jerryc41 Loc: Catskill Mts of NY

If you've ever put down mouse traps, you know that they can sometimes eat the bait without springing the trap. I thought of a possible solution. Put baited mouse traps down in your regular locations, but do not set them. Just leave them there as food offerings. After doing that for a few nights, set the traps.

skylinefirepest Loc: Southern Pines, N.C.

That works, Jerry, and what I used to do was press the sugar coated soft gumdrops ( the soft gumdrops with the grains of sugar on them ) onto the trigger...they will go after them with a vengeance. Also place your traps so that when they trigger that they are springing towards a flat surface. I usually always put them against the baseboards because when mice get scared they run to the surface and use their whiskers to maintain contact because they can't see very well. You can also use boxes or objects to "guide" the mice onto the traps. If you find droppings in two different rooms it means you have two different families in there so you should trap accordingly. I almost always used glueboards and found them to be highly effective...I didn't like poison because of the possibility of pets or kids getting into it. Hope this helps.

Greg from Romeoville illinois Loc: Romeoville illinois

I just let my cats play around.

jerryc41 Loc: Catskill Mts of NY

I am not going to buy gumdrops for the mice!

Another trick, if you want to take the time, is to die a piece of string to the bait pad and saturate it with peanut butter, my bait of choice. They will have to work at it to get all peanut butter out.

Speaking of string, if you put a trap under furniture, or in a similar location, it could be difficult to remove the trap after the mouse has moved it. Tie a piece of string to that little staple and tie the other end to something. You'll be able to pull it out easily.

Another thing: I never re-use traps. They go right into the wood stove, which can be a problem in the summer until I start the first fire in the fall.

BassmanBruce Loc: Middle of the Mitten

I use these and have far fewer misfires than with the old victor metal trigger traps.
I bait with peanut butter, but will next try the gumdrop idea.

jerryc41 Loc: Catskill Mts of NY

I don't like the setting on the Victor. The best kind I saw had a guard that went over the setting bar. You set it and then released that bar. There were no nasty surprises.

BassmanBruce Loc: Middle of the Mitten

https://www.amazon.com/Tomcat-373312-Wooden-Mouse-Traps/dp/B01MQYUVLK/ref=sxin_14_ac_d_bv?ac_md=3-2-QmV0d2VlbiAkMTAgYW5kICQyNQ%3D%3D-ac_d_bv_bv_bv&cv_ct_cx=tomcat+mouse+trap&keywords=tomcat+mouse+trap&pd_rd_i=B01MQYUVLK&pd_rd_r=d7bf29c3-3ed9-466e-b4f9-4fabc1b492ef&pd_rd_w=tX8dq&pd_rd_wg=2PTQ9&pf_rd_p=f77357a4-3bc9-48f9-a560-10a39068cae9&pf_rd_r=RYFYXEXHC3JGQ6XBXPR3&psc=1&qid=1645208221&sr=1-3-f4ff053e-b1e8-4d31-8f95-56d755c862ba

Forgot to add the link.

skylinefirepest Loc: Southern Pines, N.C.

The problem with peanut butter is that it will harden and lose some of it's scent. The gumdrops are killers. I never had a mouse problem in any setting, residential to commercial, that I didn't solve and I was in the business for over thirty years...that's where the "skyline-pest" comes from...the "fire" comes from my currently 31 years as a vollie.

jerryc41 Loc: Catskill Mts of NY

I bought, I think, a gross on sale a few years ago. They might be Victor, but they were too cheap to pass up. I hadn't seen and droppings, but I thought I'd put a couple of traps out last night, and I got one. I'll put out more tonight.

TriX Loc: Raleigh, NC

Me too - it’s their job description 😈

Greg from Romeoville illinois Loc: Romeoville illinois

I try to get fly's to come in the house so I can watch them try to catch them. I have seen some mighty leaps that surprised the wife as she wasn't paying attention to their exercise.....

DaveC Loc: Illinois

My father, after putting the cheese on, would turn the trap upside down and hold a match under the cheese for a few seconds. This would melt the cheese to the trap so it wouldn’t come off. He figured that it also give off a bit of aroma so they would find it sooner.

jerryc41 Loc: Catskill Mts of NY

Funny!

starlifter Loc: Towson, MD

Good advice from an old sage.

EdJ0307 Loc: out west someplace

I was in my garage a few years ago (a previous house) and saw a couple mice on the rafters. Only had one trap so figured I'd at least catch one of them. Checked the next morning and both mice were in the trap. One mouse was smacked by the bale and died immediately whereas the other was caught my the nose and was still alive and I had to finish him off. I felt bad about that one because I want to get rid of the mice but don't want to torture or torment them.
Another time (same house) I set a trap in the dining area and had it aimed at the center of the room. Next morning the trap was sprung but no mouse. A few days later I found a dead mouse on the opposite wall from the trap. Appears the mouse approached the trap, climbed over the bale to get the bait, sprung the trap and was flung across the room and smashed into the wall.
Another time (same house again) I was in the process of installing bookcases along one wall of the living room. The cases were mounted on 1x2 lumber on the floor so there was a space between the book case and the floor. One night while watching TV I saw a mouse run across the room and duck under the bookcase. The only way out was the way he got in. So I got my handy Benjamin pellet rifle and waited for the mouse to come out. Saw him peeking out from under the bookcase, took aim and BLAM. One dead mouse. The wife didn't see the mouse or what I was doing so when I pulled the trigger she almost jumped out of her chair. And yes she was pissed.