Humane Mousetrap

UPDATE: As I noted below, the trap is too small to catch a light-weight mouse, so adding an extra container onto the end is an effective way to solve that problem. I used this trap with moderate success in our home in Maryland. Now we are in Kentucky and suddenly discovered we had MICE. Lots of mice. So I got the trap out again. I started with pine-nuts but then realized, again, sometimes a light mouse wasn't triggering the trap, so I started putting peanut butter directly on the end of the trip platform. That way, a mouse would go into my extension container, start working on (and pressing on) the peanut butter, and trip the trap. Well, to date I have caught 21 mice. I've just had to order a new trap because the old one is no longer setting properly - I think mice have nibbled it around the edges too much. So, yeah, it will work (with the extension) and I've upped the review to 4 stars.Here's the problem: This trap is (a) too small and (b) not sensitive enough to a light-weight animal, i.e., a mouse, i.e., the whole purpose of the trap in the first place...My kitty brought in a mouse about ten days ago. She has the delightful habit of wanting to play with them indoors and promptly losing them. Invariably, they make a beeline for our bookshelves, which have a nice gap underneath that can only be accessed from the back - perfectly safe, warm, and comfortable for mice! I am sure there is a scent sign leading them straight to it. So I bring out this trap. I have tried peanut butter and it just seems to offend them (they always move to some other part of the house when I put peanut butter out). What they really love is pine nuts. So I put pine nuts in the trap and... they disappeared. Obviously the mouse wasn't going hungry! He was a fairly large mouse, so I put the pine nuts at the VERY back of the trap (even tried sticking them on with honey, since he didn't like peanut butter) - and he still got them. He must have thought he was in mouse heaven - warm, safe, and being served honey-coated pine-nuts every night!After a week, I decided the problem was that the trap was too small. So I took a plastic food container with a lid and cut a hole in the side large enough to accommodate the end of the trap. I took off the sliding back piece of the trap (the bit you're supposed to remove to let the mouse out, assuming you ever got one in the first place) and stuck the back end into the food container, and secured it all with duct tape. This time I put the pine nuts in the very back of the food container. This expanded the overall size of the trap by another 4 inches or so.Well, somehow, he STILL managed to score some free pine nuts (I counted them), and I was about ready to just give the whole thing up. But last night, at last, he got over-confident, and sprung the trap. The extra "add-on" seemed to make the difference, and the lid on the food container made it simple to release him back to nature. (I'm sure he'd have preferred to stay in the nice hotel he was enjoying...)This is the FIRST time I have EVER caught a mouse in this trap, and I've had it for three years. So if it's not working for you, try the "add-on" approach - just cut a hole in a cheap plastic food container, like one of those light-weight Ziploc containers, and extend the size of the trap. Put the bait in the food container so that the mouse must go all the way THROUGH the trap to reach it. That way he's twice as likely to be caught: on the way in, and on the way out.

If you catch your mice very early, you may have just one or two in your house. Otherwise, they surely have already started a family. That means there will be many mice of various sizes. I've caught six mice with this trap and four with  Victor TIN CAT Humane Live Mouse Trap M310S . I recommend this trap but in my opinion, you need at least two different traps. The Tin Cat works on tiny mice that the Smart Mouse Trap misses.Pros:I think this trap is the most user-friendly, which is an important consideration once you get into double-digit catch-and-releases. The best part is that it's clear so I can immediately see the mouse (you can't see anything inside the Tin Cat, which is so annoying). I like that it's easy to carry and open the door to release the mouse (the Tin Cat is big and clunky).Cons:The big problem is that it won't work for the tiny mice. The little ones will walk around inside, sniffing the food, then walk right out again. The other problem is that the mouse is trapped without food. That's fine for overnight, but in the mornings I like to feed a little shredded cheese through the holes so the mouse feels a little less like it's in mouse prison. Only one mouse chewed the closing mechanism, ruining the trap (I had a second trap on hand). Another problem might be that it holds only one mouse. However, you have to check it every 12 hours or so anyway so it's not as if you're going to collect the whole mouse family in one trap.How I catch deer mice:I've been dealing with brown-furred, big-eyed deer mice. They're so cute that I wish that I could keep them as pets. Of course I don't even touch them because they are wild and possibly disease-ridden. In the past month I have caught TEN in my suburban home. The first two were living the high life eating their way through (I later discovered) a bag of flour in the pantry. I'm sure they considered themselves my pets. The rest are I assume their offspring. Deer mice can climb almost vertically through the walls to get to their own gourmet restaurant…your kitchen counter.Each evening, I set the traps based on where the mouse droppings are. I clean up the droppings every time (without touching them with my bare hands) so I can see which ones are new. I have the traps set all day, too, but I’ve never caught one during the day. Deer mice love sweets, so I use a piece of chocolate for bait, which I don’t have to replace if no mouse is caught. I put a teeny piece of food inside of the trap to really entice the mouse to go in. When I catch a mouse, I release it as soon as possible. When I leave the house, I put the trap in a paper bag. I drive to a wooded area at least two miles from my house (the location varies based on where I’m headed that day). I take the trap near the trees, far from my car (because the mouse will run right back under the car for shelter). I open the door then step back to give it space. Deer mice can jump. The mouse usually cowers in the back, then sniffs around, then takes off like a bat outta heck. At home, I rinse out the inside of the trap in the utility sink (not the kitchen sink) but I don't do a thorough job cleaning. The next mouse never cares about how clean it is.

Smaller than I though but works well