Do Live Mousetraps Really Work?

I am not particularly fond of mice or rodents of any size or variety, but I do not want to kill anything unnecessarily, and when I discovered evidence of mice in my attached finished garage I decided to look into non-lethal ways to get rid of them. I thought back to the days when I used regular spring-loaded mousetraps many years ago, and I decided this was not how I wanted to solve the problem. Years ago I would have used classic spring mousetraps, but I am no longer the person who did not care if a hungry mouse died a horrific death in a spring-loaded trap. I have become kinder and more sensitive over the years, and if I could get rid of the mouse problem without killing the mice, that was what I wanted to do. Mice come into homes and garages looking for food and shelter, and I could not justify killing them just because they sought the necessities of life just like every other living creature. Before deciding that live mousetraps are not a good way to get rid of potentially disease-carry rodents, and before deciding live moustraps could never work, read the entire piece before making an assumption.

My husband suggested dropping poison into the crawlspace where they were nesting, but I did not consider poison for even a second. Death caused by poison is slow and painful, and besides the cruelty of the severe pain and agony a poisoned mouse suffers, I did not want to risk exposing my cats or my dog to poisoned mouse carcasses or bits of poisoned food. I opted for live mousetraps, but I wondered if the live mousetraps would work. Live mousetraps sounded like a great idea – if they would work as indicated on the packaging, and for $1.59 each, it was a chance I was willing to take. I purchased the Mice Cube, made by Pied Piper International from Walmart, and the following information details my personal experience with two of these simple yet innovative live mousetraps.

Getting Rid of Food Sources Before Setting Live Mousetraps

It did not take long to realize why mice were attracted to my garage. My husband placed a bag of grass seed and two open bags of bird seed on a garage shelf during the warm months of summer, and this free food was within easy reach of mice. In addition, the concrete blocks that support our garage lead straight to the crawlspace beneath the house, and the blocks have exposed openings that provide easy access from the garage. The mice could nest beneath the house in a warm dry environment and come up to the garage for food. The mice could not have found a better place to call home. The first step in solving the mouse problem was getting rid of the food source before setting the live mousetraps. If any open sources of food remained, the live mousetraps would not work.

Setting the Live Mousetraps

Live mousetraps like the variety made by Pied Piper International consist of a smoked gray tinted hard plastic rectangular cube with a hard plastic door that only opens from the outside. The door is too large for the opening, and it cannot open when the cube is in an upright position. It rests at an angle in a closed position, no matter how hard the mouse tries to escape. They can get in, but when they decide they have had their fill, they cannot get out unless they are able to turn the cube over, and when I set the first trap I made a mistake in placement. It did not work because the mouse was able to turn it over and escape. I devised another plan that would no-doubt work. I placed the live mousetraps on the bottom shelf where the seed used to be located, and I placed them between heavy bottles.

Placing food in the traps is not enough to entice hungry mice. They have to know the food is available or the live mousetraps will not work, and using something that smells enticing is important. I set my live mousetraps with one small cheese-flavored cracker with a little peanut butter in each, and I placed the peanut butter-covered crackers in the backs of the live mousetraps to prevent the mice from entering partway and backing out with the food. In order for live mousetraps to work it is also important to entice the rodents by smearing peanut butter on the door. For the live mousetraps to work, all it takes is a small amount. Also, the peanut butter on the outside of the door must be wiped away to leave behind nothing but an enticing scent that will work to draw them in.

Live Mousetraps Catch Mice of All Ages and Sizes

The day after my husband removed the birdseed from the garage I began catching mice in the live mousetraps. I must admit I was amazed. The live mousetraps really did work. Initially I had my doubts, and I was not confident the live moustraps would ever work. The first catch netted three small mice in the same mousetrap. I was shocked to see three sets of brown beady eyes looking back at me, and I was glad I chose live mousetraps over spring-loaded traps or poison. They were very young mice, and they were as cute as could be. I immediately took them to the park, well away from any homes, and I released them into piles of oak leaves that had collected along a chain-link fence.

Since getting rid of the birdseed in my garage just one week ago I have caught nine mice. From cute babies to a pregnant mama, I have caught and released them all, and I am thrilled that the live mousetraps work. The last mouse was the largest and heaviest of all. It was a male and probably the mate of the adult female that was captured and the father of the babies. I imagined him waiting for his mate to come back with dinner while lounging in the nest. He eventually had to come out to find out where everyone went and find his own dinner.

Some may say that live mousetraps are not the solution and that disease-carrying mice would take over our homes if we did not kill them, but I disagree. I do not have to kill the mice I catch to keep their population under control. It is not my obligation to kill them. Yes, I realize they carry diseases, and they pose a serious health risk when not removed, but live mousetraps work to keep mice out of areas where people reside. Creatures including cats and coyotes also must eat, and nature will take its course.

I will always use live mousetraps over the cruel mousetraps, and I will not have to feel bad about killing living creatures that were simply looking for a filling meal and a place to stay warm. Live mousetraps really do work, and best of all they can be used over and over again. Try Mice Cube live mousetraps, and find out how easy it is to catch and release wayward mice.