Thread: Need a better mouse trap Board: Oblivion / Ship of Fools.


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Posted by Belle Ringer (# 13379) on :
 
I have mice for the first time in my life. Caught two with snap traps, then two with glue traps, neither kind of trap is catching them anymore -- I have at least one more, saw one run across my living room floor twice today.

Anyone have a better idea?

One friend says to use D-Con, but others say don't because they'll go inside the walls to die, and stink.
 
Posted by Nicolemrw (# 28) on :
 
Get a cat or two?
 
Posted by Lyda*Rose (# 4544) on :
 
I agree. If you are not allergic to cats and don't actively dislike them, it's a good solution. It's not necessarily a matter of cats catching all the mice. The mice just know in their tiny guts that Cats Are Bad News and wreck the neighborhood. A trap could just be an act of God to a mouse. But predator/prey is forever.
 
Posted by AristonAstuanax (# 10894) on :
 
Meh, but not all cats are equal; if you borrow your friend's contented house kitty, the mice will never go away. A barn cat or stray—one that has depended on catching and killing rodents—would be ideal (and would only need to be around for a bit), but you really don't want a semi-tame, unhousebroken animal in your house.
Plus, if you get a cat only for your soon-to-end rodent problem, you're stuck with it for the next fifteen years. That's a long time to have to care for an animal just to fix a problem.
 
Posted by Pigwidgeon (# 10192) on :
 
How about a "live" trap? Why do you have to kill them? I prefer catch and release.
 
Posted by Carex (# 9643) on :
 
We live in a 100-year-old farmhouse and have lots of mice in the basement, walls, attic, barn, etc. (But not in the house itself - except for those that the cat brings in.)

There actually is a product called "The Better Mousetrap", a grey plastic device that looks somewhat like an overgrown spring clothespin. They are easy to set - squeezing one end opens the other and sets it, then after it snaps you squeeze it again over the trashcan (or out in the field) to dispose of the dead body. I often demonstrate that I can trip it with my finger and it doesn't hurt, but they trap the mice just fine. I think we have 8 of them around that we try to keep set.

One of the best baits is peanut butter - that's the only reason we keep a jar of the smooth type around. Smear it into the grooves of the trigger. (The grey plastic traps cover the trigger when they snap so the second mouse doesn't get it all.) For a real difficult case I've drilled a hole though an almond and wired it to the trigger.


We avoided mouse bait for years due to concern about dead mice in our walls and also for our cat (who is quite the mouser, but tends to go for the field mice rather than house mice.) Now we use the "Just One Bite" bars, which break into pieces with a hole down the middle. I use a long screw to secure a couple half blocks to a board so they can't be dragged off. Actually we've had fewer problems with dead mouse smell then when they used to fall in between the walls and we listened to them scratching half the night before they died. I'd feel uncomfortable using it inside the house, but it has been quite effective in eliminating the regular occupants in the basement.


There are a number of live trap options - we used to build them using a standard spring mousetrap, a #10 can and a piece of hardware cloth, as well as some commercial ones. But mice don't survive very long in a live trap, and you still have to clean out the remains. If you want to try your own, take a 1 gallon cider jug and spread peanut butter around the inside of the neck about as far in as you can reach your finger. Stand the jug vertically and provide a ramp or other access so they can climb up and investigate. I suppose a 2-quart Mason jar would also work, and be easier to get dead mice out of. At least with this approach you don't have to reset the trap after it catches the first mouse.
 
Posted by Kelly Alves (# 2522) on :
 
quote:
Originally posted by AristonAstuanax:
Meh, but not all cats are equal; if you borrow your friend's contented house kitty, the mice will never go away.
My dear departed kitty, when faced by a baby mouse-- that's right, I said a baby mouse-- sniffed it and trotted up the stairs.
 
Posted by daisydaisy (# 12167) on :
 
quote:
Originally posted by Pigwidgeon:
How about a "live" trap? Why do you have to kill them? I prefer catch and release.
....and repeat x times until the mouse dies of old age. Unless, while you are carrying the trap outside, it leaps out of the trap into the jaws of a cat waiting for it, as happened to one of my trappees.
I use chocolate as bait - a waste of good chocolate but a good use for any you don't like.
 
Posted by Surfing Madness (# 11087) on :
 
When I've had problems in the past I've used the plug in electrical solution which apparently give out a high pitch noise that can't be heard by humans. Seemed to work fine for me.
 
Posted by Think˛ (# 1984) on :
 
Find the hole they are getting in by and mortar it.

[ 22. April 2012, 11:21: Message edited by: Think˛ ]
 
Posted by Spike (# 36) on :
 
quote:
Originally posted by Pigwidgeon:
How about a "live" trap? Why do you have to kill them? I prefer catch and release.
[Former Rentokil employee mode on]
Contrary to popular belief, this in not in any way a humane alternative. Mice are essentially indoor creatures, so releasing them into the wild is quite cruel as they are in an alien environment. The lucky ones may get eaten by predators, otherwise they suffer a slow death through starvation and/or exposure.

If you still want to use snap traps, avoid using cheese. What mice really go for is chocolate or peanut butter. If the infestation is large (and believe me, the population of mice can grow at an alarming rate) consider getting some bait boxes containing rodenticide, usually available in hardware stores. I don't know what they have in the US, but here in the UK they usually contain an anticoagulant and the mice die in their sleep with little or no pain.

Any baits or traps should be placed against the wall as that is the normal route mice take.

[ 22. April 2012, 12:08: Message edited by: Spike ]
 
Posted by Spike (# 36) on :
 
Sorry for the double post:

quote:
Originally posted by Carex:
We avoided mouse bait for years due to concern about dead mice in our walls and also for our cat (who is quite the mouser, but tends to go for the field mice rather than house mice.)
You needn't worry too much about that. Remember, that stuff is formulated to kill small rodents. If a cat or a dog were to eat any, although it wouldn't do them an awful lot of good, it would have to eat at least half its own body weight to do any serious harm.
 
Posted by daisymay (# 1480) on :
 
I've regularly been using the traps that get a mouse in, because it's interested in the food, and it gets closed and then I take it away to the park and let it out there.
 
Posted by The Rhythm Methodist (# 17064) on :
 
I have read any number of theological tomes: a few of them have offered genuine and refreshing insights – others seem to have been written merely to promote the author’s pet doctrines….or the author himself. Most have served only to remind me that true wisdom is a function of relationship with God, rather than the product of scholastic endeavour - and one or two of these books have left me wishing they’d been printed on softer paper, that I might salvage some practical use from my investment.

That said, I believe one man’s contribution stands head and shoulders above the rest – indeed, he has scaled the heights of perception, and stands – unchallenged - on the summit. In one brief comment, he encapsulated both the intense attraction of our saviour, and the profound inadequacy of those who have been drawn to him. He said, “I can embrace Christ, but not his leprous bride – the church.”

In doing so, I think he perfectly summed-up the otherwise unarticulated resistance of so many to Christianity. The problem is not Jesus – it is those who claim to represent him. This Colossus of religious thought was, of course, the late Les Dawson. More commonly celebrated for his contribution to light entertainment, he nonetheless deserves recognition for identifying the issue at the heart of the church’s failure to make an impact worthy of the gospel.
 
Posted by The Rhythm Methodist (# 17064) on :
 
Apologies - the above was supposed to be posted in a different thread. My only excuse is incompetence!
 
Posted by St. Gwladys (# 14504) on :
 
Rhythm Methodist, I think you've posted on the wrong thread!

Apart from that -

My parents lived in a terraced house a couple of streets above where we live now. One of our neighbours had pet mice, the other kept birds in an outdoor aviary, so there were seeds available. The upshot was that there were mice in the whole run of the street. A friend at the other end of the street told me of seeing mouse footprints in the solid chip fat they used.
Mam worked in a paper factory, and spoke to the rodent control person, who gave her some special bait which the mice loved. This stuff ate away at the mouse insides, so we would sometimes find flat mice corpses - all that was left was the fur and bones.
The problem didn't go away until my Dad looked after our cat whilst we were on holidays. He never saw a mouse after that - I heard that the smell of a cat will discourage mice.
 
Posted by Belle Ringer (# 13379) on :
 
quote:
Originally posted by The Rhythm Methodist:
I have read any number of theological tomes: a few of them have offered genuine and refreshing insights –
LOL, we all make mistakes; I was hoping this was a theological musing on the catching of -- or why we have - mice in a house.
 
Posted by Spike (# 36) on :
 
quote:
Originally posted by daisymay:
I've regularly been using the traps that get a mouse in, because it's interested in the food, and it gets closed and then I take it away to the park and let it out there.
See my post above!
 
Posted by Pigwidgeon (# 10192) on :
 
The mice I've encountered in buildings tend to be field mice who've wandered in. Putting them back in their fields has never seemed cruel to me.
 
Posted by Chorister (# 473) on :
 
We use a killer bait mouse trap up in the loft, but any which get inside the house (since the cat died) usually end up committing suicide in the loo. They squeeze into the gap between lid and bowl, fall into the water and drown. It can sometimes give you a shock when you go to use the bathroom, though.
 
Posted by blackbeard (# 10848) on :
 
We had mice once. Manifested by teeth marks on a bar of Green and Black's chocolate (they had taste).

They turned out to be wood mice, not house mice. Pretty little animals whose ability to climb and jump was astonishing. Much stronger than house mice, they could force a humane trap open.

I did manage to catch and evict a few, but a permanent solution came only when I crept out of the house at dead of night with quick-setting cement, having finally found the tiny tiny hole they came in by. The hole was sealed while they were out at work, foraging outside. Our house had served as a warm dry predator-free environment and commuting base. Success was indicated by mouse detectors (upturned jam jar lids with a little muesli and marmalade, which now remained undisturbed).

It took a while to work out how they had entered. Tiny slot in wall, then up cavity to loft, down cavity to kitchen and into kitchen through a very small gap between water pipe and wall. Amazing. They did little harm but I did not want unauthorised pets.
 
Posted by snowgoose (# 4394) on :
 
Actually, one of the best moustraps ever---in some ways even better than a cat---is a snake. My husband's parents' house was way out in the country and they had a plague of mice until a nice big (and harmless) black snake moved into the basement. Presto! No mice.

In fact, many of the farmers in the area are very happy to have a snake in the barn or the corn crib. They can get into all those narrow places that cats can't manage.

On the other hand, one wouldn't like snakes in the house. But if you have any outside do not chase them away. They really do keep the mouse population down, and can get a lot of them before the little rodents get into the house.
 
Posted by Think˛ (# 1984) on :
 
quote:
Originally posted by blackbeard:

It took a while to work out how they had entered. Tiny slot in wall, then up cavity to loft, down cavity to kitchen and into kitchen through a very small gap between water pipe and wall. Amazing. They did little harm but I did not want unauthorised pets.
Yeah can be a really small hole - but definitely the best long term plan is to find and fill.
 
Posted by daisydaisy (# 12167) on :
 
Suddenly I was reminded of this
 
Posted by daisymay (# 1480) on :
 
quote:
Originally posted by Spike:
quote:
Originally posted by daisymay:
I've regularly been using the traps that get a mouse in, because it's interested in the food, and it gets closed and then I take it away to the park and let it out there.
See my post above!
Yes, seen that - and in the parks there are also mice "living" there. And we've been told to take the mice away about 1 mile, so they don't come back "home".
 
Posted by Celtic Knotweed (# 13008) on :
 
Just don't make the mistake we did a couple of years ago. It was definitely mice to start with, almost certainly wood mice who'd come in from the damp (footprint evidence on the stereo system, plus a tail spotted by Sandemaniac), but at some point the rats followed them. Apodemus sylvaticus neither of us have too many problems with - apart from eating my Green & Blacks and dried mango strips - but Rattus norvegicus were not welcome, especially after they took off with all Sandemaniac's chitting tatties! Looking back, we ought to have realised the pattern of munching had changed quite a while before. In the end Ms Rat died of a kill-trap baited with Dairy Milk [Big Grin] and the rat-run was found and blocked up.

Now we've worried you [Devil]
 
Posted by Roseofsharon (# 9657) on :
 
quote:
Originally posted by Think˛:
Yeah can be a really small hole - but definitely the best long term plan is to find and fill.
Mice can get through a hole the diameter of a pencil, according to my food-hygiene course.
In a house 300+ years old there are plenty of holes and gaps, and filling them would be a permanent occupation so I rely on the 'scent of cat' method.
It took about 18months after the demise of our previous cat for the signs of mouse to appear in the kitchen. We quickly acquired two adult cats and haven't seen any evidence of mice indoors since, in spite of them not being very good hunters
 
Posted by Spike (# 36) on :
 
quote:
Originally posted by daisymay:
quote:
Originally posted by Spike:
quote:
Originally posted by daisymay:
I've regularly been using the traps that get a mouse in, because it's interested in the food, and it gets closed and then I take it away to the park and let it out there.
See my post above!
Yes, seen that - and in the parks there are also mice "living" there. And we've been told to take the mice away about 1 mile, so they don't come back "home".
They would be field mice (even in London) which are a different species. House mice cannot survive out of doors.
 
Posted by Think˛ (# 1984) on :
 
Then where do they come from before they get into your house ?
 
Posted by Spike (# 36) on :
 
Usually from other adjoining buildings. If you are in a detached building then obviously they will have been outside for a short period of time, or possibly underground, but would still have been looking to get indoors as soon as possible.

It's possible they could have got in by "accident" with a delivery of some kind. They are very small and can hide in all sorts of places. It only takes one pregnant female mouse for a property to have a serious infestation in less than six weeks.

[ 22. April 2012, 22:52: Message edited by: Spike ]
 
Posted by Balaam (# 4543) on :
 
In terraced houses the mice usually come from next door.

Mice will venture out in warm weather, but will bolt for the nearest house when it gets colder, which is nightfall.

The last time we had mice, they were attracted to food left out at floor level - unfortunately for the mice this was cat food, as were they.

Marmalade, the cat, was pleased to find something more sporting than house spiders (her usual dietary supplement)to chase.

So you could try baiting traps with cat food.
 
Posted by Lothlorien (# 4927) on :
 
I knew people who set out trays of mix of flour and cement in a country property. Said it worked really well.
 
Posted by Carex (# 9643) on :
 
I've heard the same thing with course ground corn meal / polenta mixed with quick setting cement.

This is great if you are using the cement for another purpose, but buying a bag just for this purpose isn't too effective as you only need a few tablespoons of the stuff and the rest of the bag likely will have solidified by the time you go back for more. (Perhaps not in dry parts of Australia, but it certainly does in damper climates.)
 
Posted by Lothlorien (# 4927) on :
 
Down here a small bag of cement, just a couple of kilos or so is readily available. They put it in small aluminium trays like a Sara Lee Danish tray and said that holes were eaten in the tray to get at mix rather than climbing the coupe of centimetres over the top.
 
Posted by Val Kyrie (# 17079) on :
 
quote:
Originally posted by Chorister:
They squeeze into the gap between lid and bowl, fall into the water and drown. It can sometimes give you a shock when you go to use the bathroom, though.
Or if you notice after you've been and think "I don't remember eating THAT!".
 
Posted by Golden Key (# 1468) on :
 
More caveats re "humane traps":

--There's a kind that winds up and scoops the entering mouse into a holding chamber. So far, so good. But, at least when I used one years ago, there was just enough of a gap between the scoop and the wall of the trap for the mouse to *try* to get out. Unfortunately, it could get stuck...

--They die quickly in live traps, IME; so, if you're going to release them, you need to do it within a day or two.


Re cement/plaster:

Haven't used it; but, from what I've read, you put out a dish of the *dry* stuff, and put a dish of water nearby. Supposedly, they'll eat the powder, then drink.
 
Posted by Think˛ (# 1984) on :
 
I would have thought its basic that if you lay a live trap for any kind of animal you check it at least daily.
 
Posted by Spike (# 36) on :
 
Although I argue against the use of live traps for reasons I've already given, I am also a firm believer that they should be killed in as humane a manner as possible.

The flour & cement mix may be effective, but is also extremely inhumane. Imagine your own guts clogged up with cement!

Conventional traps are at least quick and properly formulated rodenticides cause the minimum amount of pain and suffereing.
 
Posted by Aggie (# 4385) on :
 
Do rats fare better if they are caught and released elsewhere in a live trap?

It always seems to me that rats are far more intelligent and resourceful.
 
Posted by Welease Woderwick (# 10424) on :
 
Wasn't there some guy in Heller's Catch-22 who used a Colt 45 for controlling the mouse problem in their tents?
 
Posted by Belle Ringer (# 13379) on :
 
Saw two mice in the kitchen yesterday, one up by the microwave which smells of bacon (I'm on a low carb diet right now, lots of bacon). So I lined the space in front of the microwave with glue traps. Next morning they were pushed out of line -- proof of what I suspected, the mice now recognize and avoid glue traps. They must have a way of communicating what to avoid or only the ones who escaped previously would know to avoid the traps!

A half-grown mouse had a tail caught in a different glue trap, but when I approached he disappeared with a squeak into the woodwork where I swear there's no hole bigger than 1/8th inch, leaving behind some skin off his tail.

The man at the farm store said they can't escape glue traps, he's wrong, two have escaped now, one leaving a trap full of hair.

Big mice, field mice, or maybe Texas grows them big, mice in my Mom's house were half the size.

I have new glue traps coming by mail, and I like the "cider jug" trap idea, I assume it would work with gallon-sized plastic milk bottles but I'd need to pour some sand or pebbles in the bottom to weight it or they'd just jump inside against the side and knock it over and escape.

Sound like a plan?
 
Posted by Spike (# 36) on :
 
Where are you putting the glue traps? Ideally (if you're not doing this already) they need to be right against the wall. House mice (if that's what you've got) are partially sighted so tend to stick close to the wall and feel their way along the wall with their whiskers. They have a phobia of open spaces, hence my dislike of live traps.
 
Posted by Spike (# 36) on :
 
quote:
Originally posted by Aggie:
Do rats fare better if they are caught and released elsewhere in a live trap?
Yes. Their natural habitat is outside, usually living in burrows. They come indoors looking for food and will often travel a mile or more in search of food.

quote:
It always seems to me that rats are far more intelligent and resourceful.
They are. Contrary to poular belief, they are actually very clean as well, much cleaner than mice. They are creatures of habit and have separate eating and toilet areas, unlike mice which are completely incontinent.

If you know you have mice and suspect where they've been, you need to clean the area and throw away any food they may have come into contact with. The droppings are easy to spot, but the urine is almost invisible, although it's most definitely there!

[ 24. April 2012, 14:08: Message edited by: Spike ]
 
Posted by Belle Ringer (# 13379) on :
 
quote:
Originally posted by Spike:
Where are you putting the glue traps? Ideally (if you're not doing this already) they need to be right against the wall. House mice (if that's what you've got) are partially sighted so tend to stick close to the wall and feel their way along the wall with their whiskers. They have a phobia of open spaces, hence my dislike of live traps.
The mice I've seen with my eyes have not hugged the walls. Twice I've seen one run across the middle of the living room floor. The ones Ive seen in the kitchen have been up on the counters, jumped and ran away but not hugging the walls.

But that might be panic behavior. The few I caught in traps were against the walls. Two caught in spring traps now they ignore those. Two caught in glue traps now they jump over them or something. These glue traps are dish, bit of a lip, possibly very visible to mice. I have some coming by mail that are just a flat piece of cardboard, some say the mice don't notice them.

But these mice are strong and have escaped glue traps. That's why the cider jug idea is appealing.
 
Posted by Aggie (# 4385) on :
 
quote:
Originally posted by Spike:
quote:
Originally posted by Aggie:
Do rats fare better if they are caught and released elsewhere in a live trap?
Yes. Their natural habitat is outside, usually living in burrows. They come indoors looking for food and will often travel a mile or more in search of food.

quote:
It always seems to me that rats are far more intelligent and resourceful.
They are. Contrary to poular belief, they are actually very clean as well, much cleaner than mice. They are creatures of habit and have separate eating and toilet areas, unlike mice which are completely incontinent.

If you know you have mice and suspect where they've been, you need to clean the area and throw away any food they may have come into contact with. The droppings are easy to spot, but the urine is almost invisible, although it's most definitely there!
I think rats are more noticeable than mice, as they have a very distinctive smell, and they leave greasy marks along the bottoms of walls or on skirting-boards.

And they are certainly harder to get rid of, as they are very wily and quite suspicious. I remember when I lived in Spain with my parents we had a problem with rats in the house where we lived, as it was an old house in a rural area surrounded by a pine forest. There were rats living in the trees, probably so they could eat pinenuts from inside the pine cones, and they occasionally ventured into our garage and house. (Much to my absolute horror, as I've always had a terrible phobia of rats, mice and rodents in general!!) [Eek!] [Eek!] [Eek!]

I remember that my father used to set rat traps using cooked meat as bait. A couple of the rats managed to work out how to eat the meat off the trap without setting it off. So, my father tried raw meat, and that worked. However, in time, our rodent visitors soon sussed that one out as well.

Eventually, we managed to banish the rats for good, when a family of feral cats "adopted" us and made their home on the garage roof (and I mean feral! They hissed and spat if you went within 10 feet of them.) However, they were all - even the little kittens - fantastic rat-catchers, and we never saw any rats again.
 
Posted by Golden Key (# 1468) on :
 
quote:
Originally posted by Think˛:
I would have thought its basic that if you lay a live trap for any kind of animal you check it at least daily.
Checking the trap doesn't mean you're able to take the mouse outside that same day. Especially if you've got health problems, or want to take it far away.

FWIW.
 
Posted by Pants (# 999) on :
 
Getting a cat doesn't always work... our cats bring the mice in (and the rabbits and birds and...).

We get rid of them by playing chase with them... 3 cats, a child and me against the mouse. Great fun!
 
Posted by Moo (# 107) on :
 
quote:
Originally posted by Pants:
Getting a cat doesn't always work... our cats bring the mice in (and the rabbits and birds and...).
Someone came up with a solution to this problem.

Moo
 
Posted by Padre Joshua (# 13100) on :
 
Belle Ringer, what are you using to bait the snap traps?

I've always had very good luck with them. I avoid the "pre-baited" ones from some grocery stores, because the bait doesn't attract anything but my anger.

I've used brie, and that didn't work. I usually use cheddar. Other hard cheeses may work, especially if they have a good, strong scent.

But by far the best thing I've ever found was peanut butter. I bought a cheap jar of Jif specifically for mice. Extra crunchy. Do not get the kind that separates; it will separate on the trap and the mouse won't eat it. Get the kind that clogs your arteries.

Placement is another factor. If you know an area where they like to run (in my house, they usually follow a pathway along the counter between the stove and the corner, for instance), then you can put one there. Put others in places where you've noticed them before. Around the microwave, for instance. Yes, that will mean a dead mouse is on your counter, but it's better than a live one. They know that microwave = food, so that's where you can trap them. I always put one behind the door, between the fridge and wall, and anywhere else that I think is small, private, and frequented by the mice.

I don't have any luck with the glue traps. They can smell them, and avoid them... the only times I've caught mice in glue traps was when I surprised them and they forgot about them and ran over them. That was twice, actually.

If you're doing all those things and still not catching mice, then I don't know what to tell you. A cat would be my next step, I think.
 
Posted by no_prophet (# 15560) on :
 
When we moved into the house we're now in about 16 years ago, the 2 cats caught 26 mice in the first 2-3 weeks and that was the end of it.

We then had mice about 3 years ago in a sun room. I caught 6 with glue traps, but had to make little pathways along the wall where the glue traps were simply in the way. There were more that didn't get caught that way. I put poison bait under the room. Lots of it. This was a area where other animals would not get in. I refresh the bait every spring now. Then I went with outdoor silicone caulk and sealed everything I could find. This stuff comes in either tubes or cylinders for a metal "gun". Recommend this too.

I know that some will be concerned about suffering of the mice. But we've had Hantavirus here and one must not fool around with carriers of that and any other condition. It is easy to get over run. We've also had gopher trouble (ground squirrels).
 
Posted by Pants (# 999) on :
 
quote:
Originally posted by Moo:
quote:
Originally posted by Pants:
Getting a cat doesn't always work... our cats bring the mice in (and the rabbits and birds and...).
Someone came up with a solution to this problem.

Moo
I've seen this before - we'd totally love one!! It'd be perfect. (Specially since one cat brought in a baby mole about half an hour ago.)
 
Posted by Belle Ringer (# 13379) on :
 
So far, 2 caught by snap trap (now they avoid snap traps), 2 escaped glue traps (one leaving behind a full side of fur, poor thing), 2 caught via glue traps (including a half-grown last night who didn't get the memo to avoid the black dishes on the floor), others have just pushed the glue traps out of the way or jumped over them or something.

Meanwhile, I have stepped on glue traps several times, grr, LOL. Yes it comes of easily with veggie oil (I don't have any but I have olive oil, works fine).

Bait on snap traps has been organic smooth peanut butter (what I have on hand), the store sells something they claim is better than peanut butter. Maybe I'll buy some. Or try the cheapo chunky peanut butter.

Have not used bait on glue traps, the man said just put them where the mice run anyway, no need to attract them, just surprise them on their usual route.

New glue traps came in the mail yesterday, flat piece of white cardboard with glue on it instead of the black dish of glue, people say the mice don't notice the flat white cardboard as much.

I've calmed down from "I need to get them all out NOW" to "this might take a while, keep at it steadily but don't fret."

I've collected some plastic one gallon milk jugs to try the cider jug idea, I'm thinking maybe I put a couple inches of water in the bottom of the jug to weight it so it won't tip over when a mouse inside jumps against the walls? Or maybe put it inside a cardboard box to keep it stable upright?

Anyone, there's AT LEAST one more -- the adult missing half his fur. A friend cheerfully warns if there's one more there's a dozen. Thanks, friend! Sigh.

Well, maybe this will FINALLY force me to clean up my messy house! Nothing like motivation.
 
Posted by Padre Joshua (# 13100) on :
 
I wouldn't give up on the snap traps quite yet. Try the cheapo chunky peanut butter, a chocolate Hershey bar (less than a dollar in the checkout line) or a small chunk of cheddar.

And the new glue traps you have are better. Some fold into a square tube; these are best because mousey thinks they're cover. Otherwise you can take an empty paper towel or toilet paper roll and roll the glue trap lengthwise and stuff it in, glue side inward. Then place it where they run, along wall or counter.
 


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