Help me catch this extremely bouncy mouse!
February 1, 2021 3:33 AM Subscribe
There are field mice living in my backyard. Usually that's not a problem but just lately two of them have started coming into my house. Someone has been trimming the fringe off my Kelim carpet so I suspect they are building nests and I can soon expect to see a few more little ones running about.
I'm in South Africa, and these are Four Striped Mice. They are indigenous and I don't want to hurt or stress them too much but I don't think it's practical to allow them free range in my house. They are also remarkably cute.
I managed to catch one by trapping her under a container and released her in a wild spot far from here. But so far the other one is avoiding my attempts. I tried the "balancing a stick on a bucket" method, which worked, but she jumps remarkably high and simply leapt right out of the bucket as if she was on springs. To my husband's extreme amusement. He saw the whole thing.
She's slower than a domestic mouse, and only seems to be able to see me when I move. She trotted right up to my husband where he was sitting it the garden and nibbled on his toe. You'd think this would mean she's easy to catch but so far I haven't managed it.
I've tried to make sure there is no food she can reach, but she's clearly smelling my rats' food (keeps popping up around their cage, which they don't approve of at all) and my budgies scatter their seed about so it's nearly impossible to ensure there's nothing to tempt her into the house.
I've seen various tutorials for diy live-catch traps online, but do any of them really work? I'd love to hear from people who have actually had success with one of these diy traps. We're limited in what we can buy as we are under lockdown and, you know, in South Africa so not easy to buy things from Amazon etc.
I'm in South Africa, and these are Four Striped Mice. They are indigenous and I don't want to hurt or stress them too much but I don't think it's practical to allow them free range in my house. They are also remarkably cute.
I managed to catch one by trapping her under a container and released her in a wild spot far from here. But so far the other one is avoiding my attempts. I tried the "balancing a stick on a bucket" method, which worked, but she jumps remarkably high and simply leapt right out of the bucket as if she was on springs. To my husband's extreme amusement. He saw the whole thing.
She's slower than a domestic mouse, and only seems to be able to see me when I move. She trotted right up to my husband where he was sitting it the garden and nibbled on his toe. You'd think this would mean she's easy to catch but so far I haven't managed it.
I've tried to make sure there is no food she can reach, but she's clearly smelling my rats' food (keeps popping up around their cage, which they don't approve of at all) and my budgies scatter their seed about so it's nearly impossible to ensure there's nothing to tempt her into the house.
I've seen various tutorials for diy live-catch traps online, but do any of them really work? I'd love to hear from people who have actually had success with one of these diy traps. We're limited in what we can buy as we are under lockdown and, you know, in South Africa so not easy to buy things from Amazon etc.
Response by poster: Bucket is 16 inches deep (40cm)
posted by Zumbador at 3:56 AM on February 1, 2021
posted by Zumbador at 3:56 AM on February 1, 2021
Okay, that's taller than the American version, which is about 14.5-15.6 inches high. (Though the taller dimension was probably with lid)
I stand corrected, HALF inch of water, not 1 inch, as above, or even lower.
If you prefer NOT to use water, sawdust or other soft material should also work, gives them almost no footing to jump. And if you want to make ABSOLUTELY SURE, grease the sides with cooking oil/spray.
>One of the crucial things to remember when setting up a mouse trap bucket is that you want to prevent escape, but you also don’t want to drown the mice. This is why it’s recommended you put one-quarter to one-half inch of water (no more) or sawdust in the bottom of the bucket. This will prevent chewing through the bucket, and in the case of the water, will also hinder efforts to jump out. Greasing the sides of the bucket with cooking oil will prevent mice from clawing up the sides.
Advice from https://www.wildliferemoval.com/best-mice-trap-bucket/
posted by kschang at 4:05 AM on February 1, 2021 [1 favorite]
I stand corrected, HALF inch of water, not 1 inch, as above, or even lower.
If you prefer NOT to use water, sawdust or other soft material should also work, gives them almost no footing to jump. And if you want to make ABSOLUTELY SURE, grease the sides with cooking oil/spray.
>One of the crucial things to remember when setting up a mouse trap bucket is that you want to prevent escape, but you also don’t want to drown the mice. This is why it’s recommended you put one-quarter to one-half inch of water (no more) or sawdust in the bottom of the bucket. This will prevent chewing through the bucket, and in the case of the water, will also hinder efforts to jump out. Greasing the sides of the bucket with cooking oil will prevent mice from clawing up the sides.
Advice from https://www.wildliferemoval.com/best-mice-trap-bucket/
posted by kschang at 4:05 AM on February 1, 2021 [1 favorite]
Response by poster: I just tried a much deeper bucket (54cm) and it looks as if she somehow got out of that. Not sure because I didn't see it happening.
posted by Zumbador at 4:57 AM on February 1, 2021
posted by Zumbador at 4:57 AM on February 1, 2021
I recently used traps called Mice Cubes which have a one way entry and allow easy transport to a new location. They may not be available but check what's at hardware stores, there may be a similar product
posted by theora55 at 5:00 AM on February 1, 2021 [3 favorites]
posted by theora55 at 5:00 AM on February 1, 2021 [3 favorites]
Similar to theora55 and not a DIY solution, but I tried several catch-and-release mouse traps when we had mice in the house. I wasn't sure which model would work, so I bought several online. But the only ones that worked for me were Tomcat Live Catch Mouse Traps, which I purchased from a big-box hardware store. The online ones didn't catch a single mouse.
I put a small dab of peanut butter at the end of the trap, set multiple traps along the walls in our kitchen, and caught all our mice. These same traps worked the next year when we had more mice. (Make sure to find the mouse entrance and properly seal it.)
I was very pleased with how well these catch-and-release traps worked. Good luck!
posted by cursed at 10:08 AM on February 1, 2021 [2 favorites]
I put a small dab of peanut butter at the end of the trap, set multiple traps along the walls in our kitchen, and caught all our mice. These same traps worked the next year when we had more mice. (Make sure to find the mouse entrance and properly seal it.)
I was very pleased with how well these catch-and-release traps worked. Good luck!
posted by cursed at 10:08 AM on February 1, 2021 [2 favorites]
If she's comfortable-ish around people, you might be able to use a drop trap, or a deep bucket trap with you watching and popping a cover on once she falls in.
posted by amtho at 11:42 AM on February 1, 2021
posted by amtho at 11:42 AM on February 1, 2021
If you use a little live trap (available in the US at our big box hardware stores) peanut butter seems to be a great bait. I guess assuming there is peanut butter where you are.
posted by WalkerWestridge at 12:21 PM on February 1, 2021
posted by WalkerWestridge at 12:21 PM on February 1, 2021
We've had excellent luck with the Tin Cat style of trap, with peanut butter on crackers as the bait. It works by tempting the mouse into the space through a passage that only lets them pass in one direction. Do you have access to a local equivalent?
posted by past unusual at 12:50 PM on February 1, 2021
posted by past unusual at 12:50 PM on February 1, 2021
Drat! I post and realize that I didn't answer your specific question.
We've also had some luck in our garage with a DIY bucket, using a peanut butter-baited mouse roller and a ramp up to the roller. It sounds like you could do the same in an even more DIY fashion by drilling holes in the container and attaching a dowel using screws. Then you could use a much higher container, perhaps with some kind of slippery treatment on the sides as kschang suggested.
However, I have to emphasize that I only consider this somewhat successful in that the mice seem to not be surviving this trap to be rereleased. We have a very small amount of water in the bottom, but not enough to drown them. The fall shouldn't be doing it either because it's not very far. My best guess is that the fall + being trapped has scared them to death. So, from that standpoint, I definitely prefer the Tin Cat which has been completely successful in the live part of live trapping.
posted by past unusual at 1:04 PM on February 1, 2021 [1 favorite]
We've also had some luck in our garage with a DIY bucket, using a peanut butter-baited mouse roller and a ramp up to the roller. It sounds like you could do the same in an even more DIY fashion by drilling holes in the container and attaching a dowel using screws. Then you could use a much higher container, perhaps with some kind of slippery treatment on the sides as kschang suggested.
However, I have to emphasize that I only consider this somewhat successful in that the mice seem to not be surviving this trap to be rereleased. We have a very small amount of water in the bottom, but not enough to drown them. The fall shouldn't be doing it either because it's not very far. My best guess is that the fall + being trapped has scared them to death. So, from that standpoint, I definitely prefer the Tin Cat which has been completely successful in the live part of live trapping.
posted by past unusual at 1:04 PM on February 1, 2021 [1 favorite]
Response by poster: To report back - past unusual's warning about the mice possibly dying from stress of falling into a high bucket made me put aside that particular plan. In the end I managed to catch her by hand, just by herding her into a container. I released her in a wild spot quite far from here. I do hope she survives. I kind of miss having her zipping around.
My other option was to get a humane trap from the local small animal rescue organisation but that turned out not to be necessary.
posted by Zumbador at 9:17 AM on February 8, 2021 [2 favorites]
My other option was to get a humane trap from the local small animal rescue organisation but that turned out not to be necessary.
posted by Zumbador at 9:17 AM on February 8, 2021 [2 favorites]
This thread is closed to new comments.
With that said, how big is your bucket? Is it equivalent to the American 5-gallon bucket/pail?
With that said, let's just say some mice are really strong jumpers.
posted by kschang at 3:47 AM on February 1, 2021 [1 favorite]