We have a mouse problem.

This has become a big distraction for me since I can hear some of the little bastards caught in glue traps squeaking away. While I try to do my homework I keep thinking of "the better mouse trap".

The goal is a homemade mouse trap.

Aside from the glue traps I set up a lever and bucket on the edge of a counter. It caught 1 so far.

The lever is precariously balanced at the edge of a counter top with any slight weight shift tipping it over. When the mouse goes for the bait (peanut butter) the lever tips over the counter and falls into the half filled with water bucket. Mouse gets to relax in its own indoor swimming pool for a while.


I also have a few high voltage capacitors from old power supplies that I'm looking forward to using if this problem continues.

I tried to draw it with ASCII but it didn't work.

Ahaha, I like the bucket idea. Simple and effective.

It's probably a bit dangerous to yourself if you forget about it, but why not use mains voltage. Get a flat sheet of metal and ground it, and then put the bait on a spike connected to the live supply.

Mouse walks onto plate, grounds self, nibbles bait, mains goes through mouse and to ground.

Might pop a breaker if it's a particularly low resistance critter, but it would be worth it.

I'm worried about the mouse catching fire with the alternating current and having its revenge on my house. All it would need is for a piece of paper or some oil to be stuck on its fur and for it to ignite.

I would switch the lever with a folder paper towel tube so your mouse couldn't jump off.

Here's a good looking electrical mousetrap
http://www.fuzzster.com/r3/show/se/258161.html

When I get home, I'll scan some diagrams of some of my old trap designs and upload them. Some of them turned out sweet.

Only problem with that is houses (in England at least) have to have and RCB. If anything living (or water) comes into contact with electrical current, it trips the power to the whole house. Pain in the bollocks if you have a dodgy washing machine.

OP...Ever built a small land mine out of a shotgun cartridge?...It's really easy and the bang is a lot of fun. Especially on a cat who still looks at my garden and fears it to this day!

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Run the mousetrap through a 1:1 isolating transformer. Sorted.

Look up pest control supply stores near your house and look for the following...3" high rectangular steel and lexan trap. It has a one-way door and one mouse walking around in the trap,draws others.

Then just drown them all in a bucket and empty the trap. Make sure to clean out the trap really well, or you won't catch any more mice.

I used this technique at 2 of the breweries I worked at and you will find similar rat-sized traps around places like Anhuser Bush (Bud) plants in both Columbus Ohio, and Busch in Tampa Florida.

ICEMAN1968

Why stay 1:1? Step it up to 15kV with a neon sign transformer.

That 35 volt shit is pussy. I'd use some photoflash caps.