The trouble is they are quick to learn that traps kill them and so you'll never get them all. Admittedly they learn about poison too after a while so swapping between methods is actually the best tactic.
Not too easy to learn, when you're dead! I guess the others could see dead mice in traps and learn from that?! I suppose they *might* be smart enough to figure it out.
The best, most foolproof rodent trap is to take a plastic bucket and put a couple inches of water and/or vodka inside. I use an old arrow from my bow hunting supplies but a dowel will work too... poke it through a beer or soda can and place it on top of the bucket. Smear the can with peanut butter and use a board to make a ramp up to the lip of the bucket. They will climb up and onto the can to get the peanut butter... the can will roll and dump them in the bucket where they drown.
Thanks for the tip! I have seen this done but I think it's just a bad way to go out with the drowning and all... If I were the mouse I'd rather go out quickly with a snap of a spring loaded trap but none of them really sound like a fun way to leave planet earth. The pest folks have placed the kill traps around and they seem to be doing the trick with these little guys. I feel bad for them but it's either them or me!
There's no might about it, they definitely are smart enough. I've had an ongoing war with rodents, rats rather than mice, at my farm for years. I put down spring traps and they work for a while but they soon start avoiding them. I'll switch to poison pellets which takes out some more but these soon stop being eaten too, prompting a switch to poison grains and then back to traps again. Doing this continuously will get their numbers down to very few but stop for a month or so and they'll be back with a vengeance.
