whats your favorite mouse trap bait????
alwaysoverbudget
| Posted in General Discussion on
i being the great white hunter have a little problem. here we are 70% done with the house and my wife walks in and sees a mouse [as the day wore on it kept getting bigger and bigger until it was roughly the size of a small dog,amazing how your imagination works]. i think she’s about to go to a motel until spring. so what good bait do you guys use to get the mice? seems like mice have gotten high tech and the old cheese just don’t hit the spot anymore. at the shop i used some reese’s cup one time, the peanut butter and chocalate seem to chum them in pretty good. any ideas? larry
Replies
Let's go back a little, what's your favorite mouse trap?
I have some with a piece of plastic cheese as bait so they think mice can't tell the plastic from the real thing.
Cats work well.
I've had good luck with both peanut butter and raisins, not together. Whatever you use, smush it into the trigger so the mouse has to dig to get it out.I've had mixed success with sticky traps.Somebody mentioned the last time we discussed moustraps, consider attaching them to something heavy so a mouse trapped by one leg can't drag them away.
raw bacon. attach to trip with small piece of wire. light bacon, let burn till self extinguish.
same here junkhound. also a bb gun has worked well in past.
shot about 10 in my life.tyke
Just another day in paradise
Standard issue Victor's will work.
Any fragrant chunky style peanut butter with a small amount of the peanut butter on the outside of the bait mechanism.
Jam a piece of the peanut tight inside the curl so mousey after the taste of the peanutbutter whets his appetite must go for the peanut too.
Gnawing to get that jammed peanut will snap it shut.
If the pb is all gone and you got a dead one in the trap that probably means the family is still mulling around.
Ditto on the weight thing.
Mousey dragging off and dying in the far corners ain't a cool thing.
Not a cool thing at all.
go ahead and laugh ya suckers
Duh ...... what is "Standard issue Victor's" ??
heh heh
The cheap wooden style spring traps you'd expect to see in the cartoons.
Victor is a common brand of the same.
Peanut butter has always worked best for me.
Also, when you do catch one in a trap, I was told you should scrub the trap down, or use some other means to get rid of the mouse's scent. Anybody know if that's true?
Peanut butter has always worked best for me. "
I second that, Chunky style works best.
WSJ
I'll third the PB. I used it in some live capture traps...no chance for the mice to wander off. Eventually got 'em all.Snakes work, too.
"Also, when you do catch one in a trap, I was told you should scrub the trap down, or use some other means to get rid of the mouse's scent. Anybody know if that's true?"
Not true, I leave all the blood and guts on, smear on more peanut butter and catch another the next night.
Mice and rats love peanut butter. Problem is that they can lick it off even sensitive traps. This means you not have a well nourished and protein fueled rodent running around.
Answer is to take half a cotton ball and to kneed in peanut butter until you get a gooey, peanutty, fibrous ball. Limit the amount of peanut butter. It is only there to add smell and taste. The mix should be mostly cotton.
Then with the trap unset work the ball in and around the lever. ideally it should be well tangled with it. I bind it in position with a little dental floss to frustrate the critters.
Trick is that the rodent can lick the outside without getting much actual food. To get into the center of the ball once they have cleaned the outer surface they have to dig and pull to get to the center. They have to get physical. A physicality more likely to trigger the trap and be fatal.
Even if they steal the bait they haven't got much. Essentially just the taste of peanut butter. Soon enough they will be hungry again and the next time maybe less lucky.
well looks like tommorrow i'm headed to the store for some chunky pb.i'll probably have to do a taste test first!!! thanks for the ideas,i've got some carmel on them tonight well see what happens. larry
Creamy works better. The chunks are easy for the critters to remove.
Mice and rats love peanut butter. Problem is that they can lick it off even sensitive traps."
$Lorn,
That's why you use chunky, greater likeyhood of the critters chewing and tripping the trap. Also helps to nail the trap to a board. I've had baited traps vanish. never to be found, 'cept for the smell.
Jon
I've had baited traps vanish. never to be found, 'cept for the smell.
Horrible and true.
be a mouse pinky
all traps get a leash......
Life is not a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in a pretty and well preserved body, but rather to skid in broadside, thoroughly used up, totally worn out, and loudly proclaiming
WOW!!! What a Ride!
Finished Attic in an old house.
Mouse comes out from behind the knee wall and runs across the room. My 4 kids screen so loud the mouse just falls over dead. No kidding Must have had a heart attack.
Then the cat runs over and and picks up the mouse trying to take credit. Lazy Cat!Mike K
Amateur Home Remodeler in Aurora, Illinois
I had so many in my garage that I accidently stepped on one and killed it. So I pulled the old Subaru wagon (I bought for $50) into the garage and left it running with the garage door shut. This car had a serious emissions problem. Anyway, I came back in about an hour and found a pile of dead mice right under the engine. It was a cold night. Problem was, all the dead ones weren't in the pile. Found one inside the glove compartment. Yuck. Found others in various locations in the garage. Do not try this at home.
what a thread guys, i thought i'll see if someone has a idea and go from there, but to tell you the truth i've been laughing so hard at a few of these i don't care about the mice. plus today i sprayed lacquer on the kit. cabs. and trim and it was so foggy in here that they are surely dead[thats what i'm telling my wife] thanks for all the great ideas and even the fun ones.ma go get my 44 i see a mouse!!!! larry
I also use peanut butter. A string and thumb tack work well to anchor the trap to the floor/wall.
Best mouse _detection_ = cats (watching cupboard doors like TV). Then fluffy will half-kill the damn thing and bring the bleeding mess to you in bed.
Classic Victors are amazing. Not kidding - see online video on how to set trap.
http://www.victorpest.com ;-)
They're also cheap. Buy in 6-packs and throw em out with the corpse attached until you stop getting corpses - then just leave the last trap loaded. (Reused traps do still catch mice but yuck).
Best location = hidden in gap under dishwasher (cat-safe).
man,i gotta get a life. when i first got on internet 7-8 yrs ago everybody was talking about how it was the future. now i'm watching video and reading how to catch a mouse at at http://www.victor.com .i think i'll look up some porn site or something just so i can know there's other things out there. lol thanks they had a lot of info on CATCHING A MOUSE! larry
"... now i'm watching video and reading how to catch a mouse at at http://www.victor.com."I don't think so.When I clidked onhttp://www.victor.commy browser was redirected tohttp://www.victorchandler.com/click_through.jsp?OID=2532a gambling site.Rich BeckmanAnother day, another tool.
sorry its http://www.victorpest.com you must be as bored as i am!!!! larry
Chocolate + Peanut butter !
Slightly heat the chocolate to the trigger (match or bikflic), lightly smear a litte PNB.
Set....and harvest!
...................Iron Helix
Pheremones seems to do it...musk attracts the female meeces and genital excretions from the now dead females attracts the males..easy. Once ya catch the first one and juice it..(G)
Spheramid Enterprises Architectural Woodworks
Repairs, Remodeling, Restorations.
I'll be damned if I'm gonna let a stupid little mouse eat any chocolate in my house! That's MY job.That's as twisted as the people who waste beer catching slugs. A bunch of heathens must hang out here.
Edited 11/20/2004 7:09 am ET by Cloud Hidden
I have a 12 pack of Schaeffer just for the slugs. Milwaukee's Best also works well. They like it better than the good beer, anyway.
You're covered, be/c those aren't really beer.
I am a higly accomplished mouser. The ultimate bait is peanut butter gently tucked into the barrel. Also, take some pliers and gently squeeze the finger in that holds the bail in place. A nice hair trigger trap results. No stealing the bait. It may take a little tweaking so it is not TOO sensitive.
the second one gets the bait...
Life is not a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in a pretty and well preserved body, but rather to skid in broadside, thoroughly used up, totally worn out, and loudly proclaiming
WOW!!! What a Ride!
Ask them
Give them what they want.
Then they'll be back for more.
My daughter had mice in her house. She didn't like seeing the trapped ones. The new D-con black , round ones work great. Peanut butter as bait. Also we sprinkle "dried bobcat urine" around the foundation. No mice since then.
SteveC
Actually I have had great sucess with Brie!!
When you get a mouse in the trap he always dies with his little mouse pinky pointing up!!
Mr T
I can't afford to be affordable anymore
ok so your telling if i go catch a bobcat, make him p in a cup, then set it in the sun and dry it, i can get rid of the mouse? i think the bobcat is going to get a little ticked off when i hold him over the cup and tel him 'nice kitty ,go potty for me'. so where do you get dried bobcat urine? and second questions is , can you imagine this is somebodys job! lol thanks larry
good money in bobcat urine.
Reeses peanut butter cups. But I couldn't get the traditional spring traps to work. There is a trap called a Mice Cube that works really well.
yur giving away what to miceees....
shame...
that's great food......
Life is not a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in a pretty and well preserved body, but rather to skid in broadside, thoroughly used up, totally worn out, and loudly proclaiming
WOW!!! What a Ride!
try glue traps, just caught 2 on the same trap last night
5 gallon bucket, straight piece of wire thru 2 holes at the top of the bucket, pill bottle filled with peanut butter with 2 holes just high of center, put in the midde of the wire thru the bucket. 1 gallon antifreeze, 1 gallon of water in bucket, 5 gallon paint stick from floor to rim of bucket, as the gangway to death. No resetting trap, can have 10 dead ones in the bottom and the mouse will still climb up and try to balance tthe wire to get the peanut butter. Slip, splash...gurgle...gone.
THE WINNER AND CHAMPION....KEITHC!!!
"...1 gallon antifreeze, 1 gallon of water in bucket..."I could be mistaken, but I'm reasonably sure that the antifreeze in not necessary. Plain water will do them in.Rich BeckmanAnother day, another tool.
antifreeze keeps the water from freezing in the barn in the winter, and keeps the stink down. Kinda like an embalming fluid...plus if they ingest it..poof...history little rodent.
Plain water doesn't work.
Once I set up a similar contraption only to find that the trap was tripped but no mouse in the water. Meeses can swim and they can get up the side of the bucket too.
I'll try the antifreeze next time.
I'm sure the glycol make things to slippery to get up the side of the bucket.
The thing that makes it great is there is no resetting the trap. Once they go splash, the bait just swings around the wire and back into position , waiting for it's next customer.
The reason I thought that plain water would work is because...Over the summer I kill Japanese Beetles by walking around the yard and swatting the beetles into a five gallon bucket with about a gallon of water in it. Once they are in the water they can't get out.After making the rounds I set the bucket down to use the next day. Every few days I would dump the water and dead bugs and start fresh.At some point I stopped making the rounds and the bucket sat where I put it last, next to the shed. Since I am a no good lazy procrastinator, the bucket sat there for a long time.I finally noticed it not long ago. It was full of water due to rain. There were two dead mice floating in it.A side note: there were days when I would go to do the rounds and find the bucket dumped over with no evidence of dead bugs. Other days the bucket would still be upright with water in it, but no bugs. Something was eating the beetles!! I'm guessing a coon. Too bad it didn't work around the yard and eat them off the plants!After finding the dead mice I thought for a moment that the mice might have been eating the bugs?? But I find it hard to believe that the mice could tip the bucket over. Also, how did they get out on the other days if they got stuck later in the fall?But I love the idea of the bucket trap and I am definitely setting one up in the shed this winter.Rich BeckmanTime to take a nap.
If you have dogs or cats you want to keep around, don't use the antifreeze, stupid buggers actually like the taste (it's sweet) and it's poisonous.
Learned that in the old afterschool special: "Antifreeze; delicious but deadly"
i,m still smiling at this one. still trying to figure out the engineering, may have to get back with ya for a set of prints! thanks larry
Another vote for PB. Tried a bunch of different traps, and the Victor's work the best. 'only problem is, they are the most sensitive, so my wife is too afraid to set them - which means I have to do them all. 'guess it's good I have one useful skill, I suppose.
'have gotten about a dozen of the critters after moving back in after the remodel. 'told the contractors repeatedly that they weren't working in the typical suburban housing tract; that this was at the edge of the woods in the country, and if they didn't close up completely every night, the wildlife would move right in.
You think they'd listen, especially after having to chase an owl out of the house once. But no, 'just too set in their ways, I guess.
Without reading all these replies, I'll tell you what has worked for me. Almond butter in the black plastic d-CON snap traps where the mouse has to step on the trigger before eating the bait. I use the version that is enclosed so the dog doesn't get hurt.
I set 4 of these one night in my kitchen and the next morning 3 had dead mice in them.
they are reusable and you probably don't even need to rebait.
aob
We all know that meeces are getting smarter-just watch the cartoons! One trick I use is to bait the traps two or three times "but not set them". This gives them confidence. The next time when you set thge trap whammy! It works.
Cheers
Mac
Only the lead dogs' view changes
Peanut butter is the old standard. it doesn't crumble away and it sticks to the trigger well enough to make sure it goes SNAP
Welcome to the
Taunton University of Knowledge FHB Campus at Breaktime.
where ...
Excellence is its own reward!
the best trap
one of our cats named emma
if I could clone her and sell her I would
she is friendly, come right up to you, get in your way when she wants,
but prefers to live in the barn
shes also no dummy, to her cat food is there to feed the mice so she can catch them, therfore it feeds her, cat food
kind of like another of ours with bird seed
really its just feedin the kittys
In building my new home I've caught over 50 of the little buggers,probably closer to 75.Some one hear gave a tip awhile back.Peanut butter and a rasin tucked into the trip mechanism.(on a standard victor trap)They have to tug on it to get it out,then wham!!
You might have to get a needle nose plyers to undo the curl on the trip a little but it WORKS.
The peanut butter alone was hit or miss(most of the times they just licked it off),but with the rasin added the kill ratio went way up!!
I have tried the victor traps with the yellow scented trips(don't like them) but I have much better luck with the standard traps
Happy Hunting Greg
Take a small piece of rag, or any cloth (like the cotton balls mentioned earlier in the post replies above), and get it jammed into the trip plate. There's a little stmped piece of metal with a curled edge. Open the curl, put in the cloth, and crimp the curl back down.
Put a little bacon grease on the cloth and smush it in. They LOVE this, and they try to pull the cloth out, and, end of story. I've had too many just lick off peanut butter without tripping the trap. This bacon grease on a rag works every time.
Also, when you place the traps, place them along the walls, since mice usually travel alongside a wall.
And, if you've seen a mouse (or evidence of one), you probably have a whole family. So keep setting traps until you get them all.
My wife has a very nice scream/screech/noise reserved just for mouses. Several good mouse stories, but maybe another time.
Pete Duffy, Handyman
Peanut butter with some oatmeal mixed in.
Best mouse trap I ever made?
Took a drywall bucket and filled it with about 6" of water. Put a can with PB and oatmeal in it. Put a wood ramp going up from the floor to the drywall bucket, and made a little cantilevered ramp that was balanced just so, kind of like a see saw.
The mouse would walk up the ramp, on to the cantilevered gangplank, and when getting out far enough, his weight would tip the seesaw gangplank and into the water he'd go.
After building and closing up my house I had mice. The drywall bucket caught I forget how many...something like 11 or 12 the first night, and 3 or 4 the second.
Not a one since.
I had a rat problem in my garage and I found out after the rats had mowed through a stack of my whitewater paddling gear:
Paddle Jacket, PFD, First aid kit, helmet and a few ropes.
I made this discovery and went into the house. I asked my wife if I could get a gun (Large gun... 40mm Bofors min)
She said no (she has far more common sense when I am mad)
I asked for a flame thrower....
I would have destroyed my detatched garage to kill the rat, but reason prevailed
another no, so I went to war. I used the victor traps, but I put each trap in the middle of a 3 foot length of flexible metal ducting (8 inch diameter) and secured with wire, then I baited it with chunky peanut butter on a cotton ball. Did the whole thing wearing nitrile gloves to avoid leaving human scent on the traps
The little rodents had to go over the bail to get the peanut butter and SNAP !!!
In addition to that I heavily baited the area with anti coaugulants and left a small bowl of anitfreeze out for a little liquid refreshment. During the battle with the rats, both of my small mammals dog and kid where not permitted in the garage, but I did encourage spot to pee around the perimeter of the building to let the rats know there was a new dog in town.
The final score was
2 rats in the tube traps
3 rats poisened (took me a week to find one of the bodies though.... the big downside of poison, they will die in a hard place to find....)
I found the hole that the rats where using to enter the garage and patched it with the new ACQ pressure treated, so that any other rats that show up will get all sorts of diseases from eating the wood.... hah take that little rats!
Still think a claymore would have been more fun, but living on a tenth of an acre in suburbia, I think my neighbors would be miffed.
Jeff
Reeses is the golden mix. Mice love chocolate. I keep one in the freezer for this very purpose.
I have switched to the Victor plastic traps. They work just as well as the old wooden spring traps, but they are much easier to set and release. No ouch, and cleaner handling. Plus, the bait generally stays in place for the next trapping. The other mice cannot get to the bait and eat it once it closes.