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
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