How to Make a Homemade Mousetrap

Although some prefer them as pets, most think of mice as pesky creatures. For those of us who would rather not keep them around, a trap is necessary. Times have changed. Either mice have gotten smarter, or humans have gotten dumber (more likely), but a mouse just won't fall for the cheese anymore. These steps will bring you up to speed on how to build a homemade trap at home (and save some money on cheese).

Difficulty: Moderate

Instructions

Trapping and Killing

1. Determine your tolerance. If you are brave enough to trap and kill mice, this section provides the quick and easy way to do so. If you have ethical issues with killing a mouse, move on to the next section.

2. Get a bucket or container that can hold at least five gallons and fill it three-quarters full of water. To make the killing process quicker, add dish soap to the water.

3. Place the bucket in the area of the yard or house where you are having the mouse problem.

4. Add a ramp to your bucket by resting a long piece of wood or plastic on the rim of the bucket. One end of the ramp should be on the ground, the other at the top of the bucket.

5. Drop seeds on the ramp and in the water. This is a key part of the mouse trap! Make sure you form an enticing trail with the seeds.

6. Check the bucket in the morning. A dead mouse will have drowned in the water if your mouse trap was successful. Dispose of the body and dump the water before trapping another mouse.

Building a Humane Mousetrap

7. Utilize this step if you want to trap a mouse and set it free.

8. Find a cardboard, wood or plastic shaped tube. The tube should be big enough for a mouse to crawl through. Toilet paper tubes work very well for this step! Take the tube and fold one side so it lays flat. The shape should be like a tunnel you would drive through on a road or train track.

9. Use a small table, a chair or a stool for this step. Move whatever you are using to the area where you plan to catch the mouse. Place the tunnel you have made on the end of the table so that 1/4 of the tube is on the table and 3/4 of the tube hangs off the end.

10. Stick a tall, heavyweight bucket or can directly underneath the area where you placed the tunnel on the table. The 3/4 end of the tunnel that is hanging off the end of the table should be right above the bucket.

11. Supply the end of your tunnel with some food. Seeds, cracker crumbs or peanut butter are all good options. Place this snack inside the tunnel, on the end that is hanging off the table.

12. Stay away from the mouse trap. A mouse will never fall for your tricks if you stand there waiting. Ever hear the saying, "A watched pot never boils?" Exactly. Leaving the trap overnight is a good idea. If your trap is successful, the mouse will run across the table, notice the food and head through the tunnel to retrieve it. Unfortunately for the mouse, the tunnel you set up is hanging off the end and the mouse will be top heavy. As he retrieves the food, he will tumble into the bucket. You can then dispose of the mouse humanely in an area far, far away from your home.

Tips & Warnings

• Make sure the water is high enough to be effective, but low enough so that it doesn't cast a reflection and distract the mouse. Also, if the water is too high, the mouse may be able to climb out.
• Adding too many seeds may cause your plan to backfire. Place your seeds strategically. You don't want a full mouse to turn around and walk back down the ramp.

[tennesseeman120]

on 9/10/2009 This worked very well. although i had to make slight modifications to the toilet paper roll for a rounded counter top. I took two toilet paper rolls, Cut a cross (+) on the top of one so the other could slide into it and make it one. i took a drill bit and scotch taped it to one end for counter weight so the "rig" wouldnt tip over on its own. then i scotch taped a toothpic to the other end extending beyond the end of the TP roll so incase the mouse was smart and strerched and didnt tip the TP roll it would try and try to get the peanut butter from the end of the toothpic. the mouse triped the trap quite a few times and got away but as soon as i made thes modifications i got him the next time. the food i used and it worked every time was peanut butter and grahm crackers. put a tiny bit of peanut butter on the end of the TP roll smush some grahm crackers into it and i smered a little p...

[ryanpace8]

on 10/25/2008 i put water in the bucket and that night i hard a splash so i ran in the kitchen and there was a dead mouse in the water.

[verysheri]

on 6/10/2008 OMG! This worked!!! We set up the humane version and literally caught the mouse within a half an hour. Great design! Thank you - I will sleep much better tonight now that a certain furry friend isn't romping around my bedroom.

[Lizha]

on 2/22/2008 I tried hanging 3/4 of the tube off the table and the weight of even half of a toilet paper tube hanging off causes the tube to fall. Only 1/3 of the tube can hang off of the table. When you add the weight of food to the end hanging off, it makes it even more unstable.

[Lizha]

on 2/22/2008 What? The first comment sounds silly to me. Mice are capable of carrying diseases as well. We ARE talking about mice here, not rats, although you can kill/catch those as well as you like. My house is infested with mice now. I think mouse poop on the stove and all over my dish rack is a health hazard, enough to consider the possibility of mouse drowning. I am an animal lover, by the way, but I also love my health.