap a couple days ago and I'm guessing it was their mama...I felt really guilty so I put them in a glass tank (I washed it first and put in some fodder) and now I'm keeping them as pets. I'm feeding them well and I talked to a vet friend of mine and she told me what to feed them! Now my mouse problem is gone and has been replaced by a mouse blessing, THEY ARE SO CUTE!!!!
Posted by: Anna Sauve | Nov 26, 2011 7:10:13 PM
HOLY CRAP!!! It took less than 2 hours for this to work for me!! I'm simply amazed. It sidestepped the glue traps in its path and went straight for the peanut butter at the end of the tube. I counterbalanced the tube with 2 quarters as several people suggested. Thank you!
Posted by: Jackie | Nov 26, 2011 12:45:13 AM
Thanks to this superb idea...i went up to our loft to store some xmas prezzies and found that 1 or how many mice had riffled through the selection box's, so i bought some traps, set them and checked daily.....nothing just the chocolate had gone :-/
So i googled and found this page, I set it up and bingo, the next day i had me a mouse, set it free, set up the tube again and bingo! another mouse caught, two days two mice caught without any life's lost,think i might need to buy more peanut butter, amazing! great idea thanks.
Posted by: Dirtyduds | Nov 19, 2011 4:54:01 AM
I caught a mouse by accident this way once. I had a tall garbage can in my office. I saw a mouse go in and out of of a few times. There was a plastic garbage bag lining the garbage can and the mouse could climb up it to escape. One day I emptied the trash but did not have a new liner. I heard some squeaking and thumping and discovered the mouse was in the can, jumping up to try to escape. I took it to a big field away from houses and let it go.
Posted by: Agnes | Nov 18, 2011 3:43:02 PM
I'm trying this mouse catching I've got the humane trap set up fingers crossed it works
Posted by: First time mouse catching | Nov 17, 2011 7:18:18 PM
Louise - stuff the holes with wire wool/steel mesh. If they still get in, buy glue traps, put a low wide obstruction across some of your doorways with a glue trap laid along the only gap. Give it a night or so and they'll all be sat patiently on the traps waiting for you to get rid.
Posted by: Roger | Nov 15, 2011 7:22:11 AM
i have just moved into a lille wooden house iv discovered 3 mouse holes in the house i left my dog treat twist things on the bench when i came back from work over 1cm had been nibbled off it and there was mouse poop on the fllor near my washing machine. should i call someone to get rid off them should i fill the holes in.. so stressed. x
Posted by: louise | Nov 12, 2011 7:55:21 PM
if it does work i want to stomp on its f_ _ _ing head and throw his guts in the lake(X-X)BY YOUR HOUSE BY THE PRETTY FLOWERS
Posted by: brandog | Nov 3, 2011 12:22:33 AM
It helps if you actually include the link...
;)
Posted by: melkin | Oct 25, 2011 2:51:18 PM
Here is a link for a repeating trap, much like the author spoke about. I like it because it resets itself each time! (disregard the parts about the water if you are doing this humanely)
Posted by: melkin | Oct 25, 2011 2:50:34 PM
I decided to try this , I don't want to kill the poor thing, hes just trying to live so if it does work I'm going to set it free by a lake about a mile from my place(:
Posted by: Hopeitworks | Oct 24, 2011 3:34:16 AM
Thanks a lot for posting this trick. Worked for me the first night! Now I look like hero in front of my wife :)
We were going crazy trying to get rid of a mice. It avoided all the glue and spring traps we setup for few weeks. I honestly did not believe your trap is going to work because I felt our mouse is too smart to fall for this. Paper tube hanging over the bucket looks like a trap from mile away :)
Anyways, we caught it on first attempt. I glued two quarters to one end of the tube to balance it out as per somebody's else advice here. For bait I used few pieces of cheerios.
I also poured like half an inch of water at the bottom of the bucket (no glue trap) so when mouse felt down, it got wet and could not climb up, probably because the bucket became slippery and mice was heavier when wet. I could tell that mice can jump pretty good, because in the morning when I discovered its trapped, it could still jump almost on top. I believe that if I did not put water in the bucket it would escape. The reason I did not put more water was I didn't want it to get drawn. I released the mice in the park like mile away from my house.
Thanks again!
Posted by: Ladd | Oct 23, 2011 11:18:06 AM
I dont know whether the structural make up of my uk toilet tubes are some how too light to balance precariously on the edge or whether i was piling on a bit too much of a feast for it, but hasnt worked so far - It ate my honey and marmalade and walked away with a full stomach, maybe il try the longer kitchen roll tube
Posted by: Fran | Oct 20, 2011 7:21:24 AM
I am student at Temple University in Philadelphia and, having been from a suburban area, have never really had a problem with mice. We have one now (dubbed "Mickey"), and he is not really too bad other than pooping everywhere (we think it's only one... >.<). Being a nursing major and knowing about the diseases they have the potential to spread, I immediately wanted to trap and kill it. Done. My roommates objected with the usual "live and let live", but they didn't want to set up any sort of trap although they didn't want it in the house. After the usual "clamp" traps failed. I mentioned this idea, they liked it, but did not want to release the mouse. I added a layer of water about 5 inches deep to the bottom of the bucket and now this trap all of a sudden works better than the clamp traps with the same effect. awesome idea thanks!
http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_cjjiQ4yPuiA/S5MzgKE3jVI/AAAAAAAAAGk/8DMmy14GWSU/s400/IMG_0010.jpg
Posted by: Jay | Oct 18, 2011 8:55:37 PM
Dear Flower,
I don't think people realise the threat that Humans pose, what with their ability to spread disease and infection and to outright kill everything else. Before you write patented bullshit like "Kill all mice" (I paraphrase, of course) you should consider that Humans are very few natural predators these days, particularly in an urban environment. They will also procreate at a rapid rate. The beasts defecate everywhere. Live and let live! Humans are very dangerous for our health, and the health of all other creatures! See how fast their population grows! And they leave their crap everywhere!
Yours sincerely,
Mouse C Mulligan, Mouse Sociologist
Posted by: MouseCMulligan | Oct 18, 2011 4:29:14 AM
I don't think people realize what threat and infection deceases the mice spread. Before you write bs like live and let live you have to know that since they have very little of natural predators these days especially in urban environment (the actual place that see the true infestations not one or two mice running around some place in suburbs)they will procreate at rapid rate. The one you release infests somebody else home and can climb a child's feeding table and they child can get very sick or even die from the infection. These beasts poop everywhere and by the time one even discovers them can be late. I am sure most of you eat meat- what do you think it packed itself neatly into a container in the supermarket? Live and let live! Mice are VERY VERY dangerous for health. If you don't want to kill them then don't -I know that I can't even go near to mouse traps but you don't have right to release them and make it somebody else's problem. Then keep them in your house since you find them so cute. See how fast 2 mice will become thousands in a matter of months and you will have asthma, liver problems etc. Their feces is very dangerous.
Posted by: flower | Oct 17, 2011 9:30:22 AM
Ok heres my story we have a mouse not wild but a pet that escaped when it was a baby. its been running around our kitchen for at least a year we have tried traps and other things we have caught it before but it escaped the cage .... very clever. mum hates it as it lives in our cooker so everytime we want food we have to steriles everything really annoying. I have used my other mice to test out your plan one fat and one roughly the same size as the runaway IT WORKED :D we just hope the runaway will be more gullible this time. wish us luck xx
Posted by: Rachel | Oct 8, 2011 5:34:08 PM
I bought a friendly mouse trap.... but this mouse in my house refuses to be caught..... I watch him on CCTV.... he first stole the first trap... yes its true.... he dragged it off and ate the bait.... we have been trying to catch him ever since... he posses in front of the wild cam I have... I almost expect him to come on scene with a straw hat and cane ( cartoon style)we have tried all kinds of baits but he just wont be caught..... I really do not want to harm it.
Posted by: Peter C | Oct 6, 2011 9:16:57 AM
Okay so it was awhile back when I posted in this thread, This trap did not work for me but better yet, back when I had my pet mouse I put him in his ball and taped the ball to a kitchen table leg. Put traps all around and left Guss guss alone in the kitchen. Minutes later "Snap!", Shadow, the mouse that was in our house eating our stuff, Was caught :)
Posted by: Travis Aristidou | Oct 4, 2011 1:57:50 PM
It worked! However, we used a tall cardboard box instead of a plastic bin. The 1st night the mouse moved the TP tube but was able to eat the Peanut Butter without getting caught. Maybe I didn't have the tube over the edge enough? 2nd attempt, same thing. I used a penny to counterweight the tube, but it must've been too-well balanced. 3rd attempt, my husband suggested using a paper towel tube rather than the toilet paper one and wham! We caught a mouse within a half hour! Since the whole point of catching them this way is to NOT kill them, we took the captured mouse to our nearby estuary and let it go. We reset the tube that night and in the morning we had a second capture. Again, we let it go in the open fields. We've reset the tube and wait to see if any more mice are in the house. Thank you so much for posting this idea! Our local hardware stores only sell kill-type traps and/or poisons and I don't feel it necessary to go that route. Live and let live, right? Good luck!
Posted by: IBShel | Oct 3, 2011 3:35:07 AM
I have 5 cats and no mouse in his right mind would move in to my house. However, two of mine are super hunters and bring home their catch. Occasionally one gets loose. I wont kill any animal, and think this method sound great, but with an open bucket I would just be making him a sitting duck (mouse?) for the cats. Any suggestions?
Posted by: Nancy | Sep 29, 2011 1:38:15 AM
Worked for me the first night. I didn't even have to crease the tube. Just some peanut butter on a nut and a kitchen trash can did the trick. This was after other humane plastic traps did not work.
Posted by: MT | Sep 28, 2011 10:31:41 PM
Addendum to my earlier post... I have to stress how important it is for that bucket to be taller. I think we got lucky that he was caught when we weren't sleeping. If it was in the middle of the night while everyone is still in bed, he would have jumped out of that 14.5 inch bucket and escape!
Posted by: Rosie | Sep 26, 2011 2:29:58 PM
My 16 year old daughter insisted on a live trap for the mouse we've had in the kitchen for a couple of weeks. She set up this contraption with a toilet roll innard, but the crafty mouse escaped it 3 times! The roll fell just as it should, and the mouse was sitting there on the stove when we went to check it out. She determined that the roll was too short, or at least the mouse was too quick for the length of roll.
So we unwrapped a paper towel roll. And within less than an hour of first set up of the original, there he was, trapped! She cut off the piece of roll with PB on and dropped it in there. The crumpled newspaper she had me put in there to break his fall made a great nest of hiding places for him. All night he scrabbled around in there every few hours.
And this morning she was up and ready for school early enough to have me drive her out to the nature preserve, where upon she ran through pouring rain to a clump of brush under large trees where she released him, and I dropped her off at school soaked but happy : )
Posted by: c | Sep 26, 2011 12:13:43 PM
Thank you so much for your illustration. I print out the picture of the cardboard ramp for my father. He built it exactly like the picture and for 3 days, we were unsuccessful catching it that way. We went back to the countertop method and it worked within 48 hours! Our bucket was 14.5 inches high and it is important that the bucket be at least 17 inches high. Once he fell in, he did a vertical jump straight up in the air trying to get out and I can see half of his body higher than the 14.5 inch height when he was in the air. He kept jumping up a few times and I had to immediately use a lid to cover the bucket.
Posted by: Rosie | Sep 26, 2011 10:12:07 AM
oh no! my first mice since living in this house for three years - repairs on one of the entry ways gave them a chance to come in, i think. my dog got one (with a big paw intended for play, not murder) but the second (and only other, i hope) was more elusive. i searched and found this set up and oh yes!! this worked the first night! the little friend is now free (and far away from my house) and there have been no new visitors in the week since i set this up (i am keeping it up for a while, however, until i can seal up breaches.)
Posted by: melissa | Sep 20, 2011 4:11:31 PM
Once ehen i came back from a trip i found a dead mither mouse ( died of old age) and two dead babies close by. I set up a similar trap exept ut used a two litre pop bottle was taped to the edge of the container and used counterweights. A few day ago i went in my crawl space and saw two running in the plastic covering our insulation and discovered we have an infestation. Our home-made live trap was too bulky and i resorted to using regular snap traps. After i killed two i realised how cruel it is. I found ur trap and im hapoy to say its caught NINE!!!! Thank you so much. I think there all happy in the park a few clicks from my home :)
Posted by: I hate inhumane | Sep 20, 2011 2:11:24 PM
Works like a charm! I used a tall floor vase as container with a cardboard as a ramp and some peanutbutter to lure the mouse.
I set it up for one night and already cought the little beast. Now its time to check if there are any more mice creeping around in my apartment.
Posted by: manny | Sep 20, 2011 8:33:45 AM
I need to try this badly
Posted by: Savio D'Cunha Ferreira Paulo Baptisat | Sep 19, 2011 9:59:06 PM
A few days ago I found out I had rodents in my garage.
I'm not sure what they are exactly, but I think they're either mice, shrews, or rats. I plan on trying this trap out later today. I sure hope it works for whatever the crap they are!
Posted by: Ron | Sep 19, 2011 10:45:19 AM
Holy wow! that was so awesome, the trap worked great!
Although I think it worked a little better though after I taped 2 quarters on top of the counter end of the toilet paper tube to act as a counter weight. It let me put more of the tube off the counter and gave it a much more stable feel like it wasn't going to get knocked off by accident, though when the mouse went in the trap still worked perfectly.
The other thing I noticed was that I think the mouse responded better to a mulitigrain cherrio.
Posted by: Kyle Adams | Sep 18, 2011 5:55:52 PM
THANK YOU,THANK YOU,THANK YOU!
Many years ago, when my boy was little and we were living in just one room, I spent several nights unable to sleep, moving every single piece of furniture around trying to find a mouse. One night I knew it was just behind a box at the toilet and I just kicked the box with all my might. I still cry when I remember it.I promised to myself that I would never kill another one ever again. But living in victorian houses, that's what you get:a couple of visitors a year. I try to, kindly, walk them to the front door and hope they go somewhere safe.I also find then so cute, but I am sacared by the way they move and the pests they carry. We are not supposed to live with them. I will try the bucket method!
Posted by: Stella | Sep 16, 2011 10:54:28 AM
I have had a mouse in my apt for a week now, can't get it out and now its stealing food from my pet rabbit. I plan on building this trap tonight, and i will put water to drown the sucker. If i could i would but some gas and light a match.
The truth is i live in NYC and setting it free just makes it someone else's problem. Live and let live? It should have thought about that before it broke into my house and took a dump on my counter top. Mice aren't on any endangered spices list, there is no need to save them all. And this one has it coming! And if i'm a sick fuck for wanting to see this little bastard floating dead in a 5 gallon bucket, then so be it. But this sick fuck is going to enjoy walking around her house barefoot and not worrying about every little crumb or bump in the night.
Note from Chris, author of the post: I feel ya Kimmers, this isn't a great solution for densely urban areas, but lighten the fuck up.
Posted by: Kimmers | Sep 15, 2011 11:06:26 AM
My son helped a zecada(sp) one time( the big buzzing bugs in trees) helped get it out of it shell, set it on a nice branch to let its wings unfold and maybe get a bite....I came back 10 minutes later to check on it and a normal bee came along and ripped off one of its wings.....lesson...
Nature can be cruel. i wouldn't stomp the little guy, but you cant control what nature has in store...
Posted by: the dude | Sep 8, 2011 8:58:58 PM
All you need to catch mice is the bucket. I take a paper napkin and wipe the inside of peanut butter jar, then drop it into the bucket. Place the bucket against a wall or furniture. Mice will find it, and you might just catch all the mice. Just be sure the bucket is tall enough so they can't jump out. 5 gallon plastic buckets work well but some mice can climb out. A tall metal trash can is perfect. A little water in the bottom will cause hypothermia, then just toss everything away
Posted by: Max | Sep 6, 2011 8:11:14 PM
well i have a pet rat that got out of her cage. she went behind a very old and important buffet, scared she may chew/scratch up it? anyways i hope this works!
Posted by: kathryn | Sep 5, 2011 10:56:26 PM
This trap works!! Have caught a mouse each night for the past 2 nights. Hope thats all of them.
Posted by: Whiskers | Sep 1, 2011 2:51:44 PM
This definitely works! Caught two young mice so far, just waiting for mom to fall for it, but I believe she is a little wise to my plan!
Posted by: Jess | Aug 29, 2011 7:07:37 AM
definitely works. got one already. set them all back up again. ::creepy music:: THERE MAY BE MORE!
Posted by: dernmau5 | Aug 26, 2011 4:24:58 AM
just knocked one down and got away... 2 left
Posted by: dernmau5 | Aug 26, 2011 4:16:29 AM
this little mouse has been in my hose for a week. i've tried conventional traps for days with no result except for missing peanutbutter. i have two regular traps sat up in the pantry along with 3 of your traps all going to the same trash can. we'll see what happens
Posted by: dernmau5 | Aug 26, 2011 4:08:06 AM
this little mouse has been in my hose for a week. i've tried conventional traps for days with no result except for missing peanutbutter. i have two regular traps sat up in the pantry along with 3 of your traps all going to the same trash can. we'll see what happens
Posted by: dernmau5 | Aug 26, 2011 4:08:06 AM
I tried it and it worked but the mouse climbed out by itself into the free horizon. How come it didn't happen to you? What am I doing wrong? Thank you.
Posted by: Noam Shalev | Aug 25, 2011 6:58:57 PM
We share 98% of our genetic material with mice. They are smart and kind creatures. Thank you for posting this. Most of the posts heartened me. The cruel posts reveal a cruel person, plain and simple. What goes around, comes around... eventually.
Posted by: Sky | Aug 25, 2011 9:53:14 AM
THANK YOU!!!!
Just got 1 like this.
Live long and prosper!
Posted by: Joao | Aug 12, 2011 4:04:08 PM
nice idea but work this also practicually ? Normally a mouse is not on a desk but more on the ground
Works well on a desk
Posted by: Bernhard | Aug 11, 2011 11:54:28 AM
Very Very good idea. thank you.
"My friend" was very upset... look what he did with the paper tube . he didn't touch the food
and water inside of the trash can.
http://www.wegif.com/gifs/Idoru/6931846/
I'd be mad at that tube too I figure! - cg
Posted by: ilie | Aug 6, 2011 10:38:06 PM
Its not inconsiderate to let it loose, believe me, there are already hundreds in every neighbourhood. You are doing no more damage by letting it go in a nearby park...its just laziness, the true reason.
Posted by: Kat | Aug 5, 2011 3:56:14 PM
What is with you murderous people. Its a live mouse trap for a reason... Leave life alone and just let them go free.. So simple. Sick people.
Posted by: Kat | Aug 5, 2011 3:53:20 PM
This worked perfectly!!! My husband saw the little bugger run out of our BR last night before we went to bed. Don't know how it got in the house, but I used the ramp method with the toilet paper roll attached to the cardboard in such a way that it would drop down the moment the mouse approached the PB. As was suggested I only put the PB at the end of the tube. I set the trap around 3 in the afternoon and at 3 in the morning we were awakened with the sounds of little feet at the bottom of the trash can. Thank you so much!!!!
Posted by: Autumn | Jul 29, 2011 7:13:56 AM
Thanks for the excellent directions.
We caught our mouse using this method.
It helped out big time. I wanted an effective and non-lethal way to catch the critter.
I didn't want to kill it, I just wanted it out.
Posted by: Paulie | Jul 27, 2011 11:20:17 PM
I have 2 mice. a small one and a large one. I've tried all the tricks. They are "smart" about glue pads and traps. I'm trying this tonite. Wish me luck!
Posted by: RGARLO73 | Jul 26, 2011 12:46:19 PM
I will try your method. The only reason I don't like traps is because I have a 7 pound dog I don't want her to get her foot in it. I have used several "no touch" traps and then flush them down the toilet when they are dead. If I catch one in a can I will let it go some place else. I would rather they be dead and thrown out because they just have more and more mice to bother me or others. If they do enough damage you will stop thinking about humane treatments. One of them ate a hole in a leather easy chair and had babies. Please tell us how to find out how they are getting in and how to block the entrance.
Thank you!
Posted by: Pearl | Jul 26, 2011 12:20:03 PM
My mom spotted a mouse streaking around her NYC apartment a few days ago. Tried glue traps (baited with cashews, rice, or chocolate) - nothing. Tried spring traps and humane traps - nothing. Today, found this page on google. My mom doesn't have a tall garbage can so I set up a bucket with glue traps at the bottom. I placed a paper towel sheet on top of the bucket with one edge taped to the bucket so it wouldn't fall into the bucket with the mouse. I placed a piece of cooked pork on the center of the paper towel. (Mice like meat, and my hope was to tempt the mouse enough to overcome its hitherto trap-avoiding judgement.) I placed the trap in the kitchen where my mom had spotted the mouse.
A few hours later, I noticed one corner of the paper towel was down, though the paper towel was still up and the pork was untouched. The mouse was caught on the glue traps in the bucket. I killed the mouse and dumped it in the garbage.
Thank you!
Posted by: Eric | Jul 11, 2011 2:52:48 AM
most of comments were as fun as the op's mouse method. Luv ya all!
Posted by: scout | Jul 10, 2011 4:12:11 PM
This really worked! Our cat brought a mouse into the house from the garage. We set the trap in the laundry room where the mouse was, and closed the door (blocking under the door with a towel). In the morning, the mouse was in the trash can. My husband took it out to the street and dumped it. THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU!
Posted by: Carol | Jul 6, 2011 8:57:50 AM
For those who use GLUE traps...as long as you check them every day...and they are alive....you can use vegetable oil and drizzle it over their feet or wherever they are stuck...they will eventually slide off. Take them to the woods or a park to do it..because once they slide off..they run away fast to the closest watering hole and tell the other mice. "You'll never guess what just happened to me."
Posted by: Sassy Lou | Jun 30, 2011 12:57:34 AM
i like this trap.
i m going to kill each by each
:P
Posted by: Lynn | Jun 28, 2011 7:17:00 AM
thank you so much! this worked the very first night and I have been trying to catch these buggers for weeks! Having a tall enough bin is crucial - I used a storage been that is just barely 20" high and it almost jumps out-I will be using the trash can from now on. Thanks again for such a GREAT idea that really works! SO glad to say goodbye to the mouse.
Posted by: rachie | Jun 26, 2011 11:21:10 AM
To those of you that think that killing mice is the only way to keep them out of your house. It only takes a miniscule amount of time to find the entry points into your house(usually by hot water pipes) and plug them with(fanfare) s.o.s. pads. or steel wool.
The mice hate the stuff and wont/can't chew through it.
On a brighter note. I caught a young female deer mouse in our house by hand. Then a month later we caught another one using this method.
She ended up being pregnant and had a litter of 5 cute little babies about three weeks ago. They've reached the 'popcorn' stage and we will be releasing them back into the wild(and far far away) in a little while.
Thanks for this trap idea.
Posted by: Abbra | Jun 24, 2011 3:04:10 AM
I have been seeing this little mouse for a couple days. We forgot to pick up a mouse trap so I tried this. Within 20 minutes he fell right into the tall box we had set up. He is so cute !!! Worked great ! Wonderful idea !
Posted by: Bob | Jun 24, 2011 2:05:50 AM
Just discovered one in my kitchen. I set up the trap but I used bread and honey since I don't have peanut butter. Hopefully in the morning I'll have a result ^^
Posted by: Veicki | Jun 16, 2011 9:47:50 PM
Well I set up the trap last night and guess what.....it worked!!!!! I woke up this morning to what I thought was an empty trash bin but there in the bottom was the toilet roll; I went to pick it up thinking that mouse had managed to ellude capture but the toilet roll seemed awfully heavy when I went to pick it up and when it started moving, there was the mouse hiding inside it!!! yay!!! Just went and realsed a kilometres away in a nature reserve. Settingup again tonight as I have no idea if it was just the one mouse or if there is more; time will tell! Thanks again:)
Posted by: Robyn | Jun 12, 2011 9:08:28 PM
Im all set! made my trap, on the couch just sitting to wait and watch coz he usually appears about now! Keep you all posted! Using cheese biscuits and cheese for bait:)
Posted by: Robyn | Jun 12, 2011 7:55:39 AM
Pat.....LMFAO!!!!!!!!!! HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA Loved it! I have a mouse problem too. I am tryin a humane mouse trap similar to the one that you used. Accept the little monkey eats all the food before it, up to it, half in it and then must buckle and get out quick before the door shuts coz he always leaves the bit of food right at the end. Little bugger! This has been going on now for about two weeks!!1 the dog began hunting it but after a while now has given up the ghost too! If he does peak his little head out dog just watches it intently coz she knows the little bugger is smart and fast! It's infuriating stuff!!!
Posted by: Robyn | Jun 12, 2011 6:00:34 AM
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