mouse trap recommendation

[killian]

I just saw a mouse in my kitchen and I'm wondering if anyone has any ideas as to what I should buy.

 

[Yuri_Rage]

Just your regular old run of the mill trap. Put peanut butter on the trigger.

Don't fall for the gimmicks and gadgets. The sticky paper is particularly bad...

 

[twst1up]

seriously??? how 'bout a mousetrap??? They're only a buck or two for a pack of 2. But if you're afraid of hurting your fingers you could spend $20 and get the one that electrocutes them...it's pretty cool actually. Are you squeamish? They also have ones now that trap the mouse, you don't have to see it, touch it...just toss the whole unit.
You're sitting around havin' a pint or two aren't ya???

 

[ChshreCat]

Me, I'd get one of those live catch traps and release it into the wild far from my house, but I'm a big softy.

That, or get a cat.

 

[killian]

I failed to mention that I have 2 one year old kids that get into everything possible.

 

[killian]

and a dog that loves peanut butter

 

[2-0turbo]

I have had really good luck with these:
http://www.google.com/product_url?q=http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00004RA4G/ref%3Dasc_df_B00004RA4G968341%3Fsmid%3DATVPDKIKX0DER%26tag%3Dgooglecom09c9-20%26linkCode%3Dasn%26creative%3D380341%26creativeASIN%3DB00004RA4G&fr=ABa3xewUeIMsIrE14IWQPIJSPVgBE2coA1v8W2T0U7jLxok61ksIfi_Yhy7TziNO1gZBbomH2kHCM6gVEiYLVWnsQzWJJ4Mdnx5vNw3j2hSCb6dDlRXyXwogpiysnB1j-EmUi6DyDtF1TZoWjgKzq2uqhRHzeRhZ0fzcay0tJo4xtmxohp-_KexEqcoPeSHJ_dQgqT_5qahgwGaYs6LJa_hzWPDExjFVmkh_7kov3P89qWiSpZ807s8xOPyj-FQvtBgZCY6YRAAAAAAAAAAA&ei=ThIJS7CfK4ab-Aamj9G1Aw&sig2=IdEcpwebQz6RwX7wbYli5A&gl=us&hl=en&sa=image

I don't care much about the "live capture" thing, but this one was just more reliable. I had some mice getting into one of my rentals. They would take nuts from outside and eat them in the attic and had quite a brothel going on up there. I set eight conventinal mouse traps. I came back 1-week later and all traps were tripped with the bait gone. I started thinking I had a rat or something.

So, I tried these and caught three pretty quickly. They're a little more expensive, but I've got a really good track record catching mice with these.

 

[Papinquack]

Buy regular mouse traps and tie a little piece of bacon to it with fishing line, then add some peanut butter. The bacon causes them to tug till they see a bright light .If you just use peanut butter they will lick it off. I'd also recommend buying some steel wool and stuffing all possible entry points around the exterior of your house. Oh by the way, there's always more than just one. I'll bet you'll catch at least four, Good luck!

 

[kornkob]

I like these: http://www.amazon.com/Victor-M252-Electronic-Mouse-Trap/dp/B000E1RIUU/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=hi&qid=1258907987&sr=8-1-spell If the lid is opened it is rendered safe.


But what you really need to do is figure out how they are getting in and stop that access. All traps do is control the population, not solve the problem. Since mice breed prolifically you'll never really make a significant impact on the population with traps unless you solve the access problem. If you see one mouse there are at least 4... and they don't believe in contraception and we all know how well telling them to practice abstinence will work.

 

[ChshreCat]

+1 on steel wool.

 

[kornkob]

Steel wool for some areas and I've had good luck just filling the cracks they squeezed in with Great Stuff and painting over it.

Also, finding the source of food they are using and restricting their access to that is important too. If the mice are climbing into your kids cereal boxes and having a snack then your kids are eating whatever the mouse brought with them. Odds are those 'caraway seeds' in their raisin bran are mouse poop.

 

[kuphish]

All the suggestions that have been mentioned so far are good.

Here is what I have had success with: stuff any and all possible entry points with steel wool. Make sure the dog food is in a sealed container (I use HDPE paint buckets). If the dog doesn't empty its bowl after eating, put the food back in the container so the dog food doesn't attract mice.

Set traps to get the population in your house down.

I had some success with peanut butter on the traps, but the cleverer mice (or lighter mice) were good at licking them clean. So, I settled on the following:

Get standard mouse traps (I used the Tomcat brand). Place them on the sensitive setting. If that's not sensitive enough, bow the wire until it is ultra sensitive. Take half a peanut and hot glue it to the bait board on the trap. Make sure to use a high temp hot glue gun because the low temp ones don't seem to bond with the peanut as well.

Glue/bait and then set.

I have had 100% success with traps modified in this manner. They are tripped very easily due to the sensitivity of the trigger and the peanut being glued down.

If you are worried about kids and a dog, place them in corners and nooks that neither can get to, such as behind your fridge or under the stove.

Good luck - I spent three weeks fighting the little bastards and I think I finally have them out of the house.

 

[kornkob]

Speaking of which--- I've had good luck gluing plastic soda caps to spring traps and putting the peanut butter in those. They then have to step on it to lick the peanut butter out.

 

[mklawz]

I failed to mention that I have 2 one year old kids that get into everything possible.

that is actually something to consider. My 2yo just set off one off yesterday. It didnt catch his finger straight on, but it did put a hurt on him.

Anyway, I got the mouse w/o having to kill him. I was able to trap him in an ale pale as he hobbled across my brew room. Slow, fat b*stard...

 

[friarjohn]

air soft riffle with laser scope!!!!!my sister called last week to ask ho many mouse traps to set in her house, i missed her call. She texted my telling me she got all 32 traps set!!! i called and asked her if she was serious. She, i guess is deathly afraid of mice!!!Oh, if had only known tht when i was younger!!!

 

[Bullbythehorns]

I live in an older farmhouse in the country and over the years I have tried to eliminate any source of entry that I could find, but I still end up with some inside. I used to set the old spring traps and was always successful with them (after modifying them to a hair trigger setting.) 2 months ago I bought a rat zapper from www.farmtek.com and I really like the ease of use. It looks nicer than having traps set around and it is easy to empty the carcass, just turn the switch off, take to the trash or outside and dump it, throw a couple of pieces of dog food for bait back into it and turn it back on.

It was around $42, which is expensive, but worth it to me for it's success rate.

 

[jmendez29]

and a dog that loves peanut butter

Mouse traps and peanut butter. Get a camera. Digital. Post pics.

(this is gonna be great)






Seriously, though. Saw a mouse in the house a couple winters ago. I got some of those sticky pads with the food on it. Set them out under furniture and whatnot, then checked them a week later. Food was gone, footprints on the sticky pad. Don't get them, they suck and they cost more than traps. And whether or not you find where they are getting in, clean up ALL food. Make it inaccessible to them at all costs. If they can't feed, then they will either leave or die. And to reinforce what others have said, if you see one, there are at least four more. Since I saw that one, I took great measures to make sure all scraps of food where totally cleaned up, including the grass seed in my detachable garage, and I haven't seen a single one since.

 

[Elfmaze]

get a nice tall trash can and set it under the edge of the counter. Take a paper towel tube(empty) and place it hanging slightly off the edge over the trash can with a bit of PB inside the tube.

When mouse man runs down the tube to get the food the tube falls into the can and the steep walls prevent escape till you can dump him out in the fields the next morning.

I don't like to kill em. there just trying to survive.

 

[android]

mice always ate whatever i put on the regular traps without being caught, so i tried the black plastic ones (yellow lever) with a little hole to put the bait in, got 4 in as many days. haven't seen anymore since (in the garage). they're like a buck fifty each and easier to set than the wood ones.

 

[Homercidal]

I have been using the clamshell style traps which are soo easy to set and seem to be as effective as anything. Just pinch the back end to set. Pinch the back and tip downward to unset.

+1 on steel wool to keep them from chewing through the caulk and whatnot. But I've heard SS wool is even better. No rusting.

I hate those tippy traps. I have one and it hasn't caught anything. I caught 3 mice in this box which throws them into the trap, but the best so far has been the black clamshell traps.

The cats like the live traps the best though...

 

[wormfishin]

I've been fighting the bastards for a year in my garage now.

I saw one, to date (including 1 this morning) I've caught 11.

2 in snap traps, 2 on glue traps(and about 6 scorpions on glue traps) and 6 in live catch traps and one in a coke machine(not a very effective trap).

Going to modify my snap traps with the suggestions above, hopefully I will have better luck.

I know where they are living so I can concentrate my traps in one area and keep the kid and dog blocked off from it.

 

[hamiltont]

Sounds like your dog is a slacker. Trade him in for a real mouser, A.K.A. cat!! :rockin:

 

[uglygoat]

i had a bunch of sticky traps i boosted, i mean found on the orkin man's truck from when we lived in indiana, they made the trip to ohio and worked great, were really really sticky, but they are gone now. i also learned mice are sick, savage, cannibalizing bastards.

sealing up the access, and cleaning up any droppings and urine will also help. poison in areas where they forage is also not bad, but don't know how you feel about it with pets around.

 

[Boerderij_Kabouter]

I really like these:
http://www.acehardware.com/product/index.jsp?productId=1279062

They are super easy to set and equally as easy to dispose of dead mice. I also really like that I don't need to make my own entrance. The small opening makes any trap WAY more effective, but this one has it built in. Plus it inhibits any kids or pets from getting into the trap. I have a bunch in my farm house and the problem is steadily getting better. I only catch mice int he spring and fall now. I am also finding cracks and whatnot as I can. That helps a lot too.

 

[AScott]

I've been fighting the bastards for a year in my garage now.

I saw one, to date (including 1 this morning) I've caught 11.

2 in snap traps, 2 on glue traps(and about 6 scorpions on glue traps) and 6 in live catch traps and one in a coke machine(not a very effective trap).

Going to modify my snap traps with the suggestions above, hopefully I will have better luck.

I know where they are living so I can concentrate my traps in one area and keep the kid and dog blocked off from it.

In the garage, I take a 5 gallon bucket and drill 2 holes across from each other near the top. Find a large pill bottle and drill a 1/4 hole in the top and the bottom. Take a metal wire clothes hanger and clip off the straight part along the bottom and place it through the pill bottle and make sure the bottle spins freely. Place each end of the wire with the bottle on it in the holes you drilled in the bucket and use a scrap bit of wood or something to make a little ramp up to the edge of the bucket perpendicular to the wire. Smear a little peanut butter on the pill bottle, make sure it's in the middle of the wire, and the mice will get to the bottle and spin off into the bucket. If you want to release them alive, go ahead, or you can put some poison or something in the bucket. Last year I set up two of these in the garage and lost track of how many mice I caught. (it's a big out building that isn't sealed up very well and we live in the country)

For all of you using spring traps, tie a little piece of yarn to the bait area and fray the ends. Moosh some peanut butter into the yarn and the mice have to tug a little on the yarn to get the peanut butter.

 

[pdbreen]

I've tried one of these in the past, but it seems like the mouse always gets away. And, it still might not be a great solution with a 2yr old and/or dogs.

 

[DoubleXL]

air soft riffle with laser scope!!!!!my sister called last week to ask ho many mouse traps to set in her house, i missed her call. She texted my telling me she got all 32 traps set!!! i called and asked her if she was serious. She, i guess is deathly afraid of mice!!!Oh, if had only known tht when i was younger!!!

Ive got a 22cal. pellet rifle with see under scope rings you can pick a mouse at about 5 yards with out the scope lol

 

[wormfishin]

In the garage, I take a 5 gallon bucket and drill 2 holes across from each other near the top. Find a large pill bottle and drill a 1/4 hole in the top and the bottom. Take a metal wire clothes hanger and clip off the straight part along the bottom and place it through the pill bottle and make sure the bottle spins freely. Place each end of the wire with the bottle on it in the holes you drilled in the bucket and use a scrap bit of wood or something to make a little ramp up to the edge of the bucket perpendicular to the wire. Smear a little peanut butter on the pill bottle, make sure it's in the middle of the wire, and the mice will get to the bottle and spin off into the bucket. If you want to release them alive, go ahead, or you can put some poison or something in the bucket. Last year I set up two of these in the garage and lost track of how many mice I caught. (it's a big out building that isn't sealed up very well and we live in the country)

For all of you using spring traps, tie a little piece of yarn to the bait area and fray the ends. Moosh some peanut butter into the yarn and the mice have to tug a little on the yarn to get the peanut butter.

I'm gonna try the yard today, and the bucket this weekend I think.


If all else fails I'll try pdbreen's method, it should be fun at least

 

[TXANM]

I tried the old school traps without any success. I then found the DCon traps above at Lowes & they work great. I have never found a trap licked clean & have caught the ba$tards.

Funny story though. I was sitting on my couch one night when I heard one in the kitchen. I got up & set up some traps & then sat back down to listen to Swami miss all his picks on the upcoming NFL games. Then the blanket next to me caught my eye. It started to move. I grabbed the Direct TV remote & swung. The blanket fell to the ground, but no mouse. I got up to get another trap & when I turned around there was a mouse crawling out from under the couch with what appeared to be a broken neck. He didn't feel any pain from the broom coming down on him right after that!

So I would recommend the DCon traps & maybe also an occasional TV remote. Good Luck, I am in the mist of a battle as well!

I plan on sucking the insulation out of the attic soon & starting fresh. I have sealed the cracks but would like to get the disease out of the house as well.

 

[Bernie Brewer]

Poison. To hell with being soft with the disease-carrying vermin.

Get the blocks and set them where the kids/dog can't get to it. Like behind the stove/fridge, or near your garbage can.

The little vermin will take some of the poison back to the rest of the clan, thus getting rid of the lot. It'll take about a week, but they'll be gone.

 

[Bdogg]

I have seen these used successfully:
http://www.mousetraps.org.uk/Mouse-Traps/Whole-House-Ultrasonic-Mouse-Repellent

In my parents cabin. They bought a nice log cabin but it had been uninhabited for about 5 years - full of mice and mouse **** everywhere. After it was all cleaned, the floorboards were steel wooled as others have mentioned. Then the noise emitters were plugged in, it's been 2 years and not a single mouse. I guess the idea is that these things emit a noise that humans and cats, dogs can't hear, but it pisses mice off and they go away.

Another important thing in avoiding mice is to make sure that around your house the grass is short and there are no woodpiles against the house. Mice and rats will live in woodpiles, but they won't go through short grass because it exposes them.