House mice have always had close associations with mankind .... hence the name house mouse (!) but wood mice may also seek warmth and food in your house during the winter months.These enable you to capture the mice alive and release them in a suitable location remote from other houses. Note:- These are hobbyist pages, not commercial reviews, but they're based on practical experience and I hope you find them useful.
Trap-Ease is inexpensive, as it's basically a square section plastic box, angled to act as a counterbalance. The far end of the trap (the yellow section in the picture above) is baited with mouse attracting food such as peanuts or chocolate. The trap door is opened and the 'Trap-Ease' is placed parallel to a 'mouse run' such as skirting boards. Note:- If you place it in the middle of a floor it can spin round and trigger before the mouse is inside. After some experimentation we managed to catch two mice on two successive nights, but the third mouse eluded capture.
For the next three nights our furry friend managed to get the food without tripping the device. I still don't know how he did this. Maybe he had a heavier accomplice on the outside acting as a counter balance? On the fourth night he simply chewed his way in after the door had prematurely 'tripped' He then ate the food inside and crawled out through the hole he'd made earlier. That was the end of the 'Trap-Ease'. If you're lucky and maybe only have one mouse, and your mouse is not as quick witted as ours, this may well be all you need in the way of a humane mouse trap. |
As mice only weigh a few grams and the 'Trap-Ease' is made from opaque black plastic you can't necessarily tell if you've made a successful catch until the trap door is opened the next morning. I advise that you do this outside the house, with the mouse trap placed inside a deep sided plastic storage box and make sure that the box has a secure lid. You will be truly amazed at how high a mouse can jump. |  |
Additional tips:- Make sure that all other food in the immediate area has been removed. The mice are then much more likely to be tempted into your humane traps. Place the traps where mice will normally run i.e. close to and parallel to a wall. You must check traps regularly to avoid causing the animals any distress and turn the trap upside down when it's not in use. Release your mice in a remote location, away from other houses. Mice have a homing instinct and if you release them in your garden they will probably soon find their way back inside your home. Check to see how the mice are gaining access to your home. Although mice can squeeze through very small holes, do not consider blocking up air bricks as these are needed to ventilate your home and floor joists. If you take the mice in your car to release them, make sure that they're in a rigid (not cardboard) box that has a secure lid. If they escape inside your car and start to nest in there, then you have got real problems. You have been warned! Good luck.
