The best way to cope with a mouse infestation in your home is by setting a trap. Be it an old-fashioned snap trap or its modern counterpart, knowing how to set a trap and where exactly to place it will go a long way toward ridding your house of mice.
It also prevents further damage, thus giving you a clean and safe space to live in. This guide provides simple steps to ensure your traps are placed in the most effective locations, helping you get rid of mice quickly and efficiently.
Step 1: Get Prepared With the Essentials
We can understand your irritation and headache. Mice are the real nuisance rodents, destroying your property in no matter time. It is mandatory to take effective action against these creatures as soon as possible.
But before you decide to take any action against the mice, you need to be aware of some essentials that you should possess. You will be requiring baits to attract the mouse, gloves to keep away the human scent from the trap, and trash bags along with the chosen mouse traps. Get prepared well!
Step 2: Be Aware Of Different Elements of Mouse Trap
You should make yourself familiar with the different elements of a snap trap before setting it up. If you observe closely, you will find elements like a kill bar, pedal, and armbar on it. The kill bar is a rectangular-shaped bar loaded with a spring to snap and kill the rat.
Similarly, the pedal is a metal piece that springs the trap whenever the mice step on it, and the armbar is a thin wire metal that is hooked on the pedal to hold the kill bar. These days, plastic pedals and springs are also seen incorporated in the snap mouse trap.
Step 3: Begin By Removing the Staple
After being aware and familiar with the different components of the snap traps, you can then proceed to set them up at the preferred location. It is suggested to initiate the process by identifying the armbar and staple of the trap.
Once located, you should remove the staple that holds the armbar. The armbar is usually stapled on the left side of the trap, you need to pull up the armbar to remove the staple and drape the armbar behind the trap. Don't worry, this is quite easy to achieve once you lay your hands on the mouse trap.
After arranging the armbar at the back, you need to look out for the right mouse trap bait such as peanut butter in your kitchen. A whole lot is not necessary, you can simply dap a pea-sized amount of peanut butter on the pedal using a convenient tool such as a toothpick or swap.
Carefully spread the peanut butter on the top portion of the pedal. Keep in mind not to use your finger to place the bait on the pedal, you might end up carrying the scent of mousetrap. Baits such as peanut butter, candy, hot dogs, wet pet foods, nuts, and bird seeds are considered best for attracting mice toward your trap.
Step 5: Pull and Grip Kill Bar
At this point, you are halfway to setting up the snap trap for the mouse. Once the butter has been placed on the pedal, the kill bar needs to be pulled and gripped. You should remember the kill bar is loaded with a spring, so you may have to use your thump giving some extra effort to pull it up.
Once pulled, try to flip the bar completely to the opposite of the trap toward the side of the armbar. You need to keep pressing and holding the kill bar with your thumb, making sure the bar doesn't return to its original position.
If you look more closely at the pedal, you will find a hole to hook the armbar. You can make use of your hands to flip the armbar over the rectangular bar. After that, the curved end of the armbar needs to go into the hole along the bottom of the metal pedal.
To achieve this, you need to firmly press the kill bar with one hand, and with the other, you can try to latch the armbar on the pedal. Many people struggle with this process but if you press the kill bar more intensely you can easily latch the armbar into the pedal.
Step 7: Quickly Let Go of the Kill Bar
Once you latch the armbar on the pedal where the right bait has been placed, your mouse trap is now ready to snap down the rats. But at this point, you need to be very careful. Make sure to quickly pull your hands right away as fast as you can.
Practice is what it requires, you need to keep pulling back the kill bar and try latching the armbar until the trap is firmly set up. Finally, place the trap at the preferred location and wait for the result.
Once the mouse trap has been set, you need to regularly check on it. If you've placed the trap at the most likable spot, the mouse is highly likely to have been caught. If you find any mouse getting stuck in the trap, it is important to properly dispose of the mouse.
You need to make sure you've worn proper gloves before trying to remove the mouse from the trap. Grab a sealed plastic trash bag and carefully dump the mouse into it. You can then place the bag far away from your home or directly into the garbage bag.
Step 9: Clean and Reuse the Trap
After you've disposed of the mouse properly, you then need to clean and reuse the mouse trap if necessary. You can thoroughly wash it, making sure to eliminate every trace of the previous events. After cleaning it, leave it to dry for some period before using it again.
You can place the trap at the same location or in a different one as per necessity. But make sure you set the trap at the spot where the mice infestation is very high around your property. Use and reuse the mouse trap until you get rid of the whole of them!
Some situations may arise and you might need to disable the mouse trap. What should be done then? Well, it is more simple than you could ever imagine. If you need to disable the trap, you can simply lift it and drop it on the table.
Make sure to slowly lift the trap with your hand for at least 1-2 inches off the table and firmly drop it down. You need to keep in mind to move your hands away as soon as you let the trap fall on the table. The snap trap will disable right away after it hits the surface.
You should know there are numerous varieties of mouse traps available for your use, selecting the right type will make your task easy and effective. Therefore, you need to be aware of the different kinds of mouse traps and their differences to make the best use of them.
Check out a quick guide on the most common types of mouse traps:
1. Snap Traps
Snap traps are in general the most effective and popular mouse traps. These traps are loaded with spring mechanisms that can quickly take control of the mice. In addition to that, snap traps are easy to set up and economically viable as well.
These traps are usually made up of molded plastic and are quite simple in terms of their functionality. Considered quite safe around kids and pets, people often make use of the snap traps more than once and reuse them as necessary.
2. Wooden Traps
Wooden traps can be another strategic move to catch the mouse around your property. We are pretty sure you are aware of the wooden traps, more particularly if you're a fan of Tom and Jerry, you already know what we're talking about.
A U-shaped wooden trap incorporates a very simple mechanism of spring bar and wire attached to a small board. If compared with snap traps, wooden traps require a bit more attention and caution while using. Your hands and paws may be at risk.
Press and set traps feature several elements such as bait well, grabber teeth, and triggering mechanism. The function is closely related to their name where you need to press the trap to set them up. The press and set traps are pretty simple and quick to bait the mice.
This trap requires some extra caution because you need to watch out for your fingers when you are about to dump the trapped mouse. Besides that, press and set traps are reusable and safe around kids and pets.
4. Glue Traps
Glue traps as their name make use of a sticky substance to adhere and catch the mouse. Using an adhesive substance will stick the mouse on the trap and make it suffer for a prolonged period. You can make use of the glue traps on the less-traffic area of your property.
Since the use of glue traps will minimize the risk of accidents on the hands or paws, they can be placed in wider locations where the mice are likely to appear. However many people consider this approach to be inhumane, so it is upon you to choose the preferable strategy to catch the mice.
We have been reminding you of the fact that the location of the mouse trap matters the most if you are to get effective and best results. Yes, proper placement of your mouse traps is key to their success. You should know mice can move along the walls and are often attracted to dark and isolated places.
Scroll down to find out more about the proper and strategic placement of the mouse traps around your houses and property:
1. Along the Walls
Mice often run along the walls to navigate their environment. They like to stay hidden avoiding open and light spaces and running away from the predators. You can place your mouse traps parallel to the walls such that they can get caught from any direction they come.
2. Behind the Appliances
You should not ignore hidden places like behind refrigerators and dishwashers where the mice often stroll. These places offer darkness and warmth for them to hide out. Thus, you need to keep in mind to place the trap in hidden places that are close to your kitchen and refrigerator.
3. Near Food Sources
Mice are attracted to food and water. They often visit the places where they smell food. The spots in your house such as kitchens, pantries, and places where you keep food for your pets are highly likely for them to get attracted. You can strategically place mouse traps at these places to catch the rats.
4. Under Furniture
Another ideal place for the mice is under your furniture such as a bed, couch, or dresser. These places are excellent and safe spots for the mice to hide. But you can make use of these places to trap them as well. Carefully place the mouse traps in these places and wait for the result.
5. Entry Points
We are pretty sure your house must have small holes and openings. These openings are the entrance and exit points of the mice. They are small creatures and can move pretty quickly through the gaps in doors and window frames, walls, and around plumbing. You need to carefully inspect such areas around your house and place the mouse traps.
One of the important tips for mouse trap placement is that you just don't have to rely on one mouse trap. Yes, if the mice infestation is very high around your property, you can simply place multiple traps in different likable spots, increasing the chance of catching more mice.
In addition to that, mouse traps in high infestation situations are suggested to be set up around 5-10 feet apart. This is because mice are likely to have small territories and multiple traps within proximity will ensure more mice to get caught up.
One of the best answers to this question is that mice are always after food and shelter. Yes, mice do come into your home for food and shelter. Although they tend to live in the wild where there's plenty and variety of foods, they are found to turn to your house seeking shelter and easy access to food.
They have a strong sense of smell and can detect every bit of food that you've left or dropped on the floor. In addition to that, mice do not prefer colder months so, during the winter they will march toward your house through any possible entry points and take shelter in the warmth of your house.
