Mouse in My Apartment: Looking for Humane Traps

[TheStatutoryApe]

I just got home to find some small dark thing go skittering across the carpet of my apartment. After a few more desperate shots across the place I realized it was a mouse and its taken up residence behind my oven.

I have never had to deal with rodents that weren't pets before. I was going to scoop it up in a pillow case but I can't get to it now. So, as the title suggests, do any of you know of some good humane traps? preferably ones that are effective yet do not cost that much? I like rodents, they're cute, so I don't want to kill it.

 

[Pattonias]

I think most live catch traps are under thirty dollars and reusable. Avoid sticky traps as they are sticky enough to catch you for a period of time, and they would also prove fatal to your room mate.

http://www.bestnest.com/bestnest/RTProduct.asp?SKU=SAP-53600&src=froogle&kw=SAP-53600"

 

[Danger]

I love mice... they remind me of the pet rats that I had when I was a kid. They don't appear in my place because of my cat (who would never think of paying attention to one, but they don't know that). If they did, I'd let them run free.
Anyhow, the most humane trap that I know of consists of a spring-loaded teeter board within an enclosure. You put your bait (peanut butter, cocoa, or oatmeal are best) on the inboard side, which is normally up. Mousey goes into get it, tips the board to deposit himself in the box, and the board then springs back up to close the entranceway. They usually have plenty of air holes and are made of clear plastic so you can see when you have one in custody.

edit: I didn't mean to ignore you, Pat... you sneaked your post in while I was still composing mine.

2nd edit: While it's a long-shot, there is always the possibility that a rodent has rabies, so make sure that you don't let one bite you.

 

[TheStatutoryApe]

2nd edit: While it's a long-shot, there is always the possibility that a rodent has rabies, so make sure that you don't let one bite you.

That's all I am really concerned about, though not rabies in particular, since my bed is a floor level futon. I don't cherish the idea of waking up to my bits being nibbled on.

I don't think I would want to use a sticky trap. I'm not sure how I would get the poor guy off of there.


Aha... I think I just saw him go through a hole in the wall. I was wondering where he may have gotten in from.

 

[Danger]

I don't cherish the idea of waking up to my bits being nibbled on.
Aha... I think I just saw him go through a hole in the wall. I was wondering where he may have gotten in from.

I used to love waking up to my bits being nibbled on, but it hasn't happened since the divorce...
If you saw him go out the hole, just patch it up before he comes back in. (Just how good are your eyes, anyway, that you know he's a "he"?)

 

[Pattonias]

Ah, but he'll know of the bounty beyond and either naw his way through or find another way in.

 

[Danger]

Ah, but he'll know of the bounty beyond and either naw his way through or find another way in.

Don't confuse me with logic.

 

[TheStatutoryApe]

I used to love waking up to my bits being nibbled on, but it hasn't happened since the divorce...
If you saw him go out the hole, just patch it up before he comes back in. (Just how good are your eyes, anyway, that you know he's a "he"?)

Certain kinds of nibbling are definitely worth while but a twitchy little face with whiskers doesn't really correspond well.
I might say I could shoot the nuts off a flea but really I was just getting caught up in humanizing the furry little bugger.
I don't think I have anything to make a real patch with and I'm sure it could make its way through what ever I stuff in the little gap.

Ah, but he'll know of the bounty beyond and either naw his way through or find another way in.

Actually there is not much here for it. What food I have on hand is well put away. At the moment most of it is dried or canned. Unless you mean my bits in which case I hope it has better prospects as what is available is probably sour with too much drink and smoke.

If it eats my books though its war!

 

[turbo]

My brother-in-law makes live traps out of 5-gallon buckets. He takes an empty beer can and pierces it with a coat-hanger and suspends it over the center of the bucket. He smears the can with peanut butter and provides a board "ramp" so the mice can get close to the can. When they climb onto the can for the peanut butter, the can spins and dumps them in the bucket. It's cheap and it works.

 

[Danger]

Certain kinds of nibbling are definitely worth while but a twitchy little face with whiskers doesn't really correspond well.

So you have been with the ex, you little bastard.

I have found that aluminum foil is great for plugging up mouse holes. (Of the architectural, not biological, variety.) Chewing it is unpleasant.
Mice do not eat books. That's a myth. They do, however, chew off pieces to use in nesting. Same net result to the book owner.
Nice homemade version, Turbo. My only modification, for the sake of avoiding any injury, would be to have a steep ramp on the way down. That's quite a far drop for something that size. There could be some broken bones or connective tissue damage from a straight plummet.

 

[WiFO215]

@Turbo
Wouldn't that invite a new problem of ants??

 

[turbo]

@Turbo
Wouldn't that invite a new problem of ants??

I don't think that ants can jump a gap of 1/4 to 1/2" to get the peanut butter. The mice certainly will. They love peanut butter.

 

[Danger]

@Turbo
Wouldn't that invite a new problem of ants??

I believe that the answer to that lies in his description of the rodent being able to get close to the can. An ant wouldn't be able to even dream of approaching it.

edit: Hmmm... beat me to it again, Turbo.

 

[Ivan Seeking]

Cripes, just get a conventional mousetrap and be done with it.

If you want inhumane, you should see what my cats do to those poor little mice. Trust me, death in a second is very humane. It sures beats being used as hockey puck for an hour [or four] before your head is chewed off.

Sticky traps are terribly inhumane. The poor thing is stuck to the floor and then dies of dehydration or starvation. I have no idea how long it takes them to die. When we tried one, I ended up smashing it with a rock just to end the suffering.

 

[Cyrus]

It's a rat, not a pet. Kill it. They carry disease.

 

[Tobias Funke]

Sticky traps are terribly inhumane. The poor thing is stuck to the floor and then dies of dehydration or starvation. I have no idea how long it takes them to die. When we tried one, I ended up smashing it with a rock just to end the suffering.

I'll be the 5th person or so to denounce sticky traps. I had to run the little guy over with a heavy cart to kill it quickly. I wish I did some research to find what solution I could have used to dissolve the glue and free him because he was caught in a professor's house when I worked for a college and the guy was a jerk. Couldn't even be bothered to bend over and take care of it himself.

 

[Dadface]

It's a rat, not a pet. Kill it. They carry disease.

Well it's a rat not a mouse but I tend to agree.In fact it's probably a nest of mice.They may look cute but they leave their droppings all over the place and they smell.Pull your cooker away from the wall and have a look.Poison works pretty well but then you have the problem of finding the corpses and disposing of them.

 

[Danger]

Cripes, just get a conventional mousetrap and be done with it.

You do know, I suppose, that a conventional trap breaks the mouse's back and leaves it to starve to death. If the mouse is (relatively) lucky, the neck will be broken and it dies quickly. That is rare. You wouldn't believe how many times I've had to weight a trap down in a bucket of water to drown the poor thing and put an end to it.

 

[drizzle]

You seem like you don't like cats... Got an idea, get one of those

 

[Danger]

I must admit that the picture is humourous, Drizzle, but...

 

[KalamMekhar]

Put a bit of coca cola in a very small dish (the cap preferably) and let it drink that.

 

[Danger]

Put a bit of coca cola in a very small dish (the cap preferably) and let it drink that.

I managed to kill off my mother-in-law that way, but mice are a bit smarter.

 

[KalamMekhar]

I managed to kill off my mother-in-law that way, but mice are a bit smarter.

It really works on mother in laws?

 

[TheStatutoryApe]

You seem like you don't like cats... Got an idea, get one of those

I do like cats but can't really keep one right now. I could not afford to take it to the vet or anything if it winds up getting nibbled all over by mice.

A toad may be more economical though hmmmm...

 

[Danger]

A toad may be more economical though hmmmm...

If it's a "lickable" toad, you can kill two financial burdens with one stone.

 

[Math Is Hard]

You could hire a barn owl. There's one that hangs out in my backyard every once in a while. I'll see if I can get his card.

 

[Jimmy Snyder]

I live next to an abandoned house that is now home to a family of groundhogs. One of them dug under the fence and under my garage. Man they do stink. So I got one of those have a heart traps and put some tuna in there as suggested. I also covered up the holes with the dirt that had been dug out. I managed to trap the neighbor's pet cat. When I got home from work the holes were redug and the cat was just sitting there relaxed with a look on it's face that said "Good tuna, I'm ready to go home now.". I don't want to just feed the cat, so I called the wildlife dept. to find out what my options were. They said use cantalope instead of tuna. That I did, but I also refilled the holes and covered them over with bricks. The groundhogs are gone, the stink is slowly receding and the cantalope in the trap is undisturbed by cats, rats, groundhogs, squirrels, rabbits, etc.

 

[Pattonias]

Trained monkey? Think of all the problems that can be solved with a trained monkey, and all the new exciting problems that you could have with a trained monkey.

 

[Danger]

Trained monkey? Think of all the problems that can be solved with a trained monkey, and all the new exciting problems that you could have with a trained monkey.

I thought that I made it clear several months ago that I don't want to discuss my former marriage.

 

[Jimmy Snyder]

I caught the critter (are we allowed to use that word on PF?) and took him or her (I'm in favor of women's rights for groundhogs, why should we humans have all the aggravation) to the nature preserve nearby for release. I let it go near a marsh, but it wasn't interested in water and made a beeline for the road, just going about its legal groundhog business. My experience is that they smell very bad, but I've read that they smell very good and it may be following its nose back this way. I probably should have painted its tail so I could recognize it if I caught it again. Although I don't know why I would need to know that. What am I supposed to do if I do catch it again? Paint its tail a different color?