DIY Humane and Eco-friendly Mouse Trap

One of the large goals behind being eco - friendly and living a green lifestyle, is to re-use and recycle; or to put it more simply; use things that we already have on hand. This goal can also be accomplished for getting and keeping, mice out of the house.

I happen to be one of those people that believe that there is a purpose for every living creature, and that includes mice. I just haven't found out what their purpose is yet; and because of their unsanitary habits, I choose not to have them in my house.

There are several sites online that were a tremendous help in putting together an eco-friendly mouse trap that allowed the mouse to live; just not in my house. What I did was, combine several of these ideas, and I devised a mouse trap that I could keep clean between mouse-catching, store in the garage when it wasn't mouse-catching time, and yet was eco-friendly.

1. You need a container in which the mouse can be caught, and kept in until it can be taken outside; hopefully far, far away. If you don't have a container, you can use a cardboard box. I use a discarded diaper pail that my daughter-in-law gave me. Even though it is plastic; I can sanitize it between using, and it has a lid in which to keep the mouse safely inside until it can be freed.

2. I took the handle off, and utilized the holes that were then left to put a small dowel into (a later step). If you are using a box, make sure that you have two holes on the sides to insert a string (fishing line works well) into.

3. Take a can or plastic soda or water bottle that you can cut the top and bottom off. This will be the cylinder that you put the string or small dowel through. You next step is to put the string or dowel through, and then attach it into the holes. You now have your basic eco-friendly mouse trap.

4. Now you need a way for the mouse to get to the bait; a ladder so to speak. I use an old piece of molding. My husband took his router and cut a lip into one end so that it could be placed against the pail, without slipping off. I then place it against the pail, and the mouse now has a ramp to get to the bait. This can be cleaned and stored with the pail when not in use. If you are using a box, just make sure that you have a way for the mouse to climb up to the bait. A friend of mine stacks old books sort of like stairs, against her box.

5. Now that everything is put together, you need to decide what to use for bait. Some people still like to use cheese; and I suppose if you had a strong smelling cheese it would work well, but I have found that peanut butter works great. In fact, I always use peanut butter and cheerios. Peanut butter has a strong scent that you can smell clear across the house, but yet is not offensive, and for some reason, mice love cereal.

On the ramp I intermittently spread some peanut butter. On the can or bottle that is on the dowel or string, I put a lot of peanut butter on, with some cheerios. About half way up on the pail I put some more peanut butter, and then sprinkle some cheerios on the bottom.

6. Make sure there are air holes in the lid of your container. The first time I used my trap I forgot to put air holes in the lid. When we put the lid on the container to drive our little mouse out of town, the poor little thing expired. We both felt absolutely terrible. After all, killing the mouse was not our intention, but we did learn our lesson. When we got home, my husband took a screwdriver, and poked several holes in the lid. We have not had anymore unnecessary expirations.

Since the can spins freely, it will drop the mouse to the bottom of the pail or box, and since it is deep enough, the mouse cannot get out. Believe it or not, one night we caught three mice in my little homemade trap. They had plenty of food to eat, and that evening after work and dinner, we went on a drive and let the mice go.

All we had to do was clean our eco-friendly trap, and set it up for the next time. We also have the peace of mind knowing that we are not killing a creature unnecessarily, nor are we hurting the environment in any way.

Some sites that you can go onto to help you with an eco-friendly mouse trap are:

1. http://www.ehow.com/how_2054115_make-homemade-mousetrap.html

2. http://www.goodnplanty.com/good-n-planty/2009/3/5/homemade-mouse-trap.html