# Yes Dear, I'll build you a better mousetrap....



## DangerMouse (Jul 17, 2008)

My wife did not like the idea of poison, blunt force trauma or sticky traps for mice when we first moved out here to BFE, so I designed this to catch them alive so she could drop them off far away in the woods. a dab of peanut butter on the locking door end, and their weight closes the red door behind them, snapping tight to the (of course) hard drive magnets. it comes apart easily for cleaning with the two rods. works well for chipmunks and other rodents too.

DM


----------



## Scuba_Dave (Jan 16, 2009)

DangerMouse said:


> to catch them alive so she could drop them off far away in the woods.
> DM


Where they become food for hawks, snakes & bigger prey :laughing:
But don't tell her that
Looks like it works
My Uncle used to catch squirrels live & bring them to our other Uncle
Who would then feed them to his Hawk


----------



## DangerMouse (Jul 17, 2008)

shhhhhh.....
i think she knows they're on their own, but she figures at least they won't go to waste.
and, yup, it works fine! i forgot though, i had to add a cowling over the top half of the red door, seems they'd stand on the end and trip it. i'll repair it and repost a new pic. the 'play' is only 1/16th of an inch, it's so finely balanced. the notch on the rocking platform tips the door, then gravity and the magnets take over. you KNOW when you have a mouse, it's loud! *!SNAP!*
i also had to build a **** trap when we got here. that was a strong wire cage with a snap door similar.

DM


----------



## Termite (Apr 13, 2008)

I think we need to see some pics of this thing in action, with mice in it. :whistling2:


----------



## Jay123 (May 7, 2008)

:yes: ... whatever it is dm, it looks cool :laughing:


----------



## DangerMouse (Jul 17, 2008)

thekctermite said:


> I think we need to see some pics of this thing in action, with mice in it. :whistling2:


i guess i'll have to do that when i get a few minutes...:yes:

i know it's hard to believe that anything i make works right considering how easily everyone has figured out how all of my magic tricks work......:jester:

DM


----------



## DangerMouse (Jul 17, 2008)

thekctermite said:


> I think we need to see some pics of this thing in action, with mice in it. :whistling2:


Ask, and Ye shall recieve.

DM


----------



## gma2rjc (Nov 21, 2008)

How much did you pay that mouse to pose for the camera? :laughing:


----------



## DangerMouse (Jul 17, 2008)

this darn thing REALLY works great!, i checked it today and found THIS!!!

i've NEVER gotten a twofer before! lol

DM


----------



## kimber (Aug 24, 2009)

your mice are not as cute as mine! :laughing: Very clever idea!!! I caught six field mice and yes I did let them go next to a new play ground. I packed them food , some old pieces of cloth and a old thermos I turned into a temp shelter. I felt terrible relocating them, but man, you should of seen what they did to my insulation..it's going to take forever to fix the mess they did to my cellar


----------



## downrightart (Mar 27, 2010)

OMG. I just had a shiver. I can understand Mrs. DM's thinking, but I'm afraid I won't go to this effort. 

But, it reminds me of the baby mouse story. One day, before the children were even school age(around 4 & 5 yrs old), my son comes and tells me, "Mom, there are some cute little rat babies in my dresser drawer, wanna see?" 

I go and sure enough they are there! About 6 of them. Yes, I freaked! But, since the Boss (my husband) worked out of town, he wasn't home to deal with this. I carry the drawer outside and empty it. I then go and get my old bat. I'm standing there with the bat in my hand when my son looks up at me and says, "Mom, what are you going to do with the baseball bat?"

Oh my. Right, I couldn't do it. I know! So, I take my kids for a ride to town and explain the whole nature thing of why we can't keep rodents in our house. I got thru this situation.

Then it was snakes. Oh yes, over the years, I killed those right infront of my children! Sorry. But, the best kind of snake is a dead one. :laughing:


----------



## DangerMouse (Jul 17, 2008)

oh geeze, I never kill our snakes here, I just grab their tails and walk them back out to the woods....
They have a very important job to do.

DM


----------



## Scuba_Dave (Jan 16, 2009)

DangerMouse said:


> this darn thing REALLY works great!, i checked it today and found THIS!!!
> i've NEVER gotten a twofer before! lol
> DM


They were looking for a room :laughing:
We have some red tailed hawks around here, they seem to keep the population down
The swimming pool has probaby killed 2 dozen mice/moles/voles over the years
Then there are a lot of cats around...they probably kill more then the hawks
But I kill them if I catch them....too many problems & they carry fleas


----------



## Windows (Feb 22, 2010)

_{Windows: Please re-read the posting rules}_
_Moderator_


----------



## downrightart (Mar 27, 2010)

Windows said:


> _{Please re-read the posting rules}_
> _Moderator_


Oh my! Was it me?

If it was, I'm trying to find the posting rules here! 

Good grief. This is NOT good.


----------



## gma2rjc (Nov 21, 2008)

No, downrightart, I don't think the moderator meant you. I think 'Windows' must have written something that's been deleted. 

Barb


----------



## gma2rjc (Nov 21, 2008)

> I'm standing there with the bat in my hand when my son looks up at me and says, "Mom, what are you going to do with the baseball bat?"


:laughing: This reminds me of the part in The Grinch Who Stole Christmas where little Cindylou Who says, "Santy Claus! Why? Why are you taking our Christmas tree? Why?" He had to think up something quick too.

I don't blame you for getting rid of the snakes. They scare the heck out of me. Well, not when they're at your house, just when they're here. lol.

Barb


----------



## downrightart (Mar 27, 2010)

gma2rjc said:


> :laughing: This reminds me of the part in The Grinch Who Stole Christmas where little Cindylou Who says, "Santy Claus! Why? Why are you taking our Christmas tree? Why?" He had to think up something quick too.
> 
> I don't blame you for getting rid of the snakes. They scare the heck out of me. Well, not when they're at your house, just when they're here. lol.
> 
> Barb


OH! I haven't thought of that part in the movie for a long time! :laughing:

I've killed alot of snakes in my life, but most of them were rattle snakes. I should have kept the skin for those over the years. I'd have me a few nice pairs of rattle snake skin boots by now! :yes:


----------



## Jim F (Mar 4, 2010)

They sell a trap called "have a heart" that's a similar idea but that's pretty creative. I wonder if the mice don't suffer a worse fate by the relocation. They are territorial creatures and I'm not sure how well they adapt to their new environment. I know of a woman who released them just outside her house who was most likely recatching the same ones with new bait.:laughing:


----------



## Red Squirrel (Jun 29, 2009)

downrightart said:


> Oh my! Was it me?
> 
> If it was, I'm trying to find the posting rules here!
> 
> Good grief. This is NOT good.


Sounds like windows got a blue screen of death. :laughing:


----------



## DangerMouse (Jul 17, 2008)

JimF: Now THAT'S funny! Thanks for the laugh! :laughing:

DM


----------



## liquidvw (Jun 8, 2009)

cool trap DM. Have you seen the five gallon bucket trap? Its pretty neat. Check it out on you tube here


----------



## DangerMouse (Jul 17, 2008)

I sure didn't, (dialup) but I googled it and saw what you meant, and I immediately built one for the chicken coop! (Although, I used 2 ice cream buckets to make it easier to dump little dead bodies and refill.....)

It works! 

(she's finally OK with just killing them outright....yay!)



DM


----------



## gma2rjc (Nov 21, 2008)

:thumbsup:


----------



## liquidvw (Jun 8, 2009)

DangerMouse said:


> I sure didn't, (dialup) but I googled it and saw what you meant, and I immediately built one for the chicken coop! (Although, I used 2 ice cream buckets to make it easier to dump little dead bodies and refill.....)
> 
> It works!
> 
> ...


That's awesome. I built one over the weekend as well. It was a fun project for me and my kids. Now they keep asking have the mice shown up yet. I'll take a picture once I have some kills and post it.


----------



## DangerMouse (Jul 17, 2008)

I just went to look and ....nothing..... the kid tried to reset it, but forgot the RAMP to the HOLE so they have access!

lol

We'll see how we do today, I know there are tons of them out there to kill off.....

DM


----------



## Red Squirrel (Jun 29, 2009)

you should put some metal plates in there with 240v, much more humane death then drowning, and probably easier to cleanup too. 

Bonus is you get the lights dimming as an indicator that you caught one!


----------



## spaceman spif (Jul 28, 2009)

Red Squirrel said:


> you should put some metal plates in there with 240v, much more humane death then drowning, and probably easier to cleanup too.
> 
> Bonus is you get the lights dimming as an indicator that you caught one!



You also get a much more satisfying "ZZZZZAP!" than those bug zappers! :thumbsup:


----------



## gma2rjc (Nov 21, 2008)

Have you caught any more DM?


----------



## DangerMouse (Jul 17, 2008)

some... I'm not keeping count.... Po)

DM


----------



## cocobolo (Dec 16, 2008)

We have used the rotating can and 5 gallon bucket system for some time now. Works well.

But we have a real squirrel problem here. So I like that first trap of yours. About how big is that one? I think I'll need to rig one up here.

Thanks DM.

I knew there had to be a reason you're called Danger _MOUSE!_


----------



## DangerMouse (Jul 17, 2008)

You'd be better off building one like the one I made for raccoons.... VERY strong and they cannot get out until YOU let them out. I can draw up the plans if you like.

DM


----------



## cocobolo (Dec 16, 2008)

DangerMouse said:


> You'd be better off building one like the one I made for raccoons.... VERY strong and they cannot get out until YOU let them out. I can draw up the plans if you like.
> 
> DM


Is there a pic of the one for the '*****?


----------



## DangerMouse (Jul 17, 2008)

Nope, it got recycled when it got too old.

DM


----------



## cocobolo (Dec 16, 2008)

DangerMouse said:


> Nope, it got recycled when it got too old.
> 
> DM


The '**** or the trap...:laughing::laughing::laughing:

In that case, plans would be wonderful...thank you!


----------



## DangerMouse (Jul 17, 2008)

The trap, ya big goof.... That darn thing caught *****, rats, cats, dogs and a chicken once too!

You'll need a little talent in carpentry to make one..... do you have any experience building things? 

*gbeg*

DM


----------



## cocobolo (Dec 16, 2008)

DangerMouse said:


> The trap, ya big goof.... That darn thing caught *****, rats, cats, dogs and a chicken once too!
> 
> You'll need a little talent in carpentry to make one..... do you have any experience building things?
> 
> ...


Uhhhmmm, I'll have to see if I can find something I made...I did make a pencil box in school when I was 11. Does that count? :huh:


----------



## DangerMouse (Jul 17, 2008)

Oh sure! 

If you can glue popsicle sticks together and make THAT, you should have no problems at all building this!

DM


----------



## sam floor (Jun 27, 2009)

Just put explosives all around your house. Leave your doors open. When the varmints go inside, blow up everything.:laughing:


----------



## DangerMouse (Jul 17, 2008)

You'll need: 

¼" solder screen.
1", 1½", and 2½" drywall screws. (galvanized if for outdoor use)
2"X2"s, 2"X4"s
Old door latch from old doorknob.
Catch from same.
4 or 5 screw-in eyehooks.
Smooth steel rod.
¾" plywood.
Door hinges.
Spring. (trampoline springs work great)
Clothesline.

All of these screwed together make a pretty cool trap. I always prayed I never had a skunk in it.... (luckily I never did)

She took our camera to kid's b-day party, I'll take a shot of what's left later and post it.

I think it's a hen's roost now? ....Might be a rodent cage.....?

DM


----------



## DangerMouse (Jul 17, 2008)

sam floor said:


> Just put explosives all around your house. Leave your doors open. When the varmints go inside, blow up everything.:laughing:


This worked well for the neighbors we hated back in the old neighborhood.... :laughing:

DM


----------



## cocobolo (Dec 16, 2008)

DangerMouse said:


> You'll need:
> 
> ¼" solder screen.
> 1", 1½", and 2½" drywall screws. (galvanized if for outdoor use)
> ...


I think I have everything except the 1/4" solder screen. My smooth steel rod is 3/8"...is that a good size? In 10' lengths right now.

I'll get the screen.


----------



## DangerMouse (Jul 17, 2008)

That's an OK size.... just be sure it passes easily through the eyehooks.
3/16" rod would do.... easier to bend a loop at one end to tie the line to....
You could hammer the 3/8" flat on an anvil, then drill a hole I guess....?

DM


----------



## DangerMouse (Jul 17, 2008)

I had it set up so I could use a kite string to open the door from a distance determined only by the length of the string....
That came in real handy with a **** once.... I think if I build another one new, I'll use some clear plexi all around the outside as well, just in CASE we get a skunk. But they normally don't seem to go for the baits, they like their grubs...... which is a good thing. Po)

DM


----------



## cocobolo (Dec 16, 2008)

DangerMouse said:


> I had it set up so I could use a kite string to open the door from a distance determined only by the length of the string....
> That came in real handy with a **** once.... I think if I build another one new, I'll use some clear plexi all around the outside as well, just in CASE we get a skunk. But they normally don't seem to go for the baits, they like their grubs...... which is a good thing. Po)
> 
> DM


No skunks here, just mice, very rarely a rat, mink and sea otters. Which I sincerely hope will be too big to get into a trap.


----------

