Inexpensive mouse trap

[turnkey4099]

Sorta OT. I now keep pack of Dcon in the car trunk and one under the seat (should put one in the PU). I started doing it years ago when I found a shredded roll of paper towels in the trunk. Haven't had a 'mouse in car' problem since.

Is it my imagination or does a mouse not smell when it dies from DCON? I keep the basement fed with it an have noticed no odor. Used to have a good infestation down there.

Harry K

 

[weedpharma]

To expedite the demise of the mice, add a small amount of detergent to the water. Without it, the mice fur traps air and they live longer and die slower. The detergent wets the fur quicker and they die quicker. As much as I detest the pests, they should not be made to suffer.

weedpharma

 

[studor]

Around here you need to use antifreeze in the bucket in barns and outbuildings-- that works faster than the detergent but you have to make sure there are no cats or dogs around to access it

 

[keegs]

Around here you need to use antifreeze in the bucket in barns and outbuildings-- that works faster than the detergent but you have to make sure there are no cats or dogs around to access it

Yeah...I recently learned about the anti-freeze trick but like you say it's risky if you have pets...I think you'd have to nix the gang plank and log roll.... and put a lid on the bucket with a small hole. I think the glycol actually attracts critters.

As I type...there's a bucket in the basement up at the Maine house. We'll see what it looks like in May. ..

 

[IH3444]

Looks like water boarding to me. And that's illegal!

 

[bhostasa]

Sorta OT. I now keep pack of Dcon in the car trunk and one under the seat (should put one in the PU). I started doing it years ago when I found a shredded roll of paper towels in the trunk. Haven't had a 'mouse in car' problem since.

Is it my imagination or does a mouse not smell when it dies from DCON? I keep the basement fed with it an have noticed no odor. Used to have a good infestation down there.

Harry K

I agree. I've used d-con for the last 4 years and haven't dealt with a smell issue yet (knock on wood!).

 

[mscheer772]

NO DECON for me.

Mouse ate the DeCon then crawled into an air vent of my Explorer, every time I turned on the fan I got a horrific blast of dead mouse decay. Once you've smelled a dead mouse you NEVER forget how one smells.

I took my car to the dealer, they taped each vent hole but one, then used a shop vac to suck each vent hole until they found the one with the dead mouse. NEVER again will I use DeCon.

When I go into a house, trailer, or pole shed, if I smell dead mice I always ask the owner if he used poison. Invariably the answer is "Yes, how did you know"?

NEVER AGAIN!!!

 

[nickel plate]

We keep a travel trailer on some mountain property that someday we will build a home on. Every trip up, interior mouse cleaning takes place to the point of frustration. We leave NOTHING food wise in the trailer and I have made tropical rat guards out of plastic soft drink/water bottles by cutting them in half and installing on all of the exterior penetrating plumbing, steel wool in anything that looks like a mouse could squeeze through, etc. I am now taking the fight to them-20 feet into the woods where they live.
Found this design on the net:
Materials:
1- plastic bucket
1- thin metal or wood rod slightly longer than the bucket's diameter
1- regular sized soup type can
1- plastic soup type can lid cover to replace the removed top lid of the can.
1- "diving board" either a wood 1x2", 3" or 4" or a straight stick or branch.
1- small jar of Jiff creamy peanut butter (is that crap real peanut butter?)
water-enough to keep the mouse from touching the bottom of the bucket
Here's what you do:
Drill two opposing holes through the diameter of the plastic bucket 90 degrees from the existing metal handle. Make the holes to fit the size of your choice of rod and down enough from the lip of your bucket to make your choice of can a couple of inches lower than the "diving board".
Drill a hole in the center of the existing soup type can bottom and similar in the plastic lid-make the holes SLIGHTLY larger than the rod so the can will free wheel easily.
Smear the can spairingly with Jiff and some on the "diving board" to leave an uphill scent.
The length of the "diving board" will vary due to your application. The idea is to make it terminate past the lip of the plastic bucket just far enough away from the soup can on the rod so the mouse has to STRETCH OUT to reach the peanut butter baited can and walla-spins into the water, swims until drowning.
Live release? Use no water and a very slick and deep bucket.
I tried this one evening two days ago and even with some light rain, trapped six.

Forgot to mention- the blue plastic lids in the photos that I used are actually inverted screw top Best Foods Mayonnaise lids-thus even more inexpensive!

 

[DDT]

OK all, I finally got my mouse bucket built. First night and no mice..hmm wonder if they have too much grass seed hid. Does this look OK or do I need to addjust any thing?

 

[Western]

That is a neat idea. Go commercial and call it the "Mouse Hot tub"