Let me just say, before we get started, that there aren t a ton of ways to catch a rat, mouse, or other type of vermin without killing it.
To be clear: If you want the rodent caught, with a better than 99 success rate, then I am your man. If you want the rodent alive, I may or may not be of assistance.
With that disclaimer out of the way, let s get started. The first problem many people have, is that they are not sure if they even have a rodent in the first place.
The scenario generally plays out like this: The homeowner goes to get a pot or pan out of the bottom of the cabinet, and there is evidence that a mouse of some sort has been there already.
Now, evidence, for the sake of this article, will be excrement of some kind. By excrement, I mean poop. It will be about the size of a grain of rice, and it is usually tightly clustered. Not to gross you out or anything, but there will usually be 5 9 pellets in the same general area.
The first thing you want to do when you find something like this, is to determine whether it is a recurring problem or not. Wipe out the area with some disinfectant, like Lysol. Put your pans into the dishwasher, and disinfect them as well.
Next, look around your kitchen for more evidence . Search your cabinets for food packaging that may have been compromised. It will generally have a triangle shaped hole in it, and there will crumbs of food scattered about. Throw it away immediately. Once again, clean up, and disinfect.
Notice how I keep emphasizing cleanliness. Mice are tiny animals, who like dark, claustrophobic spaces. If they have a food source nearby, there is no need for them to venture out and explore. A lack of crumbs will ensure that they have to forage.
Next, it s time to lay out the traps. Start by putting them where you found the evidence of visitation. Humans have a saying that you don t... um...poop where you eat. Mice don t have that problem. They ll return to the same spot, again and again.
In addition to food areas, you will want to lay traps on the way to water. Mice get thirsty, too. The swiftest way to catch them is to make sure that traps are on the way to both food and water.
Now we move on to types of traps. This section is the part that gives me the most pause. I don t like killing things. However, when they are costing my money, spoiling my food, and possibly spreading disease, I make myself take care of things.
The trap that is familiar to most people is a traditional mouse trap. It s the instant kill type of trap. A piece of wood, with bait in the middle, and a really strong, spring powered arm that comes down hard on the rat/mouse. It is humane, insofar as it kills quickly. It s not safe to use if you have children, or if you walk around in the dark. I ve heard more than one story of a broken toe. It is quite effective.
The next type of trap is the tunnel trap. I personally don t like this type of trap, as it requires a great deal of curiosity on the part of an animal. Most animals are not that dumb. Basically, the trap is round, and when the mouse moves past a certain point, the trap rotates and closes. I have had zero success with this type of trap. Plus, if the mouse gets caught, it may be left to starve for several days. It is both ineffective, and less humane.
The best type of trap, from my experience, is the glue trap. No, not the flypaper on steroids type trap. I would picture this trap like a small, glue lagoon (the brand I use is CatchMaster). The mouse runs over it, and is caught. There s no bait to mess with, no misfires, and if your toddler walks over it, the worst consequence is cleaning off a really sticky foot. It is highly effective.
A warning as far as the humane aspect of a glue trap. You need to check them daily. The mouse is stuck, and panicking. You need to put it out of its misery as soon as possible. I generally grab another glue trap, and put it on top of the first, while pressing firmly. Yes, it is hard to know that you killed something. Such is life.
Before we move on, there are two other options for catching a mouse. One kills, the other doesn t. I hear many people suggest poison. I don t like it. First of all, it requires the rat/mouse to ingest poison. It will then poop itself to death, go off and die somewhere, and be found at the worst possible time. Believe me, you will go to cook Thanksgiving dinner, and find a dried up mouse in your pot.
Another option is a so called live trap . Now, provided you don t care when you catch the mouse, this is a good option. If you want to empty him back into his woodland home, so he can explain to the rest of the mice, where the food is, then go for it. He can then be killed by a hawk or a cat, and you won t have to sully your conscience.
As you can see, there s not much more to catching mice. Just in case you ve forgotten, let s recap:
1. Check for evidence .
2. Clean and disinfect surfaces(and utensils) that are soiled.
3. Remove food sources that may keep mice fed.
4. Place traps near food and water sources for rodents.
5. Check them frequently, so that they do not suffer for long.
Hopefully, this problem will not be around for long, and you won t become a rodent serial killer. To make sure of this, you can buy rodent repellents, either in sonic, or powder form. Make the investment to keep mice away, and looking for food elsewhere.
That s all I have to give on this subject. If you ve anything to add, you can always leave your suggestions in the comments. Thanks, and may you return to a life of mouse free normalcy shortly.
Author Resource:
Kurt Hartman builds a better mousetrap on a daily basis for his company, Mobile Fleet Service. They sell mining tires for the heavy equipment industry. You can find them at http://www.buybigtires.com
![[Valid RSS feed]](http://www.look4articles.com/images/icon_Rss.png "XML Feed For RSS"){kind=icon}
Category Rss Feed
Print This Article
Add To Favorites
![[Valid RSS feed]](http://www.look4articles.com/images/rss.jpg "XML Feed For RSS")