Choosing a mousetrap

Part of Man vs. Mouse

With many choices out there regarding a mousetrap, choosing the right one is sometimes tricky, and often different scenarios call for different traps.

By Diane Forrest

Even if you took precautions last fall, you may find some unpleasant surprises in the spring. Scientists in Algonquin Park estimated that the total mouse population, which swells and declines in roughly six-year cycles, was at its highest ever in 1997, due to the large number of maple keys, a primary source of nourishment for mice. If some of that burgeoning tide slopped over into your cottage, maybe it’s time to look at more effective control. (Editor’s note: anecdotal evidence from Cottage Life readers suggests that 2007 was another peak year for the mouse population.)

The heyday of technological innovation in mousetrapping occurred in the 19th century and revealed some unpleasant truths about the human psyche. Many of the traps managed to be both cruel and ineffective, promising to impale mice through a complex arrangement of gears, springs, and levers. Slightly less psychopathic were “toy” traps, which lured live mice into balls, wheels, and miniature tricycles, where they careened about for the entertainment of the whole family before being released or dispatched. Perhaps the most grandly ineffectual was the Electrocuting Trap, an elaborate collection of batteries, coils, electrodes, mercury switches, and electromagnets housed inside a 36-cm-tall “mouse house.” The intended victim was lured to the top of the house where he was electrocuted and dropped two storeys to a zinc-lined, water- filled container. The trap never made it to market.

But in the middle of all this tortured creativity, James Mast of Lititz, Penn., developed a simple wooden trap to keep mice out of his coleslaw, popcorn, and wooden fishing lure factory. Created in 1899, the Victor mousetrap is still a favourite with pest control experts. According to Mike Goldstein, sales manager for professional pest control products at the company Mast founded, Woodstream Corporation, the classic snap trap, if properly set and baited, catches 80% - 90% of mice that come in contact with it.

In choosing a snap trap, look for a solid build, strong spring action, and a large and sensitive trigger pedal; the bigger the pedal, the more likely the mouse will set it off. For those who find the classic Victor difficult to set and its quick action more than a little intimidating, there are numerous other models. The Woodbridge Easy-Set comes pre-baited with a larger trigger for about the same price as the classic Victor, $1.20 for two. You can set the clamshell-shaped Quick Set (around $4.50 for a twin pack) or release the mouse body, just by squeezing the trap at both ends. Le Trap, made by King Home & Garden ($2.50-$3.50), which looks like a child’s plastic toy, is pre-baited and simple to use with hair-trigger action. Ditto The Better Mousetrap, which looks like a fat grey clothes pin that promises to do the job neatly without piercing the skin ($6 for two).

If you’re concerned about dispatching the mouse in the kindest possible way, snap traps usually provide a quick death, breaking the mouse’s neck in an instant. Robert Corrigan, a consultant at RMC Pest Management Consulting in Indiana and one of North America’s leading experts on rodent control has spent endless nights testing mousetraps. He warns that “sometimes the mice get their tails or a leg caught, and suffer a prolonged death.” Baiting the trap properly and using only good-quality traps will improve the odds of a quick kill. But no one can guarantee you won’t spend a guilty night listening to the death rattle, rattle, rattle under the stove.

More:

Mouse poisons
Live traps
Other options for trapping mice
The best bait
Hantavirus risk
But they keep coming back!

Back:

Man vs. Mouse - intro
4 easy ways to mouse-proof your cottage

Plus:

Prevent mouse damage to boats in storage
Mouse-proof your drawers
Penny's Blog: Cottage Life's editor writes about mouse-capades from a cottager's point of view. Search under the "Mice" category for her stories and reader comments.
Cottage Life Forum  - read tips and battle stories, and view photos of some great cottage-made traps. Plus, share your own mouse tales.

Published in the April/May 1998 issue of Cottage Life magazine.

Copyright © 1998, 2009 by Cottage Life. All rights reserved. Reproduction of any article, photograph, or artwork, for other than personal use, in whole or in part, without the written permission of the publisher is strictly forbidden.