Setting Mouse Traps. I Can't Be The Only One They Terrify.

[aart]

Oh, yeah...got over it tho, with practice...mouse traps all over the place for 20 years.
I still jump if it goes off, but no squeals...lol.
The rat traps I had to employ this summer do scare the hell out of me,
luckily that's over(knock wood) and last 2 sets got mice so I stopped setting it.

The key is, once it's set, you hold it on the edge only on the side where the trap springs FROM. THat way IF it goes, it doesn't get you. I also use a push stick to slide it deep into mouse country, not my hand.

Yes! Fingers at edge is what to do for sure..and place bait end against wall or flat vertical surface (like a >6" high box) will up your catch rate significantly.

Snap traps with big yellow plastic trigger are much easier to set than the small metal trigger. The plastic easy-set ones are easy to set but not very effective, if they do catch a mouse they might not kill it and they are so light they crawl off to die, had that happen several times.

Buckets, wet or dry can work, pnut butter on a roller, or just grain spread on water or in bottom of dry. Have found numerous dead and live mice in empty buckets and cans and barrels around the place...sometimes not until I smelled them, slow dehydration deaths there. Have used windshield wiper fluid in wet buckets in winter, safer than antifreeze. Nasty to empty tho.

 

[oldhenlikesdogs]

regular mouse traps scare the heck out of me. My father used to set them and trying to place them - they usually went off and he did a lot of swearing. In women - venting is generally done by screaming.

The sticky ones do work but, some die a very slow,agonizing death. You don't need a visible amount of bait. I used to use a tooth pick to put down a mere dot of peanut butter, the smell alone would lure them.

I swear like a sailor. Best not to scare me unless you want to learn a few new words.

 

[oldhenlikesdogs]

I tried those plastic snapping Tomcat traps. They are still in their original places from years ago and never once snapped. What a waste of money. I couldn't even manipulate them to the point of snapping. I think even an elephant wouldn't have set it off.

They didn't work for us either.

 

[oldhenlikesdogs]

Oh, yeah...got over it tho, with practice...mouse traps all over the place for 20 years.
I still jump if it goes off, but no squeals...lol.
The rat traps I had to employ this summer do scare the hell out of me,
luckily that's over(knock wood) and last 2 sets got mice so I stopped setting it.

Yes! Fingers at edge is what to do for sure..and place bait end against wall or flat vertical surface (like a >6" high box) will up your catch rate significantly.

Snap traps with big yellow plastic trigger are much easier to set than the small metal trigger. The plastic easy-set ones are easy to set but not very effective, if they do catch a mouse they might not kill it and they are so light they crawl off to die, had that happen several times.

Buckets, wet or dry can work, pnut butter on a roller, or just grain spread on water or in bottom of dry. Have found numerous dead and live mice in empty buckets and cans and barrels around the place...sometimes not until I smelled them, slow dehydration deaths there. Have used windshield wiper fluid in wet buckets in winter, safer than antifreeze. Nasty to empty tho.

My husband once failed to remove a dead mouse in a trap that's on a back darkened window well. While vacuuming one fine day I went to vacuum that area. "What's that lump of lint?" I asked myself as I stuck the hose out. Unfortunately too late I realized what it was as the bones went clanking all the way up the shop vac hose, and a puff of mouse dust exploded in the air.

I no longer vacuum back there. I'm severely traumatized by that whole experience and get creeped out when I think of it.

I'm thinking about doing the empty bucket, and see how that goes since I already caught one in it.

 

[aart]

Oh, yeah, have found more than several 'lumps of lint'.

 

[WthrLady]

I found one of the plastic ones in the back of the barn, so I went ahead and deployed that one. USELESS! Mouse was only maimed. I had to take it out and finish it off.

I prefer the really old small metal pad or plastic pad, snap traps. I use peanut butter or tomkat attractant. But lately, the attractant has been so thick I can't get it out of the dispenser. Yes, crossing their paths of wall travel. TO keep the chickens out of them in the barn, I take a small one or two gallon pail and put it up on bricks and put a brick on top. This allows the mice to run under and through, but keeps chicken heads out of the way.

 

[aart]

My favorite bait is now a single BOSSeed shoved tight into trigger,
and few pieces of scratch grains sprinkled there too.
Dog likes PB too much.
Luckily all my traps can be set out of reach of the chickens.....
....and most out of the dogs reach.

 

[oldhenlikesdogs]

My dogs learn pretty quick to leave the mouse traps alone, well 4 of them anyways. There's always one in the group.

 

[Shamo Hybrid]

You can tell your husband to go 'Rambo' late at night where the mice frequent.... say the garage. Get into position with a ghillie suit sitting at a higher up location, or perhaps a small tent with lights off, and when the mice come out at night to play use a pellet gun with an attached flash light and start sniping the little boogers! You'll get rid of the varmints in no time plus your husband can have fun pretending he's some sort of sniper on a deadly mission in WW2 or whatever. OK, that's what I would do..... I suppose a mouse trap (BORING!) will also work.

 

[MissChick@dee]

Just read this post to my hubby he said “really?” Picked up his iPhone and is ordering as I post!
Thanks!!
I think this will be perfect in the run.

Let’s see how this bad boy works!