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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
Not to sound like a total dork, but that is a great idea! And so humane!
Posted by: duane | Sep 21, 2005 4:53:08 PM
You know, I think with a little reworking, that could work with houseguests who've worn out their welcome too.
Posted by: Rich | Sep 22, 2005 8:08:06 AM
Hehe...thanks for a good laugh...neat:-)
Posted by: Madsen | Sep 25, 2005 2:37:31 PM
I just set one up with jelly and danish, i'll tell you how it works.
Posted by: Andrew | Sep 28, 2005 1:13:22 AM
Haha, hmm... Im having a bit of a mouse problem too... Might just give it a try, It's much more humane than using fly paper and mouse traps.
Posted by: Aaron | Sep 28, 2005 8:37:29 PM
Very nice! I'll have to try it but with a blender instead.
Posted by: F.Baube | Oct 28, 2005 9:26:29 AM
OMG! Life saver! Fingers crossed it works for me as fast as it did you!
Got three traps set. 3x the chances? eh!
Posted by: Camilla from Oz | Oct 30, 2005 7:28:13 AM
what a splendid idea you found on the net!
let me know what site you found this at, so i can investigate whether that site has more cool stuff.
what about cockroaches?
Posted by: jc in jp | Oct 30, 2005 8:51:49 AM
Thanks for your awesome idea. I had a mouse at my house here at 5AM and used a variation of your idea. My toilet and tub were too high for the mouse to get on so I modified your idea. I baited a TP roll with peanut butter in the middle of the bathroom floor. I sat on my sink and waited patiently with a large clear bowl nearby. 2 min later, my gray friend came out for a bite to eat and I caught him!
Posted by: Brett | Nov 7, 2005 5:48:17 AM
Dont most mice stay on the floor? We have one right now that was running around the floor and I'd like to try this trap idea but im not sure how I could make it work when he's on the floor already.
Posted by: Brandon | Nov 7, 2005 3:09:01 PM
Just set one up, hope it works. By the way, for those of you who care about humane BS, when he falls for the trap I'm gonna set the little f***er on fire and watch him die.
Posted by: Rob | Nov 17, 2005 12:16:33 AM
Build steps with books that go up to the trap, he will figure it out, the PB is too yummy. BTW, this is also the recommended way to catch an escaped pet rodent (like a hamster).
Posted by: Evanne | Nov 24, 2005 3:27:58 AM
This trap worked great! For two weeks, "Virgil" had been an unwelcome guest in our kitchen. Various glue traps were strategically placed but weren't doing the job. Finally, I tried your method and it worked the same night!! Excellent! And more importantly very humane!! Thanks for the idea!!
Posted by: Derek | Nov 27, 2005 11:29:34 PM
there is a mouse currently trapped in my CLOSET right now...I spotted him out of the corner of my eye at about 11:45, screamed, and he scampered back under the door...then i stuffed a blanket and my laundry bag between the door and the floor...i'm going to try to sleep tonight..and set up a "trap" tomorrow...
Posted by: Kelli | Jan 12, 2006 12:19:14 AM
Great Idea dude,easy,cheap,and it works.Oh yea,Rob,your a moron,how would you like to go get something to eat(BECAUSE YOUR HUNGRY)only to find your spine crushed by a huge metal bar swinging down on you,or even worse,having to starve to death because your glued to the floor.You just get to sit there and Die of starvation with the food you wanted only a foot away.Also,over 50% of the time a mouse will struggle so much on a glue strip the they break their own back or neck,they only want to eat get a heart man,killing is wrong,it started with a little bug,then a mouse,then they kept gettin bigger and bigger,and now all of a sudden its 2006,we have guns a Nuclear,chemical,and Bio weapons and spend more money on things that will kill people then most do on food
Posted by: Paul | Jan 21, 2006 1:12:12 PM
Thank you, Thank you, Thank you!!! I soooo hope this works! I have more than 1 in my house right now & have had no luck w/the humane traps, smart mice I guess?
Posted by: kristy | Jan 23, 2006 9:58:40 AM
I modified this idea, because the original method didn't work, and I'd rather not have mice on my countertops. I put some honey roasted peanuts in the bottom of a long "mailing tube" and left it on the floor near where the mouse hung out. When you hear the mouse chewing peanuts you creep up, put some cardboard over the open end of the tube, and flip it so the mouse is at the bottom. Then I put a ziplock baggie over the open end, and flip it over again. The mouse falls into the baggie, zip it closed. Double bag it just to be sure, and release or allow mouse to humanely suffocate.
I'm three for three!
(The mice don't really bother me much, but my wife hates them.)
Posted by: tragula | Feb 5, 2006 4:21:47 PM
Thank you so much for the great idea. I have a pet female that got loose, and her husband misses her. I placed food and water on the floor, and I know she is around here. Now
I dont have to spend 18 bucks on a save a heart trap, for a
1.98 mouse.
Thanks so much.
ps I guess I will use a yardstick for the mouse to go up to the top of table where treat is waiting.
Posted by: Mike | Feb 7, 2006 8:38:24 PM
I actually used a small wastepaper basket as the trap and made a ramp with cardboard up to the precariously resting tube.
I didn't mind the visitor too much, until he started getting a little too comfortable climbing up to the end table where I sat my food.
Posted by: Chris Glass | Feb 7, 2006 8:41:05 PM
This worked great!!! I used a paper towel tube. I caught it in about an hour and I had to do it twice! The first time the tube fell in the garbage can but the mouse somehow wasn't in it... I can picture it doing some acrobatic move in mid-air to escape. The second time the poor guy fell right in the garbage can. It was very cute but it had to go.
Once again... this is a great "How to". Very humane.
Posted by: Jiggy | Feb 24, 2006 10:16:36 PM
Humane is all well and good; giving the mouse to someone else is... inconsiderate, at least. Theres no shortage, waste the little suckers. Pouring a couple gallons of hot water into the bucket would be a fast, sanitary, and humane (at least not uneccesarily cruel) way of killing your rodent once you've caught him.
I used to give them to my cats once they were dead, but thats a mistake: the cats wont hunt unbathed live mice anymore.
Posted by: h2odragon | Feb 28, 2006 10:34:58 PM
Excellent Idea. But I think I may have an improvement.
I would dangle the treat from the top of the tube at the unsupported end (to re-use the bait) and run some tape from the underside of the unsupported end back along the tube to run under the lip of the benchtop or table top. That way if you have multiple visitors, you may be able to catch more than just one in a night. You would just need to make sure that there is enough tube supported by the bench for the trap to reset itself.
Posted by: Matty | Feb 28, 2006 11:00:18 PM
And don't forget that the trashcan MUST be empty for this to work. Hehe.
Posted by: Ginger | Feb 28, 2006 11:15:48 PM
The one we always used and I don't see mentioned here is to simply take a 5 gallon bucket. Tape the handle in the upright position, and take a slat of wood that leads up to the handle (but leave a good 3-4 inch gap). You spread some peanut butter on an empty can of soda that you put on the handle so that it spins. And in the morning you have a couple of mice in the bucket.
The Mice try and get to the can, the can spins drops them in the bucket. Slightly more complex, but still a 5 minute set up, and not nearly so ghastly as a spring trap, or poison.
This one is nice because you aren't limited to a single mouse a night, and you don't entice mice onto your counter/living area's.
Then we just cart the bucket out into the woods and let the little buggers go.
Posted by: Anders | Feb 28, 2006 11:40:28 PM
It will work for a small mouse...
Linked
Posted by: boinkie | Mar 1, 2006 2:17:30 AM
Try a bucket of water
saves the trip 1 mile from ya flat ?
Posted by: k | Mar 1, 2006 2:32:39 AM
I love the drawing. Thanks!
Posted by: Bre | Mar 1, 2006 2:36:25 AM
So, did it come back in a week or so? Most wild animals will try to find their way home if relocated, I don't imagine mice are any different.
Posted by: S | Mar 1, 2006 2:38:13 AM
Haven't seen him again S...
(yet)
It's been months.
Posted by: chris glass | Mar 1, 2006 2:44:28 AM
i'm going to try this with my cat.
Posted by: a | Mar 1, 2006 2:54:05 AM
When we had a mouse infestation I used something very similar, a black plastic tube with a slight bend in the middle. http://www.kness.com/tip-trap.html Mouse goes to the end for the ol' peanut butter, tube tips over, and closes a little door. I'd get about two a day-- we had to move eventually, it was hopeless with the porous walls!
Of course, then you're left with an intact little mouse in a tube. I used to take them for long walks to posh neighbourhoods for release, some strange vengeance impulse I guess. There's nothing quite like the feeling of walking down a street aware of having a live mouse in your purse. The temptation to release them in a crowded restaurant was almost overwhelming.
Snap-traps aren't that bad-- they're almost always Instant Death, but London mice these days have evolved to be too small to set them off. Glue traps are just sick, frankly. But nothing is crueler than a cat.
Posted by: sydney | Mar 1, 2006 3:32:30 AM
Hey, if you're quick with your hands, like I am, you can just corner the little darling, catch him in your hand and escort him to the nice house down the street. I like mice, just not in my house. I admire your humane trap idea, but I'd worry he'd hurt himself in the fall. Yes, folks, a bleeding heart liberal here.
Posted by: Rose | Mar 1, 2006 3:49:53 AM
Good idea !! and I will try it ..
Posted by: ziff | Mar 1, 2006 4:12:22 AM
This is a great idea!
Posted by: alexander | Mar 1, 2006 4:32:38 AM
This is.. brilliant :)
Posted by: Ivan Minic | Mar 1, 2006 5:01:48 AM
when I was a kid, we raised a colony of mice (long story) -- and 30% of them could jump 3 feet into the air. These were common field mice, as are common throughout Ireland. This technique wouldn't be so hot against those ;)
Posted by: Justin Mason | Mar 1, 2006 5:08:19 AM
seems a lot of work to go to considering the little fella was on your sleeve... did you not think to just use your other hand?
:-)
Posted by: sweavo | Mar 1, 2006 7:44:48 AM
Plus, he gets to eat the snack while waiting for you to get him out of the trashcan.
Posted by: Chris Palmer | Mar 1, 2006 8:54:54 AM
Just to pick a nit here, but since you've set up an apparatus to trap a mouse, doesn't it qualify as a "mouse trap"?
Okay, okay, sorry.
I'm going to try this with a shrew or mole or something we've got living in our garage and feasting off the trashcans.
Posted by: paul | Mar 1, 2006 9:25:10 AM
You know, for all you turds that want to kill the mice instead of trap and release, why don't you just set loose some snakes in your house? Snakes eat mice. Then, you will not have a mouse problem any more.
Posted by: Marney | Mar 1, 2006 9:43:30 AM
then you can release a mongoose in the house!
Posted by: elliot | Mar 1, 2006 9:48:26 AM
Once caught a mouse (accidentally) in a Pepperidge Farm Goldfish carton. It was almost empty, sitting on the counter, with the "milk carton like" top folded inward. The mouse got on top to get the goldfish, then fell in. The downward pointing slats kept the mouse from getting out. The carton was foil lined, which made it more difficult for the mouse to escape.
My son insisted on keeping the mouse...my mom bought a little cage. We then noticed that the mouse only had 3 legs (2 back, 1 front). Then a day later, it gave birth! Full of surprises!
Posted by: Tom Karches | Mar 1, 2006 10:09:11 AM
I filled a 5 gallon bucket with 2.5 gallons of peanut butter, placed the tube on the edge, and introduced the little fella to his own personal heaven.
Posted by: Ryan | Mar 1, 2006 10:11:35 AM
That's a great device!
I'm too impatient though. If you've got two people, and you know where the mouse is, take advantage of the fact that they rarely run across open space, and instead tend to follow walls.
Put a paper grocery bag against the wall in the room with the mouse. Have one person scare the mouse into running, and have the other pick up the bag as soon as the mouse runs in. I've caught multiple mice in my house this way, each in under 5 minutes.
Posted by: John B | Mar 1, 2006 10:17:10 AM
I agree with the previous comment about mice generally running around the floor. I found another trap that is simple and easy to make, and that works well. Check the link to my blog entry.
Posted by: bbm | Mar 1, 2006 10:47:20 AM
Odd... in my news reader, this article came up right before a how-to for a spud gun. I'm not sure if I should merge the two projects.
Just say no. Just say no. Just say no...
Posted by: Todd | Mar 1, 2006 11:20:33 AM
A great idea! Thanks!
Posted by: Paul -V- | Mar 1, 2006 11:52:31 AM
So mice don't take falling damage?
Posted by: GHoosdum | Mar 1, 2006 11:57:41 AM
For all of you killers out there, here is the humane way to end your little friends' lives: expell a cartrige of CO2 into the bucket (It's heavier than air). They will get high and pass out, and then suffocate painlessly.
Posted by: Assasin | Mar 1, 2006 11:59:26 AM
seems like a lot of people out there have mouse infestations. yuck. what happens when the bird flu mutates to mouse-to-mouse transmissible form? gonna catch and release then?
Posted by: b | Mar 1, 2006 12:28:35 PM
In case of rats, replace toilet paper tube with PVP piping, and install spikes on the floor of electrified garbage can. :D
Posted by: Snaggy | Mar 1, 2006 1:12:27 PM
Great idea...but it seems that the mouse will have to climb to a higher elevation for this to work. Unlike conventional mouse traps where they are placed in corners on the floor.
Perhaps the trick is to make it easy for the mouse to somehow make it up a ramp or something.
I'll definitely use this method.
Thanks again :)
-sam
Posted by: Sam C | Mar 1, 2006 1:31:25 PM
Good point SamC. Lemme extrapolate: I set the garbage can on the floor and made a ramp with cardboard up to the "tube," then set the whole thing right by the fridge (where I believe it lived).
I didn't want the little fella on the counter any more than he was.
Posted by: chris glass | Mar 1, 2006 1:40:21 PM
Thanks for the post, brings back memories...
We used to catch mice at the summer cottage in Turku Archipelago this way when I was a kid.
Posted by: Henri Bergius | Mar 1, 2006 2:06:54 PM
I used an idea like this to catch a squirrel in my basement. Instead of a cardboard tube I used an old cat carrier balanced on the basement steps. I fixed the door so it swung into the carrier and tied a cable from the door to a pipe on the ceiling. Threw in some peanut butter Ritz Bits and waited. I made an alarm, too. I attached a piece of string tied to a soda can with some pennies in it. When the trap was sprung the can made a racket and I ran to get the squirrel. The carrier was hanging from the ceiling with the squirrel inside. (He was NOT happy.) With the door on backwards the weight of the carrier held the trap shut. I let him free in a nearby park and gave him the rest of the Ritz Bits for being such a good sport.
Posted by: marcintosh | Mar 1, 2006 2:18:07 PM
Brilliant idea! So simple, so elegant. Personally I'd just dump the bucket'o'mice into the woods and let them figure themselves out - no reason to kill them really. But I'm a pretty firm believer in karma.
Posted by: Bryn | Mar 1, 2006 2:54:53 PM
Awesome idea, but unfortunately I will never get the opportunity to use it (I have two cats and a dog :)
Posted by: Rob Kohr | Mar 1, 2006 2:57:36 PM
I did this but I gave him some food at the bottom, for being so good and going right intp the trap.
Posted by: John | Mar 1, 2006 4:41:46 PM
Great idea.
One clarification: CO2 suffocation triggers the panic receptors in the mammalian brain. Mice suffocated in this way would likely suffer horribly. Breathe into a plastic bag and see how the CO2 buildup causes you to hyperventilate and panic.
Use argon or nitrogen, used in welding and brewing respectively. They will just pass out and asphyxiate.
Posted by: Barnstable | Mar 1, 2006 6:13:56 PM
This is a solution in search of a problem. Snap traps are perfectly humane since the mouse is killed instantly and does not suffer. Glue traps of course are not nearly as fast. I set up two traps in my laundry room and in three days had caught 10 mice, each of which I dumped out on my lawn, so that the local omnivores (cats, racoons, opossum) could have some snacks.
Posted by: Foxton | Mar 1, 2006 6:26:12 PM
I think the most humane way to kill rodents is by putting them in the freezer. Basically they just fall asleep and never wake up. My sister in law caught a mouse once in a trap, but only the tail was caught. I picked the whole thing up, dropped into a jogurt container, put the top on, and stuck it in the freezer. The next morning we had a nice micicle. Jummy ;-)
Releasing them is stupid and cruel. Either they are going into another persons home, where they might breed, and then that person might use some cruel traps to get rid of the mouse infestation, or you are releasing into the wild and it will almost certainly fall prey to a predator. Just accept that there is some bad karma involved in getting rid of rodents, and kill it humanely.
Posted by: Paul | Mar 1, 2006 6:33:19 PM
My hubby put some mouse poison in the garage. The kids found the half dead mouse a couple of hours later. They were so outraged that Daddy had killed a mouse, they set up a similar trap to catch all the other critters...then we read that rats and mice don't get along. So we bought a pet rat and kept him in a cage in the garage. The mice never came back. That pet rat was the best pet we've ever had. Smart too.
Posted by: Jasmine | Mar 1, 2006 6:49:13 PM
Friggin Great Idea.... I just set one up over my garbage disposal. Tell you if it works.
Posted by: slade | Mar 1, 2006 7:50:26 PM
Wow, the old mouse into the bucket trick made both make and boingboing! This is a popular one among small animal breeders because it is so effective and harmless. For mice and especially rats you will want to make sure it is at least a 2ft deep bucket, wild things can jump *high.* I'm pretty sure wild rats might be the animal kingdoms greatest athletes.
Posted by: Rachael | Mar 1, 2006 8:22:09 PM
you can use a ramp as well with some food in the bottom of the bucket. simply place a ramp up to the rim of the bucket, and the mice will jump in after the food. cat food works well because of its smell. but there is a down side to this set up. i "armed" this trap before i went to bed. in the morning i found, to my utter disgust, no food, three tails and one very fat mouse. i was later able to witness this canabalistic act when the next morning i woke to find a mouse half way through a second mouse, and an assortment of tails again. i continued this method untill there were no mice or tails in the pail for a few days straight. it works but beware of the horror.
the horror....the horror.....the horror.
Posted by: krackass | Mar 1, 2006 8:26:35 PM
Looks like a great idea, with a lot of fun. One thing you sure need a big heavy duty roll of tude, else the fat furry creatures will simply push the whole "trap" down in its process to get into the tunnel.
A good laugh, and the picture just fill me with ghee!
Posted by: Redhex | Mar 2, 2006 2:02:28 AM
I tried this and just fed the little mammal to my cat. Equally humane from the cat's perspective....no?
Posted by: szook | Mar 2, 2006 10:17:53 AM
I have a better solution - a ballbearing mousecatcher, otherwise known as a tomcat. It has the virtues of being 100% natural and self-cleaning and disposing.
Posted by: Santiago Poindexter | Mar 2, 2006 4:13:34 PM
Don't forget to put something soft in the can or bucket or this won't be all that humane when you dump the mouse off in the country with a brain hemorrhage.
Posted by: Alan Brown | Mar 3, 2006 3:08:49 AM
A great idea! I'll try it , Thanks!
Posted by: gala | Mar 3, 2006 4:37:22 AM
keithandthegirl.com/forums
for more ideas on catching mice.
Posted by: the big lebowski | Mar 3, 2006 8:27:49 AM
I found a mouse long time ago in the kitchen and it barely moved, like it was poisoned or something.
Decided to do the right thing I took it outside and set on fire: it died in less than 2 seconds, beat that humane supporters!
Posted by: and | Mar 3, 2006 10:30:46 AM
So there I was...so proud of myself for getting rid of all the mice in my house. I had just slept my first sleepless night because there was no patter of tiny mouse feet making noise. Suddenly I see a car pull up outside my house, a person takes a 20inch high trash can and dumps out a mouse and a crushed toilet paper roll on my front lawn. arghh....time to get the flypaper and mousetraps back out.
Posted by: brad | Mar 3, 2006 1:42:17 PM
You just have to reason with yourself whichever method you use.
In the end, I feed them to one of my 12 dogs (instant death, saves a few ounces of dog food) and pray my ADD takes care of the rest (I forget quite easily.)
In the end, the universe cleans itself up.
If it wants to.
Posted by: Jamie Gautreaux | Mar 3, 2006 4:17:30 PM
So many comments elicited from the introduction of a humane mouse trap..... Don't get me wrong - loved the idea.... am a serious animal lover and believe that it's wrong to kill just because something is a nuisance..... but a ton of comments on this subject leads me to wonder why other, more thought producing subjects lay untouched...?
Posted by: Dee | Mar 4, 2006 2:40:07 AM
Wow! Two of you burn the mice! You didn't see where that guy in Mexico swept a mouse out of his house,it ran back into the burning field it came from and then turned around ,now on fire and ran into the Mexican's house and scurried into a wall and burned the house down?
Mice carry diseases.Hantavirus,fleas,bacteria-don't mess with them.This is why God gave you a supposedly BIGGER brain.To be on TOP of the food chain.The Bubonic plague was caused by fleas from rats and mice carrying the plague virus.
Don't give them to your pets.Don't bet they won't find their way back....Like one guy wrote above,there's no shortage.Dispose of the little bastards before they eat some insulation off your wires,and your place burns down.
Posted by: Larry | Mar 4, 2006 12:44:18 PM
SET HIM FREE?! Are you INSANE? Vermin inside the house must be destroyed, killed, eliminated. Putting them back outside accomplishes nothing, I don't care if it is a mile away. Have you ever tried to move a drop of water to the other side of a bucket? It doesn't work!
Trap them any way you want, but once you've got 'em, kill 'em!
Posted by: Ken | Mar 4, 2006 5:22:26 PM
This worked great! Got three of them the first night. Happily today there was a party at my bosses house. The three of them will enjoy his food a lot more than mine I'm sure, at least it seemed so as I watched them scamper under his bed when I released them.
Posted by: jonjon | Mar 5, 2006 12:15:51 PM
I used a Tall bottle with a screw top, and took a stick that was as tall as the bottle and wrapped a rubber band around the bottle and the stick. Inside the bottle drop your bait of choice, then place in a high mouse traffic area. Once the mouse climbs up the stick and into the bottle, just screw the lid back on and then do whatever.
Posted by: Gene | Mar 7, 2006 7:52:53 PM
Well, very interesting and I will try this for sure. I can't promise any humane anything because I feel so violated to have such a creature in my home. He's been there 3 months, won't eat any food in a trap or on the floor, but I have seen him and his 'tracks'. I have snap traps, sticky traps, clip traps, cage traps...and nothing.......he just rules the house as if it were his own! He is very very smart but he is going to die! I win in the end! I also just learned that he has eaten the instant potatoes that I put out (or is he moving them and hording them....?) I heard this works like the bird eating rice..........I can only hope. I hate to think that he'll died where I can't see him.....I vacuum under every low piece of furniture every nite to find him......this is insane! It's driving me insane.....for just one mouse which got in my house from bags of clothes from my parents farm house! Haven't ever had a mouse in 11 years! There is no way out.....the place is tight as a drum! Sorry, as you can tell I am just not happy! I will let you know how long it took to have him dive into the merky depths of a bucket of water and drown!
Posted by: Sharon | Mar 8, 2006 12:01:38 PM
i found a mouse in my basement dead, right in the middle of the floor. i know it must just have died because i was down their a day or two earlier. my question is how did it die??? it looked very healthy looking and big for a mouse.
Please get back to me with a possible answer??
Angelina
Posted by: Angelina | Mar 8, 2006 1:15:40 PM
To: sharon N.
how do u know if its a he??? u sure its not ur ex lol. anyway, i havent seen any in my house thank god but like i said in my previous posting i found one in my basement dead. and i am not sure it the peppermint oil killed him because i didnt really put any down. but i believe it works because i dont seem to have any in my garage anymore.
the actual peppermint oil cost a lot so they recommended the liquid soap because it’s just as strong
you can buy it at natural store. Just put a few cotton balls soak with the peppermint, in a zip lock bag with a few punctured holes for the smell to escape, apparently mice hate the smell and take off.
ps thank god it wasnt ur ex
A
Posted by: angelina | Mar 8, 2006 1:43:24 PM
My my, I didn't know about the pepperment oil but I don't think it would work because he/she has no way out......unless I leav the doors open, but it's too cold and then more could come in.........it's a 'transported' mouse....
There are many things in a basement that could kill a mouse........but I'd be interested to know what did kill yours Angelina?
And, I guess I am not sure it's a 'he' but since it's so damn stubborn...j/k.....and how did you know I had an 'ex'???? God help me if the ex came back and the mouse stayed.....I'll jump in the bucket!!!!!!!!!! Stay tuned.......
Posted by: Sharon | Mar 8, 2006 3:41:20 PM
I´ll try that, but instead of a bucket i will use a hammer
Posted by: Cat | Mar 8, 2006 6:39:16 PM
Interesting idea, but not really usefull unless your a budhist or you want to set the buggers loose in someone elses house.
Personally I like the sonic repellers, I had a pretty damn bad infestation in my house and garage, I bought five of them, 1 for the garage and 4 for the house...I went a bit overboard, but I haven't seen a mouse since I put them in.
As for setting mice on fire, wtf is your problem? have you ever been set on fire? I am not a huge animal rights activest or anything, but that is about the stupidest thing I have ever read in my life...and I have read mein kampf.
Posted by: Stanislaw | Mar 8, 2006 7:47:54 PM
If it's useless to set them free because they'll just go to a neighbors house, then how does your sonic repeller do any good? They'll just go into a neighbors home anyway!
Also, a long time ago, one of my cats ate a poisoned mole and died. The same thing could happen with a mouse. Don't feed it to your pets. They've got pet food. Release it into the wild away from your home. If it doesn't die of old age, a it make a nice meal for a predator. That isn't cruel! It's nature!
Posted by: Jeremy | Mar 8, 2006 10:12:26 PM
To: Angelina
how do u know if its a he???
When the mouse drops into the (steel) bucket, it defentively will hurt. The mouse has not the same refexes as a cat. So, it will yell something like: Aaaaaah, my nuts!!!! Than it's a he.
If you hear a donk only, it must be female.
Cheers
Kees
Posted by: Kees | Mar 10, 2006 1:58:17 PM
i'll try this one. I've never had a problem with a mouse in the house before. Usually they stay out of my way, but this one gets on the counters. i have to disinfect everyday. I was beginning to give up on the concept of a homemade mousetrap. THANKS
Posted by: sharon | Mar 10, 2006 10:49:48 PM
This works! Instead of a tube, I used a cereal box with both ends torn off. I put a fig newton in one end and balanced that end over the empty recycling bin. This morning, I checked the bin, and the box had been torn up. I shook the bin, and the unwelcome guest was still there! I took him for a long ride, and I won't be seeing him again. I wonder if he's got family.
Posted by: Eamon | Mar 15, 2006 9:15:20 AM
Another nice trap is to acquire a gallon jug with a small mouth. ( big enough for a mouse. Attach a section af bicycle innertube to the mouth and place the other end near a countertop or something elevated. roll a few pieces of banana down the tube. Mice crawl in but cannot crawl back out of the container. After you have the pests in the bottle, Shoot a few blasts of starter fluid in the bottle and cap for 10 or 15 minutes. Empty the remnants into the garbage, or compost pile.
Posted by: NSFarSighted | Mar 16, 2006 5:58:16 PM
For all of you mouse rights activists, have ever killed a pest in your life? A fly, a mosquito, anything? I am sure you have. So get over the whole save the mice campaign and realize that these little vermon spread more heartache, damage and yes, death than their little lives are worth. Sorry if I sound insensitive...but let's get back to reality please!
Posted by: Abe | Mar 18, 2006 3:06:40 PM
Brilliant! It worked for me last night, many thanks :-) I felt sorry for the little black eyed creature and now she's in a great spot in a lovely field with lots of plants and ponds.
Posted by: Sky | Mar 20, 2006 8:25:09 PM
Okay, I had to come here too because I am at my END!! I was painting about a month ago and left my door open for ventilation. Well, you guessed it..a mouse ran in. I tried trapping it then; however, it was way too fast. Even my contractor tried catching it. Now, everyday, I wake up to mouse crap everywhere. One day, in my bathroom, the next in my living room and so on. I have placed traps everywhere and he avoids them. Yes, it's a HE and he has a name. I named him Brad after my Ex that I kicked out in December. Now, I have another loser in my house that doesn't pay rent, eats my food and craps all over me!! UGH!! I'm so at my end...I really don't care if he is killed humanely! I used to care..I don't now! I'm tired of all the crap!! Yes, all the crap! How can one little mouse crap so much! I just bought a bedroom set yesterday and woke up to crap on my new nightstand! UGH!!
Posted by: Charlotte | Mar 21, 2006 4:16:26 AM
HaHa, this is a efictive method to cath pets :)
Posted by: Daniel | Mar 21, 2006 10:29:43 AM
Okay, great idea but how do I get rid of the people who live a mile away dropping their caught critters off near my place!
Posted by: Ben Garfinkel | Mar 22, 2006 1:20:51 PM
Yeah!! I finally caught the little critter. This morning, he was in my bathtub and when he saw me, he tried to run down the drain. When he realized that he couldn't fit, he tried to hide his face. Poor little thing...all the dislike for him totally left. LOL! But, I also had the upper hand at this time. So, I got a mason jar and placed it over the drain. He jumped into it and I placed tinfoil over it and poked holes into it. Then, I fed him a piece of bacon. Darn, why did he have to be soooo cute! He really was like my ex...cute but worthless. LOL!
So, I took him 19 miles from my home and dropped him off in an industrial area in Los Angeles. He actually stopped and looked at me before he ran off. I was so glad that he evaded all my traps! I really couldn't have handled it..now, I have no guilt. YAY!!
Charlotte
Posted by: Charlotte | Mar 23, 2006 7:11:36 PM
By the Way... putting water in the can is NOT humane! *rolls eyes*
Posted by: Christyna Elena da Rosa | Mar 23, 2006 10:13:13 PM
very good idea...i'll try it for sure!
Posted by: lwezy | Mar 24, 2006 7:08:05 PM
My cat brought me a present last night! He and I had it cornered and I tried to pick it up and it bit me. It's in the lounge fireplace and I'm waiting for it to go down a wrapping paper tube to feast on a piece of cracker with peanut butter. Hope it works. Will let you know.
Posted by: Linda | Mar 27, 2006 4:58:06 AM
look i have 2 cats and this fat looking one u might think ur cat is weird look atr mine, they pring me birthday presents, anyways no one has any idea what i can do to make a mousetrap vehicle go FASTER
Posted by: John | Mar 27, 2006 1:40:33 PM
Thanks to all for your cool trap ideas, I will try them out some time, but for now the first one I caught and released. The second and third died instantly. The fourth and fifth are too smart for the springs and are now being tempted with glue. I have always tried to be humane with mice. I have even caught them bare handed to save them from cats and tried to nurse them back to health after rescue from other's glue traps. I will not put more poison into the ecosystem so that is out. But I have come to understand that we are at war with rats and mice, and we are losing. In fact it is more of a resistance movement, as we are unlikely to ever win.
When you see a mouse, You can assume that there at least 2 others who parented it. And if they parented one then they parenented 6 or more at least once. And each of those had a chance to mature and breed a little family of their own after a relatively short time. So do the math and realize that they are not cute little friends of the forest but rather an infestation of a disease harboring menace that can make you and your children and pets sick by shitting everywhere and ruining your food.
I intend to drive them from my house like roaches and wild dogs and racoons and hyenas and republicans and Jehova's Witnesses. If they don't repond to a polite request then I will have to get rude.
Posted by: AG | Mar 27, 2006 11:18:35 PM
Very good idea. I really like it.
Posted by: jack | Mar 28, 2006 9:27:37 PM
Ive tried this method but with no avail!! the cheeky little mouse has actually worked out to pull the cardboard tube away from the bin and eat the treat. i even made a trap witht the bin where i kept the lid slightly open, cardboarded the open bits and added a little door that opens into it, but doesnt open out. with a little collapsable platform with the bait. He still got out!
running out of ideas!
Posted by: Caz | Mar 29, 2006 5:22:44 AM
Interesting but it looks the mouse should fall down due to balance shift.
Posted by: sara | Mar 30, 2006 9:29:41 PM
Make the pipe longer and it should fall down.
Posted by: ron | Mar 31, 2006 11:48:56 AM
Its nice reading the 25 to 1 ratio of kind hearted persons.
I heard the pitter patter of little feet in my house and found droppings. Bought a Hav-a-hart trap. Caught an old, bloated mouse. Transported him to the park and set him near a stream in thick bushes. Tossed a handful of Bugles nearby to give him a picnic before some more practiced predator gave him his "last rites"!!!
At least he got to see what green grass and blue sky looks like. I can sleep with a clear conscience tonight!!
Posted by: Lassie, DON'T come back home!!! | Apr 1, 2006 1:19:58 AM
Here's another idea that I thought of over twenty years ago: Clean out a beer bottle and drop some cheese into the bottom. Lean the bottle against some kind of a ledge so that the opening is flush with a surface. The mouse crawls down into the bottle, but can't crawl out because it's too slippery. Do what you will with the little critter.
Posted by: Dean | Apr 1, 2006 6:31:26 AM
My family has been using this idea for years. Unfortunately, my mom ended up with a serious mouse problem. She remarked one day that she had taken over 400 mice outside and released them using this method. We suspected they were the same mice, coming in over and over again. so we dabbed red nailpolish on the backs of a few of them. Sure enough, the same mice reappeared, over and over and over....
Posted by: Roxanne | Apr 1, 2006 8:39:33 AM
Whatever live trap method you use, you might want to release a mouse farther than a mile away. My brother live-trapped a mouse in his house and painted a yellow dot on the critter and released him 3 miles away on the other side of the woods that ajoined his property. A couple days later he caught a mouse in his live-trap that had a yellow paint dot on him.
Posted by: Lainy | Apr 1, 2006 8:41:31 AM
Mouse story! I had a mouse in my picture framing studio a few years back and he got so friendly he would come around checking me out... so i would put my finger out and he'd sniff it. Eventually I got so I could pet him (cute little fella too). Then one day I was watching him climb down an extension cord from the bench to the floor and he fell off and lay dead on the floor. I had no poison around. Old age, heart attack, who knows? I felt kinda sorry for him. I don't treat them the same at my house though. I set traps cause they can overrun a place pretty quick. I'll try the tube over the bucket just for chuckles.
Posted by: DL | Apr 1, 2006 10:04:56 AM
Two mice fell in a bucket of cream. The first mouse quickly gave up and drowned. The second mouse fought so hard he turned that cream into butter and crawled out.
Posted by: JG | Apr 1, 2006 11:50:12 AM
Fascinating!
Looks like the world is still beating the path to the better mouse trap!
;-)
Posted by: Sylver | Apr 1, 2006 12:03:36 PM
I pity a world which has people like Rob in it who get actual pleasure seeing little creatures suffer and die; they need to know there is a Judgement Day coming when they will get their just reward for delighting in the suffering of God's creation, whether it be man or beast. It's just such people who can translate the suffering of a little creature to the atrocities mankind perpetuates upon his fellow man. How sad no one raised these people to feel compassion.
Posted by: havala | Apr 1, 2006 2:15:04 PM
Bacon rind is a fantastic mouse bait.
Posted by: pip m | Apr 1, 2006 2:25:23 PM
Paul, Havala, et al, I agree with you. Perhaps Rob is just playing games on this forum. But if he really means what he says, it will most certainly be returned unto him 100 fold. He's not right in the head either way. In fact, the word 'coward' comes to mind. Personally I have a 'live' trap. It's a long, clear plastic box that has a door that only opens one way and holes in the end for air. I've caught many mice in it and have actually driven them across town to a field and turned them loose. This tp roll idea sounds just as good. Kudos to those of you who have hearts for the little critters.
Posted by: cindipher | Apr 1, 2006 4:48:32 PM
Drive a mile (2 miles roundtrip) to save a mouse's life, at $2.49 to 3.99 a gallon for the gasoline? That's just plain assinine!
Much easier, rub an amount of peanut butter into a wad of steel wool. The mouse will eat the steel wool while enjoying the peanut butter. It then goes home (whereveer that is), and dies from internal bleeding caused by the steel wool fragments. The body then rots away. No transporting, or wasting of fuel or time involved. If you are silly enough to do it, you can cry silently to yourself for the mouse
The billions of mice in the world are one measly mouse less.
Peanut butter and steel wool are cheap....
Posted by: stomki | Apr 1, 2006 5:15:45 PM
The debate going on here is so interesting I can't believe I have read all these posts. Anyway, I can't believe cats haven't been mentioned more! I have lived in a large house next to an open field for over 20 years. 3 cats 0 mice. All I see of the poor suckers is an occasional pile of tail and whiskers in the garage. Now I am not saying it is humane when the cat actually catches a mouse, but it is a great method of prevention because for the most part mice won't ever enter a house with a cat in it- Hence the expression, "when the cat is away the mice will play"
Posted by: Hill | Apr 1, 2006 6:30:47 PM
I strongly recommend NOT feeding poison or steel wool or anything else to a mouse that will allow the mouse to go to some random place to die. When I was growing up, my father put out poison to kill our mice, but one (or more?) died in the wall between the kitchen and the dining room and the stench seemed to last forever. My mother, sisters, and I wanted to make holes in the plaster (destroy the wall) until we found the stinking, rotting vermin and disposed of the cause of the putrid odor, but my father wouldn't hear of it so we had to suffer. I believe someone already mentioned another excellent reason NOT to use poison: your pet or someone else's pet might eat the poisoned rodent with unfortunate results.
I really do like your homemade trapping setup. Thank you! This also works: corner the mouse and stomp down hard--can be messy though. A good cat is the best (I think) as long as you are not allergic to cats.
Posted by: m red | Apr 1, 2006 8:52:20 PM
Okay..I just spent three days cleaning out my storage and don't want a repeat of the mess they made. My boyfriend keeps trying the humane traps with no little success. I can't wait to see if this works.
PS...mice don't seem to like "organic" peanut butter...I guess if they are going to be having to give up their happy domain they want it to be for something more worthwhile!
Posted by: Ali | Apr 1, 2006 11:14:53 PM
What if you don't use toilet paper?
Posted by: al_b | Apr 1, 2006 11:48:14 PM
Hahahaha!!! I got a link to this from my uncle. The idea is bloody brilliant, and the comments are even better! LOL
Posted by: Mary Ellen | Apr 2, 2006 6:02:35 AM
To all the folks who are considering cats as a good deterrent to mice...make sure they are cats who have been taught by their mama cats to catch mice; your general, generic house cats may just watch them, as mine have done. They informed me a mouse was there, but they in no way 'caught' them!
Posted by: havala | Apr 2, 2006 12:38:14 PM
Seems like a better solution to me...I had an infestation of rats in my office once...to the point that they were scampering around in my ceiling and making a very nice home for themselves, and would hop by the door to the office as if life was just wonderful... finally I put a couple of glue-traps out, only to see the next day how horribly they had struggled to get away. After drowning one,, I pulled several off the glue traps by the tail and let them get away as best they could. But it was very discouraging.
Posted by: Robert | Apr 2, 2006 1:47:24 PM
And then, I finally got a cat...that took care of the rats, but then the cat would bring me mice to show off what a macho cat he was. He'd throw them in the air, playing with them, and the mouse seemed so apathetic that it was going to die, I'd take the mouse away from the cat and put it in the grass nearby, inviting it to run off. It wouldn't. It WAITED for the cat to come and get it again, and succumb to the inevitable...as if it felt it was fulfilling it's basic purpose in life! TO BE EATEN!
Posted by: Robert | Apr 2, 2006 1:52:27 PM
A good idea is to dump a couple of beers into the bottom of the barrel - as the little beggar splashes around he releases all the carbon dioxide and he dies slowly of oxygen starvation while getting pised - a fitting end to a rodent.
Posted by: Plasma | Apr 2, 2006 3:08:36 PM
Hey, here's an idea. I heard that if you put a bit of mint oil on a cotton ball and put several about in your cupboard, well, where the mice are anyway. They will leave as they are allergic to oil of mint. I've tried it and so far they have left and haven't came back yet.
Posted by: KMD | Apr 2, 2006 4:05:02 PM
Good idea. But what if place some oil in the tube close to the end to make mouse just slide down.
Posted by: rob | Apr 2, 2006 4:32:27 PM
Cool ! Especially if you move left end of the tube a little bit up to make some angle towards the basket.
Posted by: jim | Apr 2, 2006 4:36:38 PM
Spring traps are NOT instant death. I set one up for a rat l had in my garage. The bigger, heavier sort made just for rats.I came home the next day and the little fellow was in the trap,dead-and only his left front paw was under the metal bar. There was blood pooling at his ears and mouth. Upon further inspection l noted he had a deep impression, obviously made by the bar, across his midsection. The critter had taken a serious hit accoss the body and managed to struggle , maybe for hours, out from under that spring bar and then finally died with just his paw still not yet free.
I will never use one of these devices again.
Posted by: John | Apr 2, 2006 6:56:17 PM
Ingenious.
Posted by: Jeramie | Apr 2, 2006 8:01:20 PM
Do you think one of those little love rodents would crawl up a longer tube, such as christmas present wrapping paper, and burrow into my rectum???? just wondering. i would not do that.
really.
o.k. mabie
Posted by: Richard G. | Apr 2, 2006 9:15:08 PM
Sounds like it could make a great game. After you catch one see if he will fall for it again. After maybe 6 or so dives into the bucket maybe that will do him in. The one with the highest number of dive before he croaks wins.
Posted by: coocoo | Apr 2, 2006 9:28:15 PM
I had horrible mice problems in the garage, turds everywhere. They also got into a lot dried flower supplies and made nests with it everywhere. We didn't want our pets poisoned so we didn't do the regular traps/poisons. It was too crowded for my cat to chase them. One week, after a shipment of eucalyptus came, they vanished, never to return. Now we put the stuff everywhere. I would just as soon they stayed away then have to deal with carcasses.
great email comments.
Mary
Posted by: Mary | Apr 2, 2006 9:54:12 PM
We have used a better method for years on the goldfields here when there are mice plagues. A beer bottle is placed on its side with its neck over the edge of the table under which is a pail of water. Cheese is placed in the bottle mouth and a piece of cloth at the other end to allow the meece (plural)to climb up. They then run along the top side of the bottle and fall off when the neck is reached. We commonly caught 20 or more a night. It does not need resetting. NB Be sure to clean out often as the stench of rotting rodents can be unsettling.
Posted by: peter bridge | Apr 2, 2006 10:07:27 PM
Great idea. This is just such an exciting stuff.
Posted by: steve | Apr 2, 2006 10:15:55 PM
Why not just bonk it in the head and hang up its little body on a little cross as a warning to the other mice? Heh heh heh...
Posted by: Bill | Apr 2, 2006 10:52:19 PM
Nitric acid, I say. Replace the trashcan with a glass Erlenmeyer flask with nitric acid. The subsequent bubbling can be noisy, though, once the screams have settled down, that is.
Posted by: Kem-Icklee | Apr 2, 2006 11:55:08 PM
Jesus said "God cares for every sparrow that falls."
Proverbs says "A righteous man takes good care of his animals".
This is a good way to take care of mine.
Thanx
Posted by: Janet | Apr 3, 2006 1:47:38 AM
Well you know what? I tried this and it didn't work at all.
First I tried it on my HP USB optical mouse and...nothing. Then, expecting different results, I tried it with my Logitech wireless mouse. Still no luck. I have tried several different brands of toilet paper, thinking that there might be a defect between the various TP manufacturers but to no avail. All I have is a huge pile of toilet paper and a mouse next to my computer that refuses to play along.
Who's the wise guy that thought up this fruitless scheme anyway? You've got some 'splaining to do.
Posted by: matt the rat | Apr 3, 2006 2:33:55 AM
Wouldn't the mouse be hurt in the fall into the trash can or bucket? How about a little parachute on the roll?
Posted by: pooche | Apr 3, 2006 7:30:31 AM
If you've got a bunch of the f***ers and wanna kill them quick, mix up a batch of 50% flour and 50% cement (no water). When they eat it, their digestive juices will harden the cement, blocking their intestines.
Posted by: dave | Apr 3, 2006 7:51:36 AM
When I worked in a restaurant in OK, we used to catch mice in plastic containers, close the lid and throw it in the microwave. It took about 2-3 minutes to kill them and about 4 minutes to explode them.
Posted by: dave | Apr 3, 2006 7:57:45 AM
If any mice are reading this, we're stuffed.
Posted by: Frog | Apr 3, 2006 12:07:46 PM
Out here in the wild woods, we take a 4 or 5 gallon bucket and bore two small holes opposite each other in the top rim. Then we take a 12 ounce plastic pop bottle and stick a length of stiff wire through the cap and all the way through the bottom, then place the ends of the wire in the small holes in the bucket rim. This forms a rotating cylinder which is then smeared with chunky peanut butter. Put a few inches of water in the bucket and place a stick of wood from the ground up to the rim of the bucket. It works best if the ramp lines up with the wire. The mouse climbs the ramp, steps onto the pop bottle, the bottle spins, and the mouse falls into the water and drowns.
This saves lots of money on poison and the rodents never get immune.
Posted by: survivalist | Apr 3, 2006 6:56:02 PM
For those who don't already know this, mice love to nibble on little scrap pieces of white bar soap.
Posted by: Marty | Apr 3, 2006 7:13:22 PM
Re: question about mice climbing or jumping onto elevated surfaces... Mice will climb almost any surface that has texture, and can jump at least two feet high. I've found them atop my cottage refrigerator -- presumably from having boosted themselves from chair to table to cabinet to fridge. They also can leap higher than the rim of the toilet, because we've found them swimming (and exhausted) in ours. Mice are commonly found on topmost shelves in pantries, and often on countertops. If you place bait on a ledge they'll manage to make it up there unless there's absolutely nothing nearby for them to leapfrog onto. You'd be surprised at their agility. Be sure that your bait is the only available food source, so that they go to it exclusively.
Posted by: Susan | Apr 3, 2006 7:19:42 PM
It's so nice to see another human that has compassion for the other living creatures that we share this tiny little planet with.
We live in the country in a wooded area and have many creatures that come and visit us, most are welcome but then some cause problems as do the mice that want to live inside in the winter.
We don't use the KILLER mouse traps, those are horrible things, Lou takes an old coffee can and with a knife cuts an "X" in the bottom side and pushes the four tabs inward slightly creating an entrance of about a half inch, the can is baited with black oil sunflower seeds (Any bait will do) and placed in our entry.
The mice will enter the can but will be unable to get back out, voila, our non lethal mouse trap, and it works great, we usually get between twelve and fourteen mice over the course of the winter.
Oh, and getting them out is as easy as removing the plastic cover at the other end of the can.
This winter we did not get many mice, only six as there was a least weasel living in our attic, still is I think, natures mousetrap (:-}
Posted by: Lou & Tiff | Apr 3, 2006 11:45:07 PM
No one has mentioned the electronic devices that supposedly make a sound that only rodents can hear. This sound is unpleasant and they leave the areas where the devices are plugged into the electrical sockets. We've placed approximately a dozen around the house and have noticed a significant reduction in the evidence mice leave behind, if you know what I mean.
We have one of those electrical shocking devices also but haven't had any success yet.
I rarely read anything with as much interest as this thread. Thanks for all the great tips!
Karen
Posted by: Karen | Apr 4, 2006 1:42:18 AM
There's an even simpler method we've used for years -- just put the bait directly in the bucket/trash can itself, then slide it next to a chair or something of even height they can climb up on. They'll jump right into the bucket to get the bait (sunflower seeds work great)-- no tubes needed. Works great!
Posted by: Marianne | Apr 4, 2006 9:11:57 AM
you r such a nice person. i want to fall into a trap with you!
Posted by: vicky | Apr 4, 2006 9:15:02 AM
place a 1" thick dish of soft sponge on the bottom of the bucket/trash can.The mouse will fall on soft surface, and will not be able to jump too high, so smaller bucket can be used
Posted by: andrzej | Apr 4, 2006 2:56:23 PM
Oh my God! How can you treat my brethren in such a manner. Sure its nice to get some free grub but being led in to a trap?? Thats low! Its hostile act and myself and my mouse brothers will retaliate. Your suffering will that of my forefathers, caught up in your inhumane traps. The day of reckoning is nearly up on you!
Posted by: Dan Germouse | Apr 5, 2006 1:28:47 AM
Rats, and rat traps, are something else. Nothing to mess around with, and seeing one will not elicit any sympathy.
After spending an evening putting a half dozen in the attic to deal with a roof rat problem, I snuggled in bed with my spouse, a woman who will bring a car to a screeching halt on the freeway to avoid stressing a butterfly.
The light had been out for just a few moments, and I had just explained how many and where abouts in the attic these instuments of rodentia death were placed, which included the space over the bedroom. She then asked, dreading the odor of a rotting rodent permeating the house in August, how we would know when a trap had sprung.
As I was just opening my mouth to say that I'd likely have to check on them every couple of days, the one over the master bedroom went off with a bang like a pistol shot, accompanied by a loud thrashing about.
Posted by: Gretz | Apr 5, 2006 12:17:15 PM
It's illegal to release an animal more than 500 yards from where you captured it. You have no choice but to kill it.
Posted by: Dave | Apr 5, 2006 6:51:19 PM
I'm almost wishing I had a mouse problem, just to try this. What's wrong with me!
What's worse, is, I really should have been in bed 45 minutes ago, but instead I've read this whole thing. Maybe because it is the most comprehendable thing I've had to deal with all day.
For what it is worth, there is no such thing as a human language which is primitive, and probably there is no such thing as a creature which has primitive thoughts... In other words, animals probably all think in subject/verb/object like humans do. Kinda makes it harder to kill them, huh? All consciousness is basically thinking subject/verb/object like our own, and the physical brain simply provides a different way of expression of that consciousness. Haven't you ever felt mentally incapacitated (drunk, tired, etc.) but still very conscious? Maybe a mouse is just as conscious as you, but not able to communicate that.
Hey, I smell some yummy peanut butter somewhere close... I'm off to investigate...
- Chad May
Posted by: Chad May | Apr 6, 2006 2:21:35 AM
Hi, I wanted to deeply thank you for this idea. I live at a Zen Buddhist pagoda in Frankfurt, Germany and we have a mice problem. We were told by the health inspectors that they would begin giving us problems if we didnt get rid of the mice quickly and mentioned they would be back to check that we were using traps and poison. We set out the poison but have a strong disposition for killing animals, so I set out to find another way. I have made your mousetrap along with a young monk named Hue An, (but we used an empty teabox instead of a toilet paper roll) and have caught 2 mice so far and set them free at a distance away. Thank you very much for helping us.
ps, the one i caught this morning kept trying to jump out of the trash can and altough really small, he almost made it. Make sure to use a DEEP containter. Thanks again
-Hue Chuyen
Posted by: hue chuyen | Apr 6, 2006 7:20:12 AM
I think we have just about got the mouse problem covered; now I'm wondering if anyone has any suggestions as to ridding a place of ants/spiders etc.? A friend of mine is constantly having to call pest control people to come treat for ants, which they never seem to be able to eradicate; and as I saw a big ol' gross spider in the bathtub the other day, I'm wondering how in the world do they get there, and is there any way beside spraying poisons all over the place to keep them out? Maybe there are some bug experts out there...
Posted by: havala | Apr 6, 2006 10:27:23 AM
Ants and Spider problems? Try J. Boone's book "Kinship with All Life". Pretty novel approach and assumes all life is sentient and willing to make deals.
Posted by: Mary | Apr 6, 2006 10:49:50 AM
You *could* put a nice bucket of boiling water under the tube and have a nice lobster-style mouse dinner! HAHA
Posted by: Mr. Blue | Apr 7, 2006 1:31:10 PM
WOW this trap totally worked. I am going to set this trap for the next few nights to see if Mister Mouse has any brothers and sisters.
Thanks
Posted by: Doyle, K | Apr 10, 2006 12:44:31 PM
This is a fun idea, but has noone ever seen a "micecube"? They are sold in hardware and some grocery stores. there's a door on the open end that is too lond to completely close. Place a tasty mouse treat at the end and waitfor the mouse to crawl in and enjoy. S/he can't get out because the door is too long and won't open from the other direction. You can then dispose of your little friend.
I've caught 2 mice over the past 5 years this way. I'm sure they were different mice given the ears apart, personality and places they were taken. I can't imagine anyone arresting someone who released a mouse into a park, the woods, or other natural area. Yes, then let nature take its course.
If you just can't let go, well, then, you have a new pet! The 2nd mouse I caught was pretty spunky - and smart - not nearly as easy to catch as #1! Still, I returned him to life in the park, by the water.
But rats? Ugh! vermin - dispose as cleanly as possible. I will say that the sonic devices are very effective in keeping them away.
Posted by: gypsysister | Apr 11, 2006 12:07:26 AM
I have absolutely NO PROBLEM killing mice. They are dirty, filthy and disease ridden. Don't think for a second that mice care about YOUR health. Or the Health of your children. They will shit in your food, piss in your bed and not give a rat's ass about it. Remember, after they crawl up through your basement, come in from outdoors or wherever they have been, THEY HAVE BEEN GOD KNOWS WHERE!!! They crawl through trash, over human waste and other such nastiness. They come in contact with fleas and ticks which are two other disgusting vectors, Lyme's Disease anyone and feel no remorse. How about some Bubonic Plague? Too far fetched for you? For those of you in the southwest, how about some Hanta Virus? Mice reproduce in a very short time, 18 to 20 days. There are PLENTY of the little fuckers. Kill them and feel no remorse. There are probably a dozen more living in your walls anyway.
Posted by: Marc | Apr 11, 2006 8:17:34 AM
To keep ants out, find the point of entry and pour wood ash (from your fireplace) on the spot. A strip of a couple inches of wood ash will repel the ants within a couple of days. I had a big problem with those tiny Argentinian ants a few years ago, and my neighbor told me about the wood ash... I ended up almost having to draw out the outside borders of my house in a wood ash line 2 inches wide, because they kept finding different ways in, but they would not cross the ash line. Much more effective than all the sprays, and much less toxic. If it's windy or rains, you'll need to replace it more often. Also works to keep slugs and snails out of an area. I haven't had any ant problems since.
As far as the mousetraps go, seems like the spinning bottle on the bucket variations would be most effective. Trying to modify the original toilet paper tube design to make the tube-trap reset itself would only work if the tube was so slippery that the mouse couldn't cling to it, which isn't likely. Even so, it would also likely grab the bait on the way down, trying to hold onto something as it fell.
Posted by: Stanley | Apr 11, 2006 10:34:25 PM
oh my god! how frustrating!!! that stupid supid mouse is driving me nutts! he doesnt just wander around on my kitchen floor, he manages to climb up my stove top and hangs out there and next to my stove top is my kitchen counter where i daily use! that THING also wanders around the house and one time he got in my bed room , where i also have my baby's crib!! oooooh nothing worked with this mouse he is too smart.. that little F***er! oh my god he is on the kitchen counter nowwwwwww!!!!!!!!!! i need to cry...
Posted by: sara | Apr 12, 2006 9:27:27 PM
Thank you for posting about this humane mouse trap. I personally can't stand mice, because they're dirty and spread disease, eat holes in everything, poop everywhere... but on the same token there is no reason I have to be cruel in getting them out of my house. I've only had 1 mouse to contend with, several years ago. We had a face-off, he was on the kitchen counter. Fastest little bugger I'd ever seen. I moved out of the house before I could catch him.
There is also no reason to be cruel if they have to be killed. Suffocation has probably got to be a terrible way to die. As is drowning, being crushed, or glued down. We used to do all these things when I was a kid and I didn't think twice of it, until I saw what became of these animals when they met these traps. A humane death is something that's going to happen in a couple of seconds. And it's humane for you, too, so you don't have to remember waiting for the thing to struggle and die.
The last mice I caught were at my mom's house. She had humane traps, that were basically tubes with a bend in the middle, so that one end bent upward. You set one end on the ground, and they'd crawl in, and the trap would tip to the other end and the one-way door would close. Then I would take the mice outside a ways away and let them go, willing mother nature to do what it will, whether that be the wild mouse to survive in the wild, or find its way back, or get eaten by a predator. It's just how life is. Much as we may hate the food chain in the animal kingdom from time to time, it will never go away.
Cute, yeah. But mice in the wild are gross. But though part of what makes me human is my animal nature in killing, another part of what makes me human is my nature of compassion and kindness especially in these instances. A humane mouse trap is perfectly reasonable and logical and sane. There's really no point in being cruel, either in catching them or killing them.
Posted by: Steph | Apr 13, 2006 1:25:48 AM
This trap works extremely well! Thank you!!
Posted by: olivia | Apr 13, 2006 4:39:21 PM
wow, i just read all this and copied and pasted the good parts to email to a friend with roof rats/mice problems. he said a guy in a pet store said if you get a pet snake, the rodents will just leave the house, as they can smell the snake and are scared. somehow, i doubt that. i don't think they'd go away til they saw the snake sliding towards them.
i think the "illegal to set animals free less than 500 yards away from where you caught it" law is bullshit and non-existant, but i live in australia so maybe it's different here. anything humane, non toxic, easy to make at home, and reusable, is an awesome idea. not to mention the karma you'll have coming your way. all you who want to drown or kill them slowly, watch the movie "willard" and see what happens to people who aren't nice to mass amounts of rodents.
Posted by: jane | Apr 15, 2006 10:24:49 PM
I lived in Australia some time and I don't know what's the difference - mouse is mouse everywhere. Just catch it and through away.
Posted by: greg | Apr 17, 2006 1:07:39 AM
Thanks, what a great idea.
Had no luck with the trap had been trying for a week, got the mouse on the first night when I tried this. Released the mouse into the garden.
Posted by: james | Apr 24, 2006 10:14:23 AM
Scenario 1: Cute mouse (could have been an Australian native) cornered in my tupperware cupboard, removed surrounding containers from hiding mouse and then used thin stick to remove last containers, mouse exited at high speed into the waiting plastic shopping bag, Voila! My daughter then took bag outside and enabled mouse to escape.
Scenario 2: Mouse returns to scene of crime and is cornered behind refrigerator, placed plastic bag at one of two exits and rattled stick at other, another succesful shopping day! Mouse was transported to grassy area far from home, all is well that ends well.
Posted by: Mother & Daughter | Apr 27, 2006 7:56:24 PM
To mouse killers, I have been observing humans despoiling my beautiful creation like a maglignant cancer. Beware!
From Big Rat creator!
Posted by: Live and let Live | Apr 27, 2006 8:11:34 PM
Humane way to kill:
I would personally do everything I could to relocate him somewhere he wouldn't get in the same situation, but I also understsand that not everyone cares as much as I do, so as a snake owner I offer what I understand to be the most humane way to kill a mouse. Beware because you must use your HANDS to do this (which shouldn't really bother you if you're killing it, and if it does bother you then maybe you should re-think letting him live).
After caught: secure the mouse with your index and middle finger to one side of his head and your ring finger and pinkie on the other side, palm down on his back. Place a pencil or other similarly sized dowel-shaped object underneith your middle and ring fingers directly behind his head, at the base of his skull. with your other hand, pull the base of his tail, HARD. You wont be happy with the results if you pull at the tip, I can promise that. Their entire spinal cord is dislocated and it is (almost always) instant death. If you fuckers are going to kill him, at least be humane about it.
Posted by: E | Apr 28, 2006 9:13:00 AM
mice are cool
Posted by: chong | Apr 28, 2006 3:59:14 PM
I know a fellow who had a mouse problem and finally saw it run up into a trah container. So he quickly tied a knot in the trash bag and took it with him when he went to pick someone up at the train station. While there he put the bag on the train and sent it off to Wash. D.C.
Posted by: pennswoodpusher | Apr 29, 2006 2:56:26 AM