How do the mice eat the bait without triggering the trap?

These Little Nipper traps are hair-trigger and I’ve caught three now using saltanas as bait, one very noisily above my head in the attic and two under the car bonnet. Yet on today’s mouse patrol I found two bonnet traps with bait missing and not sprung. What the hell are they doing?

I’ve had that a few time.

One time was definitely a slug to be honest i’m glad i didn’t havw to clear that mess up.

Also sometime they are a little finnicky i dropped one and it didn’t go off. Just the way the trap plat sat meant it was wedged onto its tether loop bit.

Also bait with something you smear on so they have to hang around. Peanut butter works a charm.

Test it with a carrot

One mouse ate the bait and left me a little poo as a message.

I was told to put two traps end to end, so that the traps went off inwards (I hope that makes sense). This was when a mouse takes the bait and moves back it will move towards the other trap. It seemed to work.

had it loads….then the sods got over confident,,,,two chowed down at once…BAM! 2 in one shot

How do the mice eat the bait without triggering the trap?
Carefully.

They go round in pairs, one holds the trap open while the other gets the bait.

1) Baby mice weigh about the same as a butterfly’s fart. Try setting the trap and then half-triggering it so it’s right on the edge of firing (hold the snap open and mind your fingers).

2) Sultanas are easy to pick up and run off with. Use something sticky like peanut butter that they have to work for.

The worst ones are the ones that almost get away. You lying in bed you hear the snap then hear the little blighter dragging the trap across the loft floor (they come in from the neighbour’s loft because they definitely don’t have mice – ok they also get in there through the holes in the core work of the house walls as well but neighbour’s in denial don’t help) with three good legs and a swinger (well it would be a swinger if it got loose). You can see understand where the idea of ghosts dragging balls and chains around came from. I now thread string through a hole in the base and tie them to something to avoid having to track them down.

Nutella or peanut butter is the business for bait

It’s because they’re really wee. The smallest intentional movements we can make are pretty much on a level with the biggest roughest movements a mouse can. So just walking up to stuff and eating it can be below the threshold of traps that seem to us to be on a hair trigger.

Get rid of the little nippers .

Never had good success with them too much being traditional not enough actually being a good trap that works .

I use the pest stops bated with whispa which is in a recessed pot surrounded by a pressure plate . Mouse can’t get to the bait without putting front feet on the trap.

Even better is – they are easy to set right unlike little nippers and easy one handed empty out the dead mouse and clean/store.

It’s because they’re Scottish mice.

They go round in pairs, one holds the trap open while the other gets the bait.

I like this idea…

Slugs might be the explanation because twice I’ve found a sticky mess where the sultana was.

Oops double post

It’s because they’re Scottish mice

Surely ” the mice of Scotland’

The humane maze trap worked for my shed, you do need to empty it somewhere though.

It’s obvious, like this:

How do the mice eat the bait without triggering the trap?
Carefully.

Only if baited with Welsh cheese surely?

Another vote for peanut butter.

Somewhere there is a forum where a mouse is asking, why do these humans put food out for us and make it so difficult. It’s probably a huge thread with mice from everywhere contributing tips and tricks.

Only if baited with Welsh cheese surely?

Well done, rare bits of humour like that keep me going.

Only if baited with Welsh cheese surely?

Well done, rare bits of humour like that keep me going.

That deserves recognition! 😀

I found a solution to this.

The little nipper traps have the metal prong for the bait. Use chocolate as the bait. Heat up the prong with a hob or lighter and then gently press a piece of chocolate on to it. It melts on and then sets. Good luck getting that bait off.

well it does indeed appear to be a bad year for the little shties.

that was number 4 caught at lunch time today within 10 minutes of putting out the trap using a bit of kitkat in the aforementioned pest stop trap.

The first two were male and female adults – these two are going by the size of them children for sure

I have found their nest – in my pannier in the cupboard. upstairs – going to attack that with the shop vac tonight then inspect the damage to my panniers.

I expect at least 2 if not 4 more babys in there.