Mouse Traps

Summary: As in most things, there is an art in setting the simple mouse trap. It's true! You cannot expect to catch a mouse if you do not understand the basics.

The classic mouse trap, known as the Victor snap trap is made up of a rectangular piece of pine, a coil spring with a u-shaped bar (the “killing” bar) and a small, flat piece of metal called the "trigger" plate. The “killing” bar is pulled back and secured in place in place by a small rod that rests on the trigger plate. Any disturbance to the trigger plate instantly releases the holding rod and the “killing” bar snaps with a resounding crack. None of this happens, of course, unless the trap is placed properly.

Mice have

poor eyesight so they use their whiskers and body hair to guide them as they run along walls. Therefore, if you put out traps in the middle of the floor the only thing likely to be caught is your toe. Traps must be placed flush against the wall or the rodent will run past it as if it does not exist.

The next trick is placing the snap trap perpendicular to the wall, not parallel. For those of you who flunked geometry that means place the trap so that it makes a “T” when it is sitting along the wall. Place the trap so the trigger is closest to the wall.

If you place the trap long-wise against the wall you have reduced the trap's effectiveness by fifty-percent. You want the trigger to be accessible from either direction. If the trap is placed long-wise with, for example, the trigger to the right, a rodent approaching from the left will encounter the trap on the side without the trigger. Should the trap be bumped by the rodent, it will go off harmlessly and that rodent will forever remember to avoid anything that resembles that trap.