O/T Explain water bucket mouse trap

McMimmcs

McMimmcs

Well-known member
Please explain how you build the 5 gallon pail with water mouse trap. Conventional, glue and electronic not working. Mice chewed on Irish spring soap and built a nest out of dryer sheets. Help please.
 
Lots of methods out there. Basically 'walking the plank' until the weight shifts enough to where they fall in the bucket.
 

Attachments

  • 5-gal trap.jpeg
    5-gal trap.jpeg
    24.3 KB · Views: 63
I second your drier sheet comment (doesn't work). I'm trying repellent (pic attached) currently.
 

Attachments

  • rodent repellent.jpg
    rodent repellent.jpg
    6 KB · Views: 401
Drill two holes about an eighth of an inch diameter on each side of the bucket about an inch below the rim so a straight metal rod / wire goes across the top of the bucket. Punch a hole in each end of a soda can so the metal rod / wire can pass through the soda can. Set it up so the soda can is centered on the rod over the center of the bucket. Put some water or antifreeze mix in the bottom of the bucket at least a few inches deep. Smear some peanut butter on the can.
Prop a two by four or such on the edge of the bucket making a ramp so the mice can climb up. Mice will jump from the board to the can. Can spins and mouse falls into bottom of bucket. You can smear a thin bit of peanut butter on the board to entice them up.

Leave the bucket empty if you want to take the mice someplace to release them.
 
I found this one already made, still works, no need getting fancy
 

Attachments

  • IMG_2586.jpg
    IMG_2586.jpg
    33.5 KB · Views: 151
A day before you set the traps, epoxy a roasted almond in place of peanut butter. The P.B. goes sour in a few short days and mice will be repelled from it. Can't tell you how many mice I've caught in one snap trap and they never get away with the almond. Buy USA made Victor wooden snap traps. This also works with the bucket/spinning can trap, but you'll need to epoxy on equal distance nuts to balance the can.
 
Two comments: First, the mice get into the garage where your car is by small holes in the perimeter. It may be impossible to close up the holes because of the construction of the garage, but a metal building with concrete slab and tight fitting garage door may be the best solution. Our basement is wide open on one end where the hoses from the heat exchanger run so that is were our mice get in. I have lots of mouse bait under stuff that is stored there where the dogs cannot get to it.

Second: Lots of people have advocated using cats to control mice. If you decide to go that route, do not use the mouse bait as the cats can get sick eating mice that have been poisoned.
 
Thank you everyone for the responses. I’ve learned! Unfortunately I have lots of cars and I own a rodeo arena which is a pole barn approximately 60’ by 220’. Trying to keep the rodents out is a major chore. Wayne[/B]
 
Years back I built a 5 gal pail mouse trap using an old paint roller with peanut butter smeared on the roller. I had some water in the bottom of the pail to drown the sky diving mice.

It was placed outdoors just on the outside of my garage door. Boy did it work great!!! Then my wife asked me if I was actually attracting more mice to our house and suggested I move it way way away from the house and garage. Her logic is like for those electronic neon bug zappers. It attracts all of the bugs to your house so your best bet is to buy a bug zapper for your next door neighbor to use. So I quit using it.

I did buy some electronic rodent repellent gizmos made in China and sold by Amazon. I haven't seen any critters yet so maybe they actually work..
 
I won't say much more than this: Urine. Have a few drinks of something and repel them yourself. They don't want to be around people.
 
They usually move too fast to piss on
Carb cleaner gets them high, they pass out for a while, then get back up
Brake clean will kill them. --- I don't use brake Kleen anymore
Once bought a whole case of bait boxes, left a few on top of stool, the whole package disappeared, many years later found them under the heater, rat ate 5 whole boxes finally died
 
Last edited:
The dryer sheets only work if they are BOUNCE. You would think it does not matter, but it does.

I had to giggle at some of these.
 
Last edited:
I tried to teach some of our local squirrels to swim. I trapped them in a commercial wire trap and transferred them into a small swimming pool, kinda like a 30 gallon oil drum. Those stupid things never learned to swim a stroke, unfortunately I lost them all.
 
I've had quite a chuckle reading this thread.
There is a mouse plague in some of the more northern areas of he country now. The ground moves with the little buggers and the under side of cars is covered in goo.
During the last plague, I set up a trap on my father in law's farm using a bottle over a 44 gallon drum (55 gallons to you guys) about 1/2 full of water. I mounted the bottle with the neck pointing down so a mouse couldn't get traction to climb back up it and put a bait in the neck of the bottle. I once saw it so full that mice were landing on so many others that they were able to scamper out again. Most nights would see at least 12 -18 inches of dead mice in the bottom of the drum. We dug a hole in the paddock behind the house to dispose of them and filled it in later. The tree we planted nearby is still going gangbusters!
 
I can vouch for the bucket/roller design. I quit counting after trapping over 20 mice in less than a year in the house. Once we had them cleaned out of the area, we have had very few. Then I had infestation in the garage last year. This is a separate building from the house. I cleaned up 4 nests and washed down the workbench with bleach. It was a mess. I had not set up the bucket/roller trap previous to this. I set up the bucket trap and got the nesting pair right away. Then I got a small mouse after that. Now I have had no mice in the garage. The bucket makes it easy to dispose of also. I highly recommend this approach--no poison.
 
Bucket traps need to be deep when it's freezing out or they'll jump out... 3" of water works wonders normally but don't let them float for too long or they get to stinky. :)
 
Ranchero50 said:
Bucket traps need to be deep when it's freezing out or they'll jump out... 3" of water works wonders normally but don't let them float for too long or they get to stinky. :)
Click to expand...


Try antifreeze or oil. Need to keep pets away since antifreeze is poisonous. Maybe use something like chicken wire around the pail.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top