No need to invent the perfect mousetrap ... the female cat already exists ... however they too have their drawbacks.
In the absence of the aforesaid, a good spring trap has always been my preferred option ... baited with peanut butter or a piece of Mars bar ... however I have occasionally found a mouse caught by a leg and still alive ... I'm able to administer the coup de grace with a heavy brick quickly crushing the skull ... I believe that to be the most humane option in those circumstances ... but I accept that not everyone feels able to do that. If I couldn't do it I'd rely on a cat, but I think her method is less humane than mine.
Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.
I can't vouch for Mouse traps but properly set Snap traps for rats are more "humane" than poison. Unfortunately. unless we are prepared to sit and watch the trap 24/7, we will never really know but it is possible to hazard a reasonable guess when checking the results. A clean cut/chop across the neck ( rather than any other part of the body ) is the key. If we want/need to exterminate something, instantaneous is the way to go. @Buch You don't distinguish between House and Field mice. Releasing live rats anywhere is simply passing on the problem for someone else to cope with - if you don't want rats in your house or garden, the only sensible method is to destroy them in situ. Some do still resort to less humane methods - even 40 years ago, drowning kittens and puppies was a quite common occurrence by careless dog and cat owners.
I can't vouch for Mouse traps but properly set Snap traps for rats are more "humane" than poison. Unfortunately. unless we are prepared to sit and watch the trap 24/7, we will never really know but it is possible to hazard a reasonable guess when checking the results. A clean cut/chop across the neck ( rather than any other part of the body ) is the key. If we want/need to exterminate something, instantaneous is the way to go. @Buch You don't distinguish between House and Field mice. Releasing live rats anywhere is simply passing on the problem for someone else to cope with - if you don't want rats in your house or garden, the only sensible method is to destroy them in situ. Some do still resort to less humane methods - even 40 years ago, drowning kittens and puppies was a quite common occurrence by careless dog and cat owners.
I'm just wondering about the legality. Is it actually illegal as well as being less humane
@Buch I honestly don't know about the legal position - I was basing my suggestion simply on terms of both efficacy and responsibility. I wonder who you would actually ask to get a positive Yes or No - the Environmental Agency, your local council, Pest control ? Certainly an interesting question and worth investigating further.
I believe that drowning and leaving unattended to starve are both illegal. I believe that releasing grey squirrels, except back into your own property, is also illegal.
I have lost more than one mousetrap they must have been dragged away by a not-yet-dead mice. That doesn't sound very nice. I also lost for some days a "humane" rat trap cage. I eventually found it amonfst the shrubs, 20m distant, emplty. I now peg it down.
location: Surrey Hills, England, ex-woodland acidic sand. "Have nothing in your garden that you don't know to be useful, or believe to be beautiful."
With regard to mice species, what is a good source of information? I have spent time on google, but can't find a clear difference between House Mouse, Field Mouse or Wood Mouse. I have less sympathy towards house mice.
I have discovered the Shrews are not rodents. That makes me warm to them even more. What would be a good bait to attract an omnivore and not a carnivore?
location: Surrey Hills, England, ex-woodland acidic sand. "Have nothing in your garden that you don't know to be useful, or believe to be beautiful."
A mouse in your house is a problem. They get into your food cupboards and contaminate the food. They chew wires, make nests of your favourite jumper and frighten Gran just as she's nodding off.
It doesn't really matter what species they belong to, although the study of wildlife is very interesting. If you have mice in the cupboards or the loft, you are better to remove them. A cat is often the most attractive solution, but it's methods are not humane.
Whether it's a field mouse or house mouse is easily found on Google, I don't know how you can't find it. I know as I had to ID one I saw in some grass this year.
Mike, Thanks. I have found lots of pics, but none that have really helped me differentiate them. They mostly don't show clearly the possibly paler underside.
Several sites suggest that the smell is a diagnostic. But I'm not going there with a ± 24hr dead body.
Is a cold greenhouse a likely place to find a house mouse? They mostly appear when the weather gets colder, suggesting that they have not left a warm house.
location: Surrey Hills, England, ex-woodland acidic sand. "Have nothing in your garden that you don't know to be useful, or believe to be beautiful."
Posts
In the absence of the aforesaid, a good spring trap has always been my preferred option ... baited with peanut butter or a piece of Mars bar ... however I have occasionally found a mouse caught by a leg and still alive ... I'm able to administer the coup de grace with a heavy brick quickly crushing the skull ... I believe that to be the most humane option in those circumstances ... but I accept that not everyone feels able to do that. If I couldn't do it I'd rely on a cat, but I think her method is less humane than mine.
Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.
Unfortunately. unless we are prepared to sit and watch the trap 24/7, we will never really know but it is possible to hazard a reasonable guess when checking the results. A clean cut/chop across the neck ( rather than any other part of the body ) is the key.
If we want/need to exterminate something, instantaneous is the way to go.
@Buch You don't distinguish between House and Field mice. Releasing live rats anywhere is simply passing on the problem for someone else to cope with - if you don't want rats in your house or garden, the only sensible method is to destroy them in situ. Some do still resort to less humane methods - even 40 years ago, drowning kittens and puppies was a quite common occurrence by careless dog and cat owners.
I wonder who you would actually ask to get a positive Yes or No - the Environmental Agency, your local council, Pest control ?
Certainly an interesting question and worth investigating further.
"Have nothing in your garden that you don't know to be useful, or believe to be beautiful."
With regard to mice species, what is a good source of information? I have spent time on google, but can't find a clear difference between House Mouse, Field Mouse or Wood Mouse. I have less sympathy towards house mice.
I have discovered the Shrews are not rodents. That makes me warm to them even more. What would be a good bait to attract an omnivore and not a carnivore?
"Have nothing in your garden that you don't know to be useful, or believe to be beautiful."
It doesn't really matter what species they belong to, although the study of wildlife is very interesting. If you have mice in the cupboards or the loft, you are better to remove them. A cat is often the most attractive solution, but it's methods are not humane.
A house mouse (Mus musculus) is an alien interloper. I feel we must try to treat our native species better.
"Have nothing in your garden that you don't know to be useful, or believe to be beautiful."
I know as I had to ID one I saw in some grass this year.
I have found lots of pics, but none that have really helped me differentiate them. They mostly don't show clearly the possibly paler underside.
Several sites suggest that the smell is a diagnostic. But I'm not going there with a ± 24hr dead body.
Is a cold greenhouse a likely place to find a house mouse? They mostly appear when the weather gets colder, suggesting that they have not left a warm house.
"Have nothing in your garden that you don't know to be useful, or believe to be beautiful."