How Do You Trap a Mouse By Yourself?

Traps To Catch Mice
Do you have a mouse problem? Are you sick of trying to make sure they stay out of your food? And are you sick of cleaning up droppings that they leave everywhere? The good news is there are a wide variety of traps out there for you to use to help with the problem. You’ll simply need to decide what traps are going to work best for you. Some of your choices include snap traps, covered lethal traps, glue traps and live traps.

There are pros and cons to all of the traps available. Many people like using glue traps because they catch the mice quickly. Others don’t like using them because they aren’t very humane in the least. Most often, the mice get caught on the trap and take a very long time to die. During the process they try to get off the trap and often break their tiny legs. Other people like using the snap traps because they are quick and effective. The important part of these traps is the bait you use. Many will set a piece of bread or crackers on it only to have a mouse remove the bait without springing the trap. For this reason you should consider using cream cheese or peanut butter in your traps to catch mice.



Types Of Bait To Use To Trap Mice
You may think you already know the right type of bait to use in a mouse trap; after all we have been seeing it since we were kids in cartoons on TV. Is cheese the best bait for a mouse trap though? The answer is no. Cheese is very appetizing to mice but that does not mean that it is the best bait. You would be surprised at the intelligence of mice; leave some cheese on a trap and there is a very good chance that when you check the trap it will not have been triggered but the cheese will no longer be there. So you have to improvise with the bait you use. If they will be able to get to the bait without triggering the trap, then perhaps you should make the bait a bit harder to get. The longer the mouse tries the higher the chances that the trap will trigger successfully.

The Right Cheese
If you want to go with cheese then at least use the right kind of cheese. As stated before it has to be cheese that will not be easy to get and that means something that is sticky that you can place on the trigger. Cream cheese is the perfect example of a cheese that is effective as bait. It will take a few tries for a mouse to get so the trigger is very likely to be pulled and activated in one of these tries. If you want to try something else you can try to melt some cheese into the trigger. The important thing is that it will not be easy for the mouse to get. The melted cheese will act the same way that cream cheese does and it is something that you may already have at home.

The Smell Of Bait
If you have pets you know that wet pet food can be very aromatic and that can attract mice to the trap as much as cheese. Mice have a great sense of smell and something with a strong aroma will definitely work wonders with mice. Other things that you can use to get the mouse to the trap include peanut butter (which is not only aromatic but it is also hard to get off the trigger like cream cheese), oatmeal, buttered bread, or even popcorn. It all depends on the type of trap you are using. Popcorn will work with traps that keep the bait inside so when triggered the mouse is trapped. Using popcorn in other traps may prove useless because it is easy for the mice to get. You may need to try different types of bait to get the attention of the mouse; if one does not work, then go to the next one.

By far the most popular bait for a mouse trap is peanut butter. The naturally sticky nature of it combined with the nutty odor is a strong attractant to mice. Most people already have it in their cupboard so it is equally convenient.

A Mouse Can Have A Sweet Tooth
Using sweets will also work as bait. There are a lot of things that you can try like chocolate and gum. If you really want to get the best sweets for bait then use caramel. Caramel is sticky and can be irresistible to a mouse. You can also use cotton balls if you soak them in chocolate syrup or vanilla extract. The same things can be applied to toilet paper of tissue and they will be as effective. There are also plenty of mouse traps on the market which already include some sort of bait. It is not recommended that you use poison if you have pets in the house because mouse poison will have the same effect on a small dog. Households with children should also stay away from poisons.

Go back to the How to Get Rid of Mice home page.