"Magic" Mouse Bait

I know there are mice about as my dogs are sniffing the car tires.

But three nights of peanut butter and snap traps equaled NADA. Not even a nibble.

Changed strategy last night and caught three. Will try again tonight with the same "cheesy" bait (I have Nutella in the bullpen if the Fritos fade).

 

I will put oatmeal in the rotation

 

Added an old live trap to the mix this evening.. Quit using it a few years ago as it had stopped being effective. We will see

 

All our structures are pretty much rodent proof. It is the cars, such as the Prius they go after. Traps put out at dark, brought in before sunrise.

 

Nine traps set last night, zero touched. Used three old traps and two totally new new design Victor brand and two totally new design intruder brand and two total new design Tomcat brand.
kris

 

First< I don't believe the human smell thing -- but I have been wrong before. Rodents should be used to human smell indicating food. But,maybe, just maybe, mice in very rural locations such as mine, but, if the human smell is a thing, why do they love to get in cars, which must reek of human to their sensitive noses


So, I put out nine traps at 7 p.m.Tuesday. A few around the house perimeter and the rest around the tires of the Outback, which is where the dogs had alerted. It had been dark since about 5:30 p.m. Checked around 8 p.m. and nothing. Checked around 10 p.m. and one mouse in the "Nutella" trap along the house -- a Victor trap one of the older traps:



Checked around Midnight and nothing. Got up at my usual 5 a.m. and one mouse in the new Intruder trap next to a tire; bait was Nutella:

Traps collected and put away.

As for the cheap, old wooden traps with the bail and pedal Years ago they worked fine. Then they did not, and the mice were stealing the bait constantly. I don't know if Victor changed how they made them or not, but I had to start altering the part of the trip where the bail catches to make it smaller and more sensitive and it was not an exact science with my pliers. Some of them I ruined, others I made too sensitive and they would catch me as I tried to bait and other times they would seemingly just spring shut on their own. Anyway, not good. So, switched to the plastic ones that I have in the first picture here. They work great and I have had bait stolen only once.

However, someone mentioned here that maybe mice became timid if a trap was used too often, So, I went out a couple of days ago and bought two newer models -- one of them the Intruder, pictured above. Seems to work!

I have also tried a number of others over the years -- fake yellow cheese -- tunnel with trap doors at each end -- but in the end, I like the Victor in the top picture best and it is the one I recommend -- but the Intruder is interesting. Also, Tomcat makes decent traps and they make a somewhat clone of the Victor that I like.

The Quick Kill: I also bought this Victor -- it is very sensitive -- but have caught no mice in it yet, but it has only been in use for a few days


I will put traps out for a few more nights, but I won't report back unless something strange happens -- oh, so far the live trap has caught nothing.