Build a Better Mousetrap

“If a man can write a better book, preach a better sermon, or make a better mousetrap than his neighbor..." Ralph Waldo Emerson

Yep, build a better mousetrap and the world will beat a path to your door, but you are just going to have to reseed the lawn, and that’s not the purpose is it? You want to catch the little bugger scampering in your wall. You could just get yourself a cat. Now, living in rural Pennsylvania in what was basically a converted barn, I expected to have a rodent problem. I also expected my cat to catch mice. Luckily, there’s more than one way to skin a cat, or catch a mouse.

The traditional spring trap works with mixed results, the mouse can grab the bait and run, you can forget to check the trap, only to be reminded that you’ve caught something by the stench that greats you when you come home from a long day at work, or your children and pets can delight in setting it off. Believe me. You do not want to be weaving storytelling magic at 1AM when a trap goes off and the pet hamster goes missing. I also found sticky paper to be a cruel way to catch mice, and mice soon learned to avoid the areas containing the sticky surface.

You could go with a small live trap if you’d like, but why go to all the expense when a little duct tape, a cardboard paper towel tube, and a 5 gallon bucket can be quickly transformed into a cheap trap trick?
Just position the tube on an edge of a counter that has been visited nightly by your furry, little pests. Tape it down, leaving about two inches hanging off the edge. You are going to want to put a slight crease in the tube right at edge of the counter. Smear a little peanut butter in the tube overhanging the bucket that you have prepared to catch the vermin, and when the mouse enters the tube to take the bait, the tube bends and slides him into the waiting receptacle. You can then decide to feed him to the lazy cat, flush him down the toilet, or release him in your neighbor’s garden.

A frugal friend once suggested this to me years ago, and it has actually worked on several occasions, except for the times that Hobo, the cat actually decided to let his curiosity out, and knocked my contraption onto the floor.

I was recently reintroduced to this trick in Manskills: How to Avoid Embarrassing Yourself and Impress Everyone Else, a book by Chris Peterson and published by Creative Publishing International. It is filled with quick tips, tricks and skills that any man, or woman will find useful.

There are techniques for splitting wood, recaulking your bathtub, and snaking a clog. In just two paragraphs, you can learn out how to take care of that cigarette burn your friend left in the carpet. You may have never used a cookie cutter before, but it can be for more than just baking. Sleep easy with the money you save, and by learning how to stop that toilet from running. It’s probably just the valve seat, or a pull chain that is too short. This time, you can plan on getting all your security deposit back…

Build a better mousetrap? Or if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it? Drop me an email and let me know. Miss a past column? Visit http://frommyshelf.blogspot.com and read them all. Hobo, the cat, would rather chase butterflies and dance in sunbeams than hunt for mice. You can read about his adventures in “Hobo Finds A Home”, a children’s book about a cat who found a good meal, a friend, and a forever home.