Clear Your Home Of Pests With The Best Mouse Trap

Without a doubt, a mice infestation is a nuisance. Although capable of carrying disease via parasites, they’re mostly just annoying to have around, and if they get into a food supply, they can soil and ruin it. Once established, mice breed quickly, so it’s best to eliminate these pests as fast as possible, or they can (and will) overwhelm a household or business.

Invented in the 1890’s, the original snap-trap is a spring-loaded wire arm mounted to a piece of wood, snaps shut on the neck of a feeding mouse, killing it instantly. The trap can then be reloaded with bait, the arm reset, and the trap can be used again and again.

In the decades since, people have been trying to re-engineer and build a better mouse trap. To that end, there are a host of designs available from the classic manual trap to high tech electronic mouse trap options. You'll have to figure out what type works best for your situation, but if in doubt, simply start off with the familiar and easy to use snap trap.

Mouse Trap Types

Manual/Snap

All manual traps begin with the ubiquitous snap trap. The differences between these snap-trap types are nearly endless, with some having baited platforms that snap together, some that snap downwards and some that snap upwards, some are made to be used in a horizontal position and some are used in a vertical orientation.

Some of these are built to be disposable, so that you throw both the mouse and the trap away. Others have an easy-release mechanism so you can quickly dispose of the mouse and reset the trap. There are many variations of this type of trap, but they all use a spring loaded trigger system so that when the mouse takes the bait, the trap springs shut.

All snap traps have a spring loaded arm or a platform, propelled by a spring. They will feature some sort of bait cup or a bait station which triggers the spring when it’s disturbed as the mouse feeds. You’ll always need to physically set the trap by pulling back on the spring mechanism after the bait has been placed on the bait station. They must be placed around known areas of mice infestation and require regular checks, often several times per day.

Mice rarely become trap wary, which is why one trap placed in the same place will often continue to catch mice. But it is always a good idea to change the location of the trap when a few mice have been caught, just in case.

Live Traps

Live traps also come in many variations as well. Because mice are so small, these are essentially specialty traps that can only be used for mice. All of these different types lure a mouse into a trap using bait or scented food drops, and when the mouse takes the bait, a door closes behind them.

These live catch and release traps have many shapes and designs, but they all are essentially a small rectangular container where the bait is placed at the far end. A mouse enters one side, which is on the ground, and when it goes to get the bait, it passes over a fulcrum. The balance then shifts to the other side, rocking the original end off the ground and closing a trap door behind it.

Once the mouse is caught, you can release it alive and unharmed into an area away from your home or business, or you can humanely dispose of it. You may have to rinse out the trap before reusing it but this trap will continue to work over and over again.

Using a live trap means dealing with a live mouse once it is caught. However, if you are against killing mice for any reason, these are the only traps to use that will virtually guarantee that a mouse is captured unhurt and unharmed.

Electronic Traps

The newest type of mouse traps, electronic types are made to use food or pheromone drops as bait. These traps are boxy or can-shaped with an open end and a closed end. The mouse travels inside, goes to where the bait has been placed and once at the bait station, an electronic current is passed into the mouse, killing it.

Electronic mouse trap comes as either plug-in models or battery operated types. These traps must be checked regularly but some models feature an exterior light-up bulb when the trap has terminated a mouse. This feature makes them easy to check from a distance, and once a mouse has been caught, it can be quickly disposed of by dumping it out the open end.

Automatic Traps

These traps are best used for larger infestations because they can hold a multitude of mice before they need to be emptied, making them a staple in commercial settings where mice can be a problem. Large and bulky, these traps work best when placed on mouse runs where mice congregate. Live bait is used and pheromone drops will also work well to lure the mouse inside. Once captured, the mice can be released or disposed of humanely.

Automatic traps typically feature a spring-loaded platform which flings mice inside of the trap when it is disturbed. The scent of food and the scurrying mice inside attract other mice so that they keep stepping on the platform and continue to get trapped.

Since these are repeating traps, the spring is wound up so it can catch mouse after mouse without being checked or emptied. These traps re-set themselves and will catch one to two dozen mice before they need to be wound up again.

Glue Traps

These traps are generally square shaped and coated with a gluey substance. They can either be baited by placing the bait directly in the center of the trap or available pre-baited with a pheromone scent added into the glue. Sticky traps are made to be disposable, and in most cases, they will only catch one mouse at a time.

Once caught, the mouse will still be alive, and they should be disposed of in a humane manner. However, many people simply throw the trap (and the mouse) away; the mouse goes on to perish from exposure, dehydration, or starvation.

Wildlife organizations, such as PETA and the RSPCA have condemned the use of these glue traps and several business organizations throughout the country, including the Charles Schwab Corporation, have banned these traps in their facilities.

What About Mouse Poisons?

If you're feeling overwhelmed by an infestation, it can be tempting to use mouse poison to try to control the overall population. While there are a variety of mouse poison products available, we firmly recommend against using any of them. Many of these poisons rely on substances that have been banned for consumer use in several states, so they're not always universally available.

Beyond that, there's simply no way to predict where the mouse will be when it finally dies from ingesting the poison. Mice will retreat to their nesting area when they feel threatened, and they tend to find quiet places that are well beyond reach - even to professionals. A dead mouse will begin to decompose eventually, and the stench will permeate the walls of your home and will possibly be a bigger nuisance than the mouse itself.

Another problem is that mice are a popular food source for many predators, including ones you might not normally think about: hawks, owls, and even rarely-seen animals such as foxes or mountain lions. The poison that kills the mouse won't expire with the rodent, and will continue to remain active and deadly to any other creature that consumes it. While the mouse may be dead, the poison will continue to work its way up the food chain and sicken or kill everything else it comes into contact with. Beyond other wild animals, these poisons can also present a danger to your own pets.

If the above traps aren't as effective as you need them to be, we recommend contacting a professional instead of experimenting with mouse poisons.