Safety Catching

Did you miss our tabling event: Safety Catching?

Here are some tips things to think about if you're planning on using humane mouse traps:

• Do you know where the place the traps? Placing a bit of flour down in areas where you think mice are traveling can confirm your hunch (you will be able to see paw prints or even a tail drag where the mouse passes through the flour). Traps should be placed along these pathways for best results.
  
• What can be done to ensure that the trap is tripped as expected? Tying bait to the trigger is often done to make sure the mouse has to tug at it, thus tripping the trap. If the bait isn't tied the mouse may be able to simply take it without getting caught.
  
• What will you use as mouse trap bait? How often can you change out the bait to keep it fresh? What will you do for areas that are hard-to-access?
  
• Are there any spaces where a mice might inadvertently get wedged or stuck? There are so many types of traps available and some are better thought out and better made than others. Be wary of using traps where there are gaps in the cage or in the mechanisms that could be dangerous to a panicked mouse trying to escape.
  
• How often will you check the traps? Even with live traps, mice can become very stressed in the trap and can easily die from hunger or dehydration. This would defeat the purpose of using a live trap, plus it's not humane, either! Traps should be checked several times a day at least. Lethal traps also need to be checked regularly just in case the trap malfunctions and there is an injured mouse.
  
• Are you prepared to quickly kill a mouse that has been injured and is suffering? No one ever wants to be put in a position to have to do this, but it may become necessary if a trap malfunctions.
  
  
  

The mouse love cheese myth
Mice don’t love cheese as much as you think they do, but if you use a strong enough cheese, it may work.

• Use foods like saltine crackers, peanut butter and small seeds or nuts. Anise seeds are particularly effective.
  

• You can also use bait foods that are sweet, like chocolate or candy. Mice like sugary foods, so don’t hesitate to lay down some Nutella spread.
  

• A cotton ball with a few drops of vanilla flavoring is attractive to mice too.
  

• You can even use wet cat or dog food to lure them in.
  

​-Minoru Chou
Animal Welfare Director (18-19)
minoru.chou@uoflelsb.org