So the cold spell brought a few uninvited critters into my home. I heard them crawling inside the walls late at night and my wife found that they had feasted on some food kept in storage. So I resorted to use a mousetrap that I had used with much success years ago.
So here are the tools:
1 Five gallon bucket
1 aluminum can (empty)
1 piece of wire
1 peanut butter
1 gallon of water (the picture shows anti-freeze, but water is better)
1 piece of wood (about 30"-36" long)
Here are the materials:
https://photos.app.goo.gl/3I17PWIcnMwEMDWk1
Here is the set up:
https://photos.app.goo.gl/vzRKK8Tv8nFr8zyP2
A view from the top:
https://photos.app.goo.gl/YJKuY1dswzAqB1fv1
The way it works is like this:
- the mouse starts eating the peanut butter that was smeared on the piece of wood.
- Once the mouse gets to the edge of the piece of wood, it sees a big glob of peanut butter smeared on the can.
- the mouse jumps on the can. The can is set to rotate on its axis. The can rotates and the mouse falls in the water and drowns.
I did not invent this. I read about it online years ago and understand that this contraption is used quite often in barns. Notice that there is nothing toxic here (if using water) so it should not be a problem using it around pets.
PS. I found three (drown) mice in the bucket this morning. Good catch!
