Dog proofing and baiting a mousetrap? Edit - more help needed

elsien

Not strictly greenfingered, I know, but you guys are used to dealing with pests, and I thought I'd get crucified if I posted in the pet forum.:D

I have mouse droppings on my kitchen work surfaces. I contemplated using a humane trap but am told by those that have tried them that they are not effective.
So my questions are:
1) How much mess do the spring ones make - I'm not sure I want to be clearing mouse innards from my walls and microwave.
2) What do I bait them with?
c) Where is the best place to site it given that I have an extremely inquisitive dog that lives in the kitchen. I thought about taking the plates out of a cupboard and leaving it in there, assuming that it's coming up the back of the cupboards. The floor is pretty much out unless I can think of a way of keeping mutt's snoz out of harms way.

SailorSam

They don't make any mess, the spring goes down across the mouces back and just squashes it.
They generally run right against a wall, so place the trap right next to the skirting or kitchen plinth.
To stop your dog noseing at the trap try and put it inside some sort of pipe, maybe cut a plastic bottle to make a tunnel, and i know in the cartoons mice eat cheese but your better with a piece of apple or chocolate, maybe cake.

elsien

Thanks both.
DirtPoorGuy, how far away do you dump them once you've caught them? I've heard that the little blighters can make their way back from a distance of a few miles?
SailorSam - I like the plastic bottle idea - mutt's used to getting food from kongs so would probably regard it as a large toy but as long as she doesn't try to eat her way through it should be ok.
Reluctant though I am to sacrifice some of my choccy, I hate the thought of a mouse chewing its way through my kitchen.

Ambidou

Baiting them with Peanut butter has always worked for me, as for the mess, ive had no mice 'pop' as of yet, out of about 50 mice.

I always use mine under the cupboards, where the peice of wood normally pulls out, or behind the washing machine or freezer, just make sure to block them back up so your dog dosent get to them

Yorkie1

Peanut butter, tuna or chocolate for bait.

wallbash

Use A Humane trap ( with choc ) and take mice as far away as possible , yes to more than 200 yds.

valk_scot

The thing I don't like about spring traps is that I feel I have to get up and deal with it immediately if I hear one go off in the middle of the night. I remember at my mother's house going to check the traps in the morning and finding a chewed off tail in the trap, presumably done by the mouse itself to get free. I've also had to dispatch the odd terminal but still living victim. I don't much like either of these scenarios so if you don't want to have to kill the mouse yourself and unless you can rely on the dog to put the suffering mouse out of it's agony asap, get a humane trap. Or a cat? There's always the chance the cat may not be interested of course but most mice don't take the chance and morve onto safer pastures.

The other thing to do btw is to be scrupulous in the matter of sweeping up food debris, keep rubbish bins tightly closed and keep all your foodstuffs in tins or tupperware. Mice will move on if the food supply is very limited or non existent. And whatever you do, do it asap, before mousie produces or invites in the extended family for the winter.

tilly_willow

I always use a humane trap, and the old Tom & Jerry bait, cheese and its worked every time. Cats can be a boon or a bane. The reason we had to get the mice out was because the cat brought them in!! Didn't kill them, just wanted to play so was really miffed when the mice hid under a cupboards instead.

elsien

I've borrowed a couple of humane traps, so I'll give those a go to start with. I really don't fancy finishing off half dead mouses, and mutt is likely to be completely useless. The only food that is accessible is the 15 kg bag of dried dog food which I really have nowhere else to put. Unless they are likely to clamber up to my top cupboards?
(Does seem like a waste of good chocolate in the trap though.)

Off to brush up on my domestic skills - sigh.

wallbash

When my girls were very young , we had the mice problem . Small field mice, in the kitchen .
So I got a humane trap. One evening I caught three!. One day it was two at once ( in the same trap) But the girls 5 or 6 years old , had a routine . I had to first let the mice go , into a bucket so they could be observed . Then It was a walk up the road ( with them holding the bucket handle . towel over mice) to a field. Then let the mice go .

That was over 15 years ago , but thanks to the OP , brings back happy memories.

sirbrainy

Spring traps don't really make any mess at all.

You're better off killing them with a broken back than going down the humane route.

Dog food to blame, I bet. Get a plastic rubbish bin with a lid to keep it in?