DIY Mouse Trap with a Bucket

DIY Mouse Trap Without the Mess

It is a sight no one wants to see. You walk into your food storage and there are telltale signs that a mouse has had a feast with your food. What do you do? You can go to the store and buy a few of the classic mousetraps. The problem with those is that they can only catch one mouse at a time. There are also glue traps. I have always found the mice pitiful when I come upon them and they are stuck on the pad gasping for air. I also noticed that after a while, the mice got smart and somehow was able to get the bait without setting the trap. So, is there a better mousetrap out there?  I found a great mouse trap on The Homestead Survival that is easy to make and resets itself. You can catch more than one mouse at a time and you can choose to set the mice free someplace else or kill them.

The concept of the trap is simple:

1. Take a five gallon bucket and drill two holes on opposite sides near the rim.

2. Prepare a tin can by drilling a hole on each end.

3. Cut a length of thick gauge wire (like a coat hanger) that is several inches longer than the diameter of the bucket.

4. Thread the wire through one of the hole at the rim of the bucket,  thread it through the tin can, and thread it through the other hole in the bucket.

5. Bend the wire on each end of the outside of the bucket to secure. The tin can should spin freely on the wire.

6. Evenly coat the tin can with peanut butter.

7. Set the trap where you know mice to frequent. Place a stick on either side of the bucket where the wire comes out to make a ramp for the mice to climb.

If you want to catch and release the mice caught, that's all you have to do. If you want to kill them, just fill the bucket with five inches of water and the mice will drown. The advantage of this trap is that it resets itself, so you could catch more than one mouse in an evening.

For directions and an instructional video on how to build a bucket mousetrap, click here:
http://thehomesteadsurvival.com/build-a-self-resetting-mouse-trap-diy-project/#.UpT3wNGA29J

What have you done to rid your house of pesky rodents? Tell us about them!
Are you liking,  following & pinning?  Connect with our pages, boards & feeds.