Desperate times means desperate measures

[Nicepix 5,650]

I admire you professional pest controllers who do rat and mice jobs. I had a go at it but soon dropped the idea after realising that most customers a) don't help themselves and b) expect you to wave a magic wand. I had no intention of visiting properties 60 km away just to empty and re-set a trap so I made it dead easy. I set up trap boxes ready baited and with tie wraps that allowed the customer to set , empty it and re-set it without having to open the box or handle the carcasse. Problem is they never checked the trap between my weekly visits. I would end up with a manky pile of slime inside the box entailing having to change it and clean it up at home. So now I just sell them the trap boxes ready to go and leave them to it.

However, I am a soft touch and when one of my 'ladies' asked for some help I went to have a look. She had found soil piled up in an old stone outhouse that was rammed with garden equipment and open sacks of chicken feed. Behind the building is a veg' plot and beyond that a chicken coop with a trough full of food available 24/7.  What would have been an old well used mole tunnel leading along the fence line from the store to the chicken coop is now a well polished rat run. First job was to convince her to buy a steel store for the chicken food and take the feed trough up after half an hour. She got the steel bin but can't be arsed to take the feed trough up every time. 

Anyway, I put two rat boxes down and called back two days later. The boxes were stripped of bait, but had not been triggered. I put the trail cam inside and checked it a few days later. As I suspected it was like Rorke's Drift with all the gleaming white eyes peering out of the blackness  at the camera. What was that line - "Blimey. There's thousands of 'em!"

So, off to Action, the cheap shop in our nearest town.....

The only problem is that if one trap goes off without a mouse cushioning the impact the whole lot go off. I'll install it on Monday and check it two days later. Hopefully I can thin the wood mouse population down enough to give rats chance to go in the big trap boxes. Providing my customer takes up the feed trough of course.

 

Edited February 15, 2022 by Nicepix

[Ken's Deputy 4,459]

Corrugated cardboard under them. Cushion the slap?

[Nicepix 5,650]

They are all screwed into the base. 

[TheRatMan 61]

Good little idea that. Might steal it if you don't mind .  Why don't you put less traps in and separate them apart that little extra. Prevent them all being set off? 

 

Cheers 

[Nicepix 5,650]

The box came with 8 compartments so I filled it. There are a lot of mice in that building and poison isn't an option. 

The double mouse trap boxes also cause both traps to go off if one is dry fired. In practise the mouse absorbs the energy so the others aren't activated. This should be the same. 

As for pinching the idea. My lawyers will be watching you very closely 

 

Edited February 15, 2022 by Nicepix

[TheRatMan 61]

1 hour ago, Nicepix said:

The box came with 8 compartments so I filled it. There are a lot of mice in that building and poison isn't an option. 

The double mouse trap boxes also cause both traps to go off if one is dry fired. In practise the mouse absorbs the energy so the others aren't activated. This should be the same. 

As for pinching the idea. My lawyers will be watching you very closely 

 

I think if you lower the number of traps to say 4 or 5. I think you will solve the problem. Give it a try over a couple days. 

 

And can you not just set the traps without them bring in a box. Or is that also not an option? 

 

Cheers 

[gamerooster 1,179]

I know a lot don't like using it but could glue not be a solution? 

If not what about treadle door traps? Get her to get a chicken feeder that's treadle operated as well so when the birds aren't feeding nothing can get access to the food.

[Nicepix 5,650]

The idea of having the traps in those compartments is so they have to pass over the trap on entry. Widening the compartments would allow mice to go around the traps and result in foul captures. I think that the issue of all traps going off won't occur just as it doesn't occur in double trap boxes when mice are caught cleanly. The mouse cushions the impact and in this box the mice will be caught  cleanly.. 

I normally use traps in boxes with baffles to avoid cats and kids being able to reach the traps. In this situation that is unnecessary.