A better mouse trap

[Verne_Frantz]

THE BETTER MOUSE TRAP

How many of us need to store a car somewhere over the Winter in a place that isn’t exactly sealed like a drum? How many times have we pulled our car out in the Spring only to find pieces of seat cotton scattered on the carpet, or little berry shells left on the intake manifold (or even worse) a nest in the heater or chewed up wiring?!?!?
Ordinary mouse traps do work, but think of the maintenance involved; checking them often, removing the dead critters, putting on fresh bait, etc. If they’re coming in out of the cold all Winter long, that needs to be done every few days. What a pain! There must be a better way of getting rid of those cute little unwanted pets without all the aggravation!
Well, there IS. How’d you like to set up your trap when you put your car away for the Winter and not bother with it until the Spring when you merely carry out all your dead visitors and throw them away?!
Here’s all you need: A plastic bucket (3 ½ or 5 gallon), a plastic soda bottle, a coat hanger, a piece of wood about 2 ½ ft long, some dry roasted peanuts, some glue, about 3” of duct tape and a gallon or two of a liquid that won’t freeze. Now let’s get started.
Drill a small hole in the cap and bottom of the plastic soda bottle. Straighten out the coat hanger and thread it through the bottle. Glue the peanuts all over the outside of the bottle. Bend the coat hanger so that both ends can be attached to the edge of the bucket with the bottle hanging level about 2-3” below the top of the bucket. Tape your stick to the top edge of the bucket and add your “won’t freeze” liquid. Walk away ‘till Spring!
Mousie climbs up the stick and sees those delicious peanuts. He jumps on the bottle, which spins around and drops him in the bucket! Your “won’t freeze” liquid will tend to preserve the little buggers so there is no odor. (Remember to dispose of your catch in an environmentally safe manner)
Happy Hunting!!!



At last count, there were 12 of them in there.
Verne

[SS427]

I will be over next week Chad...... We got some work to do.......

[YenkoYS-199Stinger]

Mongo Like!!!!!!!!

[PeteLeathersac]

Simply amazing!!!
Not just two hours ago I was having a conversation w/ a co-worker about better mousetraps and some different types that involve drowning Mickey and his pals...nothing as slick as this 'log-roller' type though!.

~ Pete

[mockingbird812]

Inspiring Verne!

[firstgenaddict]

Oh Boy... now PETA is gonna be on your ass... LOL

[mudjnky]

Verne, I love the idea, however, coming from an animal friendly family I would like to see you make one adjustment in the product. Add a screen to the top of the bucket with a few holes just big enough for small critters. If a cat or dog happens to wander in and drink the sweet smelling "won't freeze" liquid, it won't be a very good outcome for him/her.

[Verne_Frantz]

[ QUOTE ]
Verne, I love the idea, however, coming from an animal friendly family I would like to see you make one adjustment in the product. Add a screen to the top of the bucket with a few holes just big enough for small critters. If a cat or dog happens to wander in and drink the sweet smelling "won't freeze" liquid, it won't be a very good outcome for him/her.

[/ QUOTE ]

Disclaimer: This device should not be used in an area where animals larger than mice can enter.

[crash]

A small variation on the same pricipal for chipmunks...
Same bucket half filled with water, but spread sun flower seed on top of the water(they float)... The little buggers climb the stick, and jump right in, and then its toooo late... I only do this in the summer... Crash

[SS427]

[ QUOTE ]
If a cat or dog happens to wander in and drink the sweet smelling "won't freeze" liquid, it won't be a very good outcome for him/her.

[/ QUOTE ]

I never thought it would happen and certainly not to me but it did. If you think your shop is safe it is NOT. I have my ex's dog for the week as her brother was killed Saturday night in a car crash. I leave the door open just a crack between the shop and the house so that I can hear if she is getting into trouble while I am working in the shop. Somehow Sunday morning she managed to open the door and "sneak" into the shop. I doubt she had been in there more than 30 seconds and I put her back into the house. About 4 hours later she vomited and there was nothing besides yellow mucous and one little dust ball. I thought it odd and because of the dust ball and thought I better investigate to see what she may have gotten into in the shop. I found that she had licked up a VERY small amound of antifeeze on the floor that I had spilled. We are talking less then a couple of teaspoons. I just came back from the last vet visit and after 2 days with absolutely NO sleep, emergency vet and regular vet visits, 3 doses of $400 each antitoxin and a total of a $2600 vet bill and a WHOLE lot of praying, she is out of the woods with no permanent damage but we came VERY close. There were crystals in her urine and when that happens, the dogs are almost certainly history. Unless you are an animal lover, you would never understand.

Things like antifreeze, snow globes, some winshield washer fluids, some brake fluids, and many other household and shop products contain ethylene glycol. Most importanly, don't leave a radiator or brake caliper laying exposed or spill any of it's fluid in the dirt where an animal can lick it up as this can also kill them.

Moral of the story, even when you THINK your shop is safe, it is NOT. I am a huge pet lover and know better! That is one of the reasons she is never allowed in the shop in the first place. The door now stays closed.

Sorry for the rant but anything that can be said to prevent this from happening to someone elses pet is worth the effort. Sad fact is, I partook in this thread when it was original posted and even I did not learn from it then.