This type work great. Best bait is a smear of peanut butter (as recommended in the instructions.)

oliver said..

These eco mouse traps sold at Bunnings are a complete rort. I can't possibly see how a mouse would be dumb enough to go into it.

I've caught the odd mouse in them, what amazes me is how they mostly are smart and quick enough to pinch the peanut butter bait and escape! They either figure out how to open the gate or they are just quick. Maybe they do it in pairs, taking it in turns to hold the see saw up so the gate won't shut? Once you do finally outsmart them you've got to transport them to a neighbour's place at least 500 metres for release or they return next day. Brain power is not proportional to brain mass.

jusavina said..

That's the Eco trap I use:

Eco? Have you taken the collateral damage into account?

Not really, nothing was left of the collateral damage

Then let them swim around till exhaustion for hours then drown. Eco trap?.
Damn good and simple idea though, but a mouse trap snapping the neck might be more humane.
Or a house full of carpet snakes would be more fun to watch.

Ian K said..

oliver said..



These eco mouse traps sold at Bunnings are a complete rort. I can't possibly see how a mouse would be dumb enough to go into it.

I've caught the odd mouse in them, what amazes me is how they mostly are smart and quick enough to pinch the peanut butter bait and escape! They either figure out how to open the gate or they are just quick. Maybe they do it in pairs, taking it in turns to hold the see saw up so the gate won't shut? Once you do finally outsmart them you've got to transport them to a neighbour's place at least 500 metres for release or they return next day. Brain power is not proportional to brain mass.

I use the earlier version of them, a blue rocker box with a yellow lid, only I've put a few small air vents in it so they don't suffocate.
I've put spots of tipex on their backs because I was sure when I dumped them out in the front yard they beat me back to the house. Well,.. not quite, but I did get many happy returns, and yes, you do need to put them about 400 to 500 metres away before they didn't come back.
I think even at that distance they try but either lose their way or something eats them on the trip back.

The strange thing is, they are smart enough to find their way back but not smart enough to remember they got stuck in the trap, so they just do it all over again.
I think they must think it's some sort of teleporting pod with in flight free food.
Beam me up Scotty.

Make sure you use gardening gloves if you want to mark them because they sink their little fangs right into your finger.
And throw a rag over them while you pick them up otherwise they run up your arm and onto your head.

The one Harrow suggested has never failed us, use some peanut butter on it and place along the wall. Although we have a cat now, mice dont make it inside now.

Many many moons ago during my electrical apprenticeship I made a "mouse destroyer" using a trickle capacitor charging circuit and a 2 farad capacitor from an old welder. The discharge leads wwere connected to alternate copper strips on a purpose made cicuit board.
The strips were 1/4" wide, 1/8" apart, 6" long on a 3" wide vero board, stuck into a 3"I.D square perspex tube. Connections to the board were by aligator clips to make washing the exploded remains out more practical. One always heard a rather loud crackle when a mouse de-part-ed.
I still remember that to turn on you had to wait at least 15-20 minutes after turning off, to allow full capacor discharge otherwise the charging cicuit would self destruct. Also had to wait same time after turning off to disconnet for cleaning otherwise it hurt ones pinkies. Good for setting up your mates