> we get invaded by mice every autumn. I catch them in the live traps and
> release them in the next village about 5 miles away, but I swear the bloody
> things are homing mice.
Mom, now 100 used to be an ornithologist. She loved trapping hawks,
banding them & letting them go. The bait used was mice.
She had some of the most amazing Rube Goldberg contraptions to catch
the live mice. One in particular had the bottom resembling the shape
of a flat bottom boat using an outboard motor. The deck of the "boat"
was plexiglass and the upper level was a series of weights, counter-
weights, dining compartment and a one-way elevator.
The thing was to be buried into the ground up to the deck. Cheese was
put in the dining compartment which could only be accessed by passing
through a rectangular opening about one inch high. This was the only
access to the outside. This was also the entrance to the elevator.
There was a thick wire barrier at the entrance to the cheese so the
mouse couldn't actually get to it but the floor leading to the dining
room was supported by the weights & counter-weights so the mouse
entering would find the floor dropping once inside. This was of
course, the elevator.
The quickly closing entrance was too small to allow the mouse to turn
around and escape once the floor started dropping and the mouse would
eventually end up on the bottom of the hull where it would walk off
the elevator whereby the elevator would return to it's starting
position and wait for the next mouse to come in and get a free ride.
What was most amazing was they were never able to chew a hole the
plexiglass.
Worked great, I hope she still has it, she doesn't remember anymore.
The simplest live mouse trap she used was made from a metal can of
"Flying A oil", the top removed and a mouse trap bolted to side of
the the can at the opening with the bail to the outside. Wired to the
bail was a piece of hardware cloth larger than the can opening.
Cheese set inside & it placed on the ground, the mouse, mole or vole
going for the bait would trip the lever and the hardware cloth would
slam against the end of the can propelling the mouse to the end of
the can & the spring would hold the cloth against the can.
Worked great. In that trap was where I saw my first star nosed mole.
P.S. Moles = Good, they eat grubs. Voles = bad, they eat roots...
No Hams were hurt during these procedures...
73,
Gary
KA1J
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