smart mice, this means war?

Question

last night i had 3 traps each with peanutbutter set and this morning i had 3 set traps with no peanut butter.. this isnt the first time.. how do i get the trap to work better or what do i use?

Answer 1

Start by putting peanut butter on your traps without setting them. Let the mice have a couple of days of illusionary safety before setting the traps. Make sure you get plenty of peanut butter on the tang. If you just put it on the end, they can get it off without touching the tang.

I also place the traps in a position so that the mice have to crowd the tang and not stand back off the trap. Place the dangerous end about a 1/2" from the wall.

I assume you are using Victor or other quality trap and not something you bought at the dollar store.

Answer 2

This is gonna sound really goofy, but you can get these little tiny plastic live traps. They are rectangular, with a one way door. Put peanut butter on a wheat thin at the end. When they get to the food, the door has closed and they can't get out. Then just carry the trap a ways from your house and release the mouse (or mice, I've caught as many as 4 at once).

Answer 3

We are working on some smart mice too.

We have found the default setting of the trap is often too stable. If you are using a Victor or similar, that little strip of metal that bulges out to hold the hook down can be bent in slightly to be more sensitive. It's harder to get the hook caught, but it's much harder for the mouse to get the peanut butter.

Answer 4

Go and buy a Bit o' Honey candy bar. It is divided into six segments. Cut one segment in half, hold it in your hand to get it warmer, then bend it around the trigger of the mousetrap. Fold it into a ball around the end of the trigger. It is a semi-solid that does not get hard and crumbly after a few days like cheese. It is not soft like peanut butter. I have had traps coated with peanut butter licked clean and not set off. The Bit o' Honey is solid enough that they cannot lick it off. They will try and it is soooooooo good to them (try a bite yourself, you'll understand). They will try to bite into the Bit o' Honey and....WHAM!!! That's when they get their little heads crushed. The neat thing is that the Bit o' Honey will last and last. I have had traps that do not need re-baiting for an entire mouse season. They will goo up in very moist conditions.

Answer 5

get some sticky traps and put the peanut butter right in the center once they step on it they cant get off .we have never had a problem with mice till this year ,so i bought stickey traps the long ones and i have caught up to 3 at a time on them ,also this past weekend i caught a snake on one on my front porch ,really scared me but he could not get off the trap ,just glad i got it before it got into the house .good luck

Answer 6

These are probably small mice and they aren't heavy enough to spring the trap. You might have to use the sticky traps. I've had this same problem, especially in the fall when field mice are trying to find a place to live.

Answer 7

Try cheese r something like a nut maybe pecan to stick with peanut butter. It should b stuck to make them pull a little harder and the trap to go off. good luck.

Answer 8

Try glue traps. They are sticky. Put them against the wall. Mice run the walls. Husband was in Pest control over 20 years.

Answer 9

Oh, they can be smart - and fast. In another home we used to get field mice in the fall. Finally, my husband took a sm. piece of cookie and tied it with thread to the trap so that the mouse would have to pull hard to get the cookie. Worked like a charm.

Answer 10

My uncle used to fill a plastic bucket up with water and lay a yard stick up to the top as a ramp, and hang a piece of cheese just out of reach. It is cruel sounding, but if these mice are that smart, you may have to try something a bit more unconventional.