Mousetrap 543318 225767975 2008-07-15T08:58:34Z XLinkBot 6163802 BOT--Reverting edits by [[:en:Special:Contributions/78.3.21.22|78.3.21.22]] to revision 225663847 (\bblogspot\.com) {{otheruses}} [[Image:Mouse in mousetrap.jpg|thumb|250px|A [[mouse]] caught in a mousetrap.]] A '''mousetrap''' is a specialized type of [[animal trap]] designed primarily to catch [[mouse|mice]]; however, it may also trap other small animals. Mousetraps are usually (though not necessarily) set in an [[indoor]] location where there is a suspected infestation of rodents. There are various types of mousetrap, each with its own advantages and disadvantages. Larger traps are designed to catch other species of animals; such as [[rat]]s, [[squirrel]]s, other small [[rodent]]s, or other animals. ==Mouse trap designs== === Spring-loaded bar mousetrap === [[Image:Mausefalle 300px.jpg|thumb|A baited and primed spring-loaded bar mousetrap]] [[Image:2005 mousetrap cage 1.jpg|thumb|Mousetrap, mouse, bait (chocolate)]] The first mouse trap was invented by William C. Hooker of Abingdon Illinois, who received US patent 528671 for his design in 1894.<ref>http://www.nysl.nysed.gov/reference/patents/selected.htm Selected Highlights of the NYSL US Patent Collection</ref> [[James Henry Atkinson]], a British inventor who in 1897 invented a prototype called the "Little Nipper", probably "had seen the Hooker trap in the shops or in advertisements" and used it as the basis of his model.<ref>{{ cite book | first = Stephen | last = Van Dulken | year = 2001 | publisher = New York University Press | pages = 128 | id = ISBN 0814788106 | title = Inventing the 19th Century | accessdate = 2008-05-08 }}</ref> The traditional type was invented by [[Hiram Maxim]] (who also invented the [[Maxim gun]]). It is a simple device with a heavily spring-loaded bar and a trip to release it. Stereotypically, [[cheese]] is placed on the trip as [[Bait (luring substance)|bait]], but this does not work well as, in reality, most mice do not like cheese; they will however take other food such as oats, [[chocolate]], [[bread]] or [[meat]]. [[Butter]] and [[peanut butter]] are also quite effective. The spring-loaded bar swings down rapidly and with great force when anything, usually a mouse or a rat, touches the trip. The design is such that the mouse's neck or [[spinal cord]] will be broken, or its [[rib]]s or [[skull]] crushed, by the force of the bar. The force may be great enough to [[decapitate]] the rodent.{{Fact|date=December 2007}} [[Rats]] can easily escape from a mousetrap, so a larger version is used for them. Newer spring mouse traps have a plastic extended trigger made to look like a piece of [[swiss cheese]] that is the color of [[American cheese]]. This is not intended to attract the mouse, but is to provide a larger surface area for the trigger mechanism and provides reservoirs for bait to be applied, such as [[peanut butter]]. <ref>[http://www.jimforeman.com/Stories/mousetrap.htm A Better Mouse Trap<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref> John Mast of Lititz, Pennsylvania obtained an American patent for a similar snap-action device in 1899.<ref>{{ cite web | url = http://inventors.about.com/od/mstartinventions/a/mousetrap.htm | title = Web reference | accessdate = 2007-08-30 }}</ref> Some modern plastic designs have the advantages that the trap can be set by the pressure of a single finger on a tab and that a dead mouse can be removed from the trap without touching the corpse. ===Mouth mousetrap=== [[Image:Promax mouse trap.JPG|thumb|A mouth-type mousetrap.]] This lightweight mousetrap consists of a set of plastic jaws operated by a coiled spring and triggering mechanism inside the jaws, where the bait is held. The trigger snaps the jaws shut, which can kill many rodents.<ref>[http://www.victorpest.com/mouse_instructions.htm#Quick%20Set: Instructions for Mouse Traps - how to set and what bait to use<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref> ===Electric mousetrap=== This more recent type of mousetrap delivers a lethal dose of electricity when the rodent completes the circuit by contacting two electrodes located either at the entrance or between the entrance and the bait. The electrodes are housed in an insulated or plastic box to prevent accidental injury to humans and pets. They can be designed for single-catch domestic use or large multiple-catch commercial use. See {{US patent|4250655}} and {{US patent|4780985}} ===Live-catching mousetraps=== [[Image:Mousetrap-wire.jpg|thumb|180px|A live-catch mousetrap. Uninjured mice can be released.]] Other trap designs catch mice alive so that they can be released into the wild. It is important to release the mouse promptly &ndash; as mice can die from stress or dehydration &ndash; and at some distance, as mice have a strong homing instinct. Survival after release is not guaranteed, since [[House Mouse|house mice]] will tend to seek out human buildings, where they might encounter lethal mousetraps. In the wild, house mice are very poor competitors, and cannot survive away from human settlements in areas where other small mammals, such as [[wood mouse|wood mice]], are present.<ref> {{cite journal |author=Tattersall F. H., Smith, R. H. & Nowell, F |date=1997 |title=Experimental colonization of contrasting habitats by house mice |journal=Zeitschrift für Säugetierkunde |volume=62 |pages=350–358}}</ref> ===Glue traps=== [[Image:Glue trap by David Shankbone.jpg||thumb|left|A mouse stuck in a glue trap. A mouse can be removed from a glue trap by pouring vegetable oil over it.]] [[Glue]] traps made using natural or synthetic adhesive applied to [[cardboard]], [[plastic]] trays or similar material. [[Bait (luring substance)|Bait]] can be placed in the center or a [[scent]] may be added to the adhesive by the [[manufacturer]]. Glue traps are used primarily for [[rodent]] control indoors. Glue traps are not effective outdoors due to environmental conditions ([[moisture]], [[dust]]) which quickly render the adhesive ineffective. Glue strip or glue tray devices trap the mouse in the sticky glue; users can free the mice from the glue by applying [[vegetable oil]].<ref>http://www.peta.org/mc/factsheet_display.asp?ID=127 PETA Media Center, Glue Trap Factsheet.</ref> These types of trap are effective and [[non-toxic]] to [[human]]s. However, [[death]] is much slower than with the traditional type trap<ref> [http://apartments.about.com/od/micecontrol/a/glue_traps.htm Article in ''About Home & Garden'' about glue traps ] </ref>, which has prompted animal activists such as [[People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals|PETA]] to oppose the use of glue traps. Many mice eventually die from [[exposure]], [[dehydration]], [[starvation]], [[suffocation]], or [[predation]], or they are killed by people when the trap is checked. Others die from injuries or [[blood loss]] as they try to chew through their own limbs in an attempt to escape. In some [[jurisdiction]]s there have been proposals to [[Ban (law)|ban]] glue traps, or to legally restrict their use.<ref> [http://www.vcec.vic.gov.au/CA256EAF001C7B21/WebObj/PreventionofCrueltytoAnimals(ProhibitionofGlueTrapping)Regulations2005RIS/$File/Prevention%20of%20Cruelty%20to%20Animals%20(Prohibition%20of%20Glue%20Trapping)%20Regulations%202005%20RIS.pdf Regulatory Impact Statement ([[Victoria (Australia)]], 2005)]; [http://www.aepma.com.au/newsevents/files/nea_182.pdf Submission in response to the RIS]</ref>. In [[Ireland]] it is illegal to import, possess, sell or offer for sale unauthorized traps, including glue traps. This law, the Wildlife (Amendment) Act was passed in 2000. <ref>[http://www.environ.ie/en/Heritage/NationalParksandWildlife/News/MainBody,16109,en.htm Department of the Environment, Heritage and Local Government] &ndash; Press Release "Roche acts against illegal glue traps".</ref> ===Bucket trap=== The bucket trap is reportedly another method to trap mice.<ref>[http://asktrapperjohn.com/topics/bucketmouse.htm Instructions on how to build a bucket mouse trap]</ref> A ramp leads to the rim of a container holding some water or other liquid such as [[antifreeze]]. The mouse is attracted to the top of the container and, by various means and baits, it enters the water. Being unable to get out, it drowns. The suffering of the mouse can be shortened to a small extent by adding a [[surfactant]], such as washing [[detergent]], to the water. Though if suffering of the mouse is a main concern one should mainly consider other types of traps. The variations are many with some being single catch and some multi-catch. Some can also be used for live catch. ===Inert gas mousetrap=== The RADAR mousetrap, invented by Rentokil Pest Control, kills trapped mice or other rodents with carbon dioxide, then notifies the user by e-mail so that the trap can be quickly emptied and reset<ref>[http://www.uk.rentokil.com/services-and-solutions/service-solutions/mouse-radar.php Mouse Pest Control: Rentokil's humane pest control options<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref>. Rentokil claims that the trap is painless and also reduces future mouse deaths by pinpointing the exact location of the trap and how many animals are caught so that their access can be controlled by sealing access holes. [[PETA]] has recognized this product as an "animal friendly achievement" <ref>[http://www.peta.org/campaigns/2005poty.asp PETA >> Campaigns >> Builder of More Humane Mousetrap Recognized as PETA's 'Person of the Year'<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref>. ==Alternatives== {{Unreferencedsection|date=December 2007}} [[Strychnine]]-soaked grain pellets were a common substitute for mousetraps for some time; currently they are rarely used because of the toxicity of the chemical, the inherent danger to children and pets, and the likelihood that the poisoned animal will die inside a wall or other inaccessible area where its carcass will be difficult to remove. ==Similar devices== Similar ranges of traps are sized to trap other animal species; for example, [[rat trap]]s are larger than mousetraps, and squirrel traps are larger still. A squirrel trap is a metal box-shaped device that is designed to catch squirrels and other similar-sized animals. The device works by drawing the animals by bait that is placed inside. Upon touch, it forces both sides closed, thereby trapping, but not killing the animal. The animal can then be released or killed at the trapper's discretion. ==Mousetraps in literature== Reference to a mouse trap is made as early as the 1800s by [[Alexandre Dumas, père]] in his book [[The Three Musketeers]]. Chapter ten is titled "A Mousetrap of the Seventeenth Century". In this case, rather than referring to literal mouse trap, the author describes a police or guard tactic that involves laying in wait in the residence of someone who they have arrested without public knowledge and then grabbing, interviewing, and likely arresting anyone who comes to the residence. In the voice of a narrator, the author confesses to having no idea how the term became attached to this tactic. [[Ralph Waldo Emerson]] is credited with the oft-quoted remark in favor of innovation: "Build a better mousetrap, and the world will beat a path to your door." However, credit actually belongs to [[Elbert Hubbard]]. In the June 1912 issue of ''The Philistine'', Hubbard admits that his [http://books.google.com/books?id=HfY3hmUPWaIC&pg=PA57&lpg=PA57&dq=kabojolism&source=web&ots=1fxDhPwywg&sig=sazVM8kmGdieYW2nhSqpzkMGmHg&hl=en&sa=X&oi=book_result&resnum=1&ct=result ''kabojolism''] (a neologism coined by Hubbard to describe what a writer, "would have said if he had happened to think of [it]") was "a mousetrap that caught a lot of literary mice intent on orphic cheese."<ref>White, Bruce A. ''The Philistine: A Periodical of Protest (1895-1915)''. Lantham, MD: University Press of America, 1989. 101-102. </ref> Mousetraps are a staple of [[slapstick]] comedy and animated [[animation|cartoons]] such as [[Tom and Jerry]], in which people commonly sit on the trap or have their fingers caught in the device. ==See also== * [[Rodenticide]] * [[Animal trapping]] * [[Pest control]] * [[Sherman Trap|Sherman trap]] * [[Mousetrap car]] == Notes == {{refs|2}} == References == {{refbegin}} * Tattersall F. H., Smith, R. H. & Nowell, F. (1997). Experimental colonization of contrasting habitats by house mice. Zeitschrift für Säugetierkunde. 62: 350-358. {{refend}} ==External links== {{commonscat|Mousetrap}} * [http://howto.wikia.com/wiki/Guide_to_catch_a_mouse Guide to catch a mouse] give you tips on catching a house mouse. 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