Eek! Using a better mousetrap

By Jay  Lee
Pirate Pest Control
 
An adult house mouse can leave as many as 50 droppings every day. If you are finding little black mouse droppings in your garage or inside your house, then it's time to start trapping. It isn't nearly as hard to do as you think, but it does take some investigation and practice.

There are lots of traps available: plastic grip traps, glue traps and wood-and-wire snap traps. I recommend using the old fashioned snap traps. These traps come in a variety of styles and brands.

My preferred off-the-shelf trap is the Victor brand EasySet mouse trap. It has an easy to use catch-plate and is a very effective tool if used right. The only difference between this trap and the Victor brand Professional Mouse Traps that I use is that my traps don't have little holes in the bait trigger to make it look like fake Swiss cheese.

These traps are usually packaged two or four in a bag. They should come in 12 packs! You want to have a trap set every 5 to 10 feet in infested areas. Place them on hard surfaces. Make sure the traps are perpendicular to the wall or another hard surface, so that the trigger end is against the wall.

A mouse's natural tendency is to run along side a wall. If the trap is even six inches away from a hard surface, the mouse may just run right past it. If it is set parallel to the wall, you may only catch a tail or an ear, and that isn't what you want. You want a head shot.

They say they are pre-baited, but you are better off putting a little bit of peanut butter on the yellow catch plate. If the mice have been feeding on dog food or birdseed, mixing some of that with the peanut butter may increase their interest.

Don't use too much. You don't want to make the mouse a sandwich! A dab about the size of a chocolate chip is fine, just enough to make the mice investigate.

Place the traps wherever you see droppings, but especially in sheltered areas, beside garage doors and behind stored items. Not only is this where the mice are most likely to hang out, it will also help keep the trap from getting set off by accident by kids, pets and even yourself.

Setting the trap is the tricky part. Make sure that the hanging arm is loose and hanging down. When new, it is usually held in place with a little staple, which you discard.

Hold the trap so you can read "VICTOR" and always keep your fingers on that end of the trap. Pull the catch bar back towards you, and lay the hanging arm over the catch bar. Hook the end of the arm into the little slot on the bait trigger and slowly let the tension go on the catch bar.

Both the Professional and EasySet Snap Traps have a little S (for soft) and a little F (for firm) on the bait trigger. If the trap is in a high-traffic area, having the arm in the F setting may keep the trap from getting set off prematurely.

Give the traps a day or two, then check them. Mice are typically going to make the same circuit every day or so, so if you haven't caught any in two or three days, you probably need to move your traps. Just reposition them a couple of feet over and you might increase your success.

If you do have a bunch of mice and you set traps every 5 to 10 feet as suggested, you will likely have at least a couple of trapped mice. Here’s how to dispose of them:

Put on some gloves if you are squeemish, then use a bunch of plastic grocery bags. Put the bags over your hand like a second glove, and pick up the wooden part of the trap. Pull the bags off of your hand and over the trap and its catch. Tie up the bag and throw it away, trap and all.

I know people that want to re-use the traps, but c'mon. That is just gross and really puts you around more yucky stuff than you need. Just get another trap!

Spray down the areas where you find trapped mice and droppings with a bleach-water solution (10% bleach) in a misting bottle. Wipe it down with paper towels and put them in the trash when you are done.

I hope you find this information useful. If you have any other mouse trapping questions, call or email me to schedule a Rodent Tactical Service today!

Next month: Glue Traps and Rodenticide.

Jay Lee is the owner/operator of Pirate Pest Control in Rio Rancho. You can contact him at 514-7964 or by e-mail at WhatBugsMe@The-SCORE.info.