Mice

[DC]

I think we have at least one mouse wandering around our house. I've been after him/her(I hope not) for about a week. I have eight Victor traps out. I've tried peanut butter(licked clean except for the stuff under the trigger), pretzels(ignored), Tootsie Rolls(ignored in the house but I did catch a rat with it in the crawl space) and tonight I'm trying sunflower seeds hot glued to the trigger. Funny thing is the only thing we've noticed is that they've chewed off houseplants. A Ti plant. a Jade plant and a cactus of some kind. They have also pulled off some carpet close to a crack between the wall and the floor. The crack is only about 1/8" by 3", too small for them to go through. Our gut feeling is that they/it are trying to get out. Any thoughts? It's starting to get to me. I sure wouldn't make any money as a trapper

[Pat B]

I use the same trap with a piece of dry dog food wired to the trigger also cheese squished into the trigger. Both work good.  I tried hot glue but nothing messed with it.
 Oh, by the way, you never have just one mouse. 

[Hawkdancer]

They can get through a very small crease!  I agree with Pat B, there isn't ever only one!  Ham fat spread on the trigger works, just enough to encourage a firm hit!  Keep a trap line loaded!
Hawkdancer

[willie]

put the end of trap against the wall. the end without the bait.

[Mesophilic]

I use the sticky traps with a smidge of peanut butter in the center.  Never failed to catch a mouse yet with that combo.

Yeah, they're single use, but with my temperament, I'd be punching holes in the walls and baseboards with a pellet gun by now in an attempt to shoot the darn things.

[GlisGlis]

try the rolling can trap
it's DIY and it's very difficult to pick the peanutbutter without falling in

[chamookman]

I super glued a chunk of Frito on the Pan- took 4 in a row  ! Bob

[JEB]

Couple of ways I do it around the hunting camp.

super glue  a kernel of corn to the trap catch. They can't steal it on you.

take a gallon ice cream bucket and fill it half full of water. Sprinkle sun flower seeds on to the water. place it near a wall and lay a board on an angle to it. 

Both of these have worked real good. I don't have them inside the cabin but in the out house and other buildings.

I also take rat traps and screw them to a tree, super glue corn to the catch to get rid of the red squirrels.   

[bjrogg]

Maybe you need to ask outback about his figure 4 deadfall on page 2 of primitive section. He’s doing pretty good thinning the herd.
Bjrogg

[osage outlaw]

Adopt a cat from the pound.

[Marc St Louis]

They can get through a very small crease!  I agree with Pat B, there isn't ever only one!  Ham fat spread on the trigger works, just enough to encourage a firm hit!  Keep a trap line loaded!
Hawkdancer

There can be only one...if you've already caught the other one :-)

I use a raisin stuffed into the hole at the end of the trigger then peanut butter slathered over that.

[DC]

Has anyone run across them eating houseplants? I searched Google and the best I can find is that they will dig in the soil around the plant but I couldn't find anything about them eating the plant. It's a strange behaviour to me.

[mullet]

I wire a small piece of Bologna on with peanut butter on the trigger then dribble honey over it. Works every time.

[PEARL DRUMS]

Sticky traps are fail proof. I put a peanut or almond right in the middle. 100% success.

[Hummingbird Point]

For mice nothing is better than the old fashioned snap traps.  Bait with salami or pepperoni, stuck into the bait hook on the pan, or if no hook, tie down with dental floss.  Set against the wall as willie says, placement is very important the biggest mistake most people make.

But:  Mice can't help but leave droppings everywhere they go and are very easy to catch, so combined with the fact that you caught a rat in the crawlspace, I don't think you are chasing a mouse.  Norway rats are hard to trap (roof rats not so much).  A rat sized snap trap set the same as above for mice may work.  I usually just poison rats and accept the fact that I may be looking for a smelly corpse a few weeks later.  The trap I have found that actually works the best for them is a chipmunk/squirrel sized live (cage) trap baited with oil type sunflower seeds (bird seed) or dry pet food.  Of course, you then have a live rat to deal with...