A mousetrap is a specialized type of animal trap designed primarily to catch and, usually, kill mice. Mousetraps are usually set in an indoor location where there is a suspected infestation of rodents. Larger traps are designed to catch other species of animals, such as rats, squirrels, and other small rodents.
The trap that is credited as the first patented lethal mousetrap was a set of spring-loaded, cast-iron jaws dubbed "Royal No. 1". [1] [2] It was patented on 4 November 1879 by James M. Keep of New York, US patent 221,320. [3] From the patent description, it is clear that this is not the first mousetrap of this type, but the patent is for this simplified, easy-to-manufacture design. It is the industrial-age development of the deadfall trap, but relying on the force of a wound spring rather than gravity.
The jaws are operated by a coiled spring, and the triggering mechanism is between the jaws, where the bait is held. The trip snaps the jaws shut, killing the rodent.
Lightweight traps of this style are now constructed from plastic. These traps do not have a powerful snap like other types. They are safer for the fingers of the person setting them than other lethal traps, and can be set with the press on a tab by a single finger or even by foot.
The spring-loaded mousetrap was first patented by William C. Hooker of Abingdon, Illinois, who received US patent 528671 for his design in 1894. [4] [5] A British inventor, James Henry Atkinson, patented a similar trap called the "Little Nipper" in 1898, including variations that had a weight-activated treadle as the trip. [6] [7]
In 1899, Atkinson patented a modification of his earlier design that transformed it from a trap that goes off by a step on the treadle into one that goes off by a pull on the bait. [8] The similarity of the latter design with Hooker's of 1894 may have contributed to a common mistake of giving priority to Atkinson.
It is a simple device with a heavily spring-loaded bar and a trip to release it. Cheese may be placed on the trip as bait, but other food such as oats, chocolate, bread, meat, butter and peanut butter are also used. The spring-loaded bar swings down rapidly and with great force when anything, usually a mouse, touches the trip. The design is such that the mouse's neck or spinal cord will be broken, or its ribs or skull crushed, by the force of the bar. The trap can be held over a bin and the dead mouse released into it by pulling the bar. In the case of rats, which are much larger than mice, a much larger version of the same type of trap is used to kill them. Some spring mousetraps have a plastic extended trip. The larger trip has two notable differences over the smaller traditional type: increased leverage, which requires less force from the rodent to trip it; and the larger surface area of the trip increases the probability that the rodent will set off the trap. The exact latching mechanism holding the trip varies, and some need to be set right at the edge in order to be sensitive enough to catch the mouse.
In 1899, John Mast of Lititz, Pennsylvania, filed a U.S. patent for a modification of Hooker's design that can be "readily set or adjusted with absolute safety to the person attending thereto, avoiding the liability of having his fingers caught or injured by the striker when it is prematurely or accidentally freed or released." [9] He obtained the patent on 17 November 1903. After William Hooker had sold his interest in the Animal Trap Company of Abingdon, Illinois, and founded the new Abingdon Trap Company in 1899, the Animal Trap Company moved to Lititz, Pennsylvania, and fused with the J.M. Mast Manufacturing Company in 1905. The new and bigger company in Lititz retained the name Animal Trap Company. [10] Compounding these different but related patents and companies may have contributed to the widespread mis-attribution of priority to Mast rather than Hooker.
An electric 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 U.S. patent 4,250,655 and U.S. patent 4,780,985 .
An early patented mousetrap is a live capture device patented in 1870 by W K Bachman of South Carolina. [11] These traps have the advantage of allowing the mouse to be released into the wild, or the disadvantage of having to personally kill the captured animal if release is not desired. To ensure a live capture, these traps need to be regularly checked as captured mice can die from stress or starvation. Captured mice need to be released some distance away, as mice have a strong homing instinct. [12] House mice tend to not survive long away from human settlements due to higher levels of predation. [13]
There are many methods to live trap mice. One of the simplest designs consists of a drinking glass placed upside down above a piece of bait, its rim elevated by a coin stood on edge. If the mouse attempts to take the bait, the coin is displaced and the glass traps the mouse. [14] Another method of live trapping, the bucket trap, is to make a half-oval shaped tunnel with a toilet paper roll, put bait on one end of the roll, place the roll on a counter or table with the baited end sticking out over the edge, and put a deep bin under the edge. When the mouse enters the toilet paper roll to take the bait, the roll (and the mouse) will tip over the edge and fall into the bin below; the bin needs to be deep enough to ensure that the mouse cannot jump out. [15]
A style of trap that has been used extensively by researchers in the biological sciences for capturing animals such as mice is the Sherman trap. The Sherman trap folds flat for storage and distribution and when deployed in the field captures the animal, without injury, for examination.
Glue traps are made using natural or synthetic adhesive applied to cardboard, plastic trays or similar material. 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 (e.g., moisture, dust), which quickly render the adhesive ineffective. Glue strip or glue tray devices trap the mouse in the sticky glue.
Glue traps often do not kill the animal so some people opt to kill the animal before disposing of the trap. [16] Manufacturers of glue traps usually state that trapped animals should be thrown away with the trap.
Because glue traps do not always kill the animal and often cause them to suffer a slow death, this method of trapping is denounced by animal rights groups and banned in several jurisdictions. Glue traps can be advantageous if the local population of animals have rat mites since the mite will remain on the animal's body while it is still alive and the glue would also trap mites leaving the animal after the animal's death.
Animals that come into contact with the trap can be released from the glue by applying vegetable oil and gently working the animal free. Glue traps are effective and non-toxic to humans.
Death is much slower than with the traditional type trap, which has prompted animal activists and welfare organisations such as PETA and the RSPCA to oppose the use of glue traps. [17] [18] Trapped mice eventually die from exposure, dehydration, starvation, suffocation, or predation, or are killed by people when the trap is checked. In some jurisdictions the use of glue traps is regulated. Victoria, Australia restricts the use of glue traps to commercial pest control operators, and the traps must be used in accordance with conditions set by the Minister for Agriculture. [19] Some jurisdictions have banned their use entirely; [20] 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. [21] The use of glue traps to catch rodents without Ministerial approval has been prohibited in New Zealand since 2015. [22] Uncle Bob's Self Storage, the fifth-largest self storage company in the United States, has ended the use of these devices at all its facilities; other companies that have taken similar measures are ING Barings and Charles Schwab Corporation. [23]
Bucket traps may be lethal or non-lethal. [24] Both types have a ramp which leads to the rim of a deep-walled container, such as a bucket. The variations are many with some being single-catch and some multi-catch. [25]
The bucket may contain a liquid to drown the trapped mouse. The mouse is baited to the top of the container where it falls into the bucket and drowns. Sometimes soap or caustic or poison chemicals are used in the bucket as killing agents.
In non-lethal versions, the bucket is usually empty, allowing the mouse to live but keeping it trapped until the owner of the trap can release them.
Another design features a bowl (or similar container) containing a 1–2 centimetres (0.39–0.79 in) deep layer of vegetable oil, with a ramp leading up to the edge of the bowl. Mice, attracted by the oil's scent, climb in and become covered in the slippery oil, making it impossible for them to crawl or jump out.
In both cases, the unharmed mouse can be released outdoors. However, if several mice are caught simultaneously, and especially if the trap is subsequently left unchecked for several days before release, the mice may kill and eat each other to avoid starvation. To avoid this outcome, non-lethal multi-catch traps should be checked and emptied regularly.
There are several types of one-time use, disposable mousetraps, [26] [27] generally made of inexpensive materials which are designed to be disposed of after catching a mouse. These mousetraps have similar trapping mechanisms as other traps, however, they generally conceal the dead mouse so it can be disposed of without being sighted. Glue traps are usually considered disposable – the trap is discarded with the mouse adhered to the trap.
Similar ranges of traps are sized for to trap other animal species; for example, rat traps 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 similarly sized animals. The device works by drawing the animals in with bait that is placed inside. Upon touch, it forces both sides closed, thereby trapping, but not killing, the animal, which can then be released or killed at the trapper's discretion.
A historical reference is found in Alciatis Emblemata [28] from 1534. The conventional mousetrap with a spring-loaded snap mechanism resting on a block of wood first appeared in 1884, and to this day is still considered to be one of the most inexpensive and effective mousetraps. [29]
Reference to a mousetrap is made as early as 1602 in Shakespeare's Hamlet (Act III, scene 2), where it is the name given to the 'play-within-a-play' by Hamlet himself: "'tis a knavish piece of work", he calls it. There is a reference in the 1844 novel The Three Musketeers by Alexandre Dumas, père. Chapter ten is titled "A Mousetrap of the Seventeenth Century". In this case, rather than referring to a literal mouse trap, the author describes a police or guard tactic that involves lying in wait in the residence of someone whom they have arrested without public knowledge and then grabbing, interviewing, and probably 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.
The Canterbury Tales by Chaucer also references mouse traps in the prelude written sometime between 1387-1400. In the prelude introducing the Nun, Chaucer writes in lines 144-145, "She wolde wepe, if that she saugh a mous/Kaught in a trappe, if it were deed or bledde."
There is an earlier reference to a mousetrap, found in Ancient Greek The Battle of Frogs and Mice : "... by unheard-of arts they had contrived a wooden snare, a destroyer of Mice, which they call a trap.". [30]
A mousetrap (Spanish: ratonera) figures prominently in the second chapter of the 1554 Spanish novel Lazarillo de Tormes, in which the hero Lazarillo steals cheese from a mousetrap to alleviate his hunger.
Ralph Waldo Emerson is credited (apparently incorrectly) with the oft-quoted phrase advocating innovation: "Build a better mousetrap, and the world will beat a path to your door."
The Mousetrap is a popular play by Agatha Christie.
Mousetraps are a staple of slapstick comedy and animated cartoons. Episodes of the cartoon Tom and Jerry usually have plots based on Tom attempting to trap Jerry with different (and sometimes ridiculous) methods of trapping the mouse with a device realized as a Rube Goldberg machine, often being outsmarted by the latter and injuring himself in the process with the traps.
Mouse Trap (originally titled Mouse Trap Game) is a board game first published by Ideal in 1963 for two to four players. The game was one of the first mass-produced, three-dimensional board games. Over the course of the game, players at first cooperate to build a working Rube Goldberg-like mouse trap. Once the mouse trap has been built, players turn against each other, attempting to trap opponents' mouse-shaped game pieces.
Mousetraps loaded with table tennis balls or corks have been used to demonstrate the principle of a chain reaction. [31] [32]
Mousetraps had become a subject of "challenges" on YouTube where people attempted to trigger them quickly with their hands, fingers or even tongue without getting trapped, as well as setting up multiple mousetraps as a prank. YouTubers Gavin Free and Daniel Gruchy created an experiment using a trampoline lined up with hundreds of mousetraps, triggered all at once by jumping into the trampoline, and recorded it in slow-motion.
A mouse is a small rodent. Characteristically, mice are known to have a pointed snout, small rounded ears, a body-length scaly tail, and a high breeding rate. The best known mouse species is the common house mouse. Mice are also popular as pets. In some places, certain kinds of field mice are locally common. They are known to invade homes for food and shelter.
Trolling is a method of fishing where one or more fishing lines, baited with lures or bait fish, are drawn through the water at a consistent, low speed. This may be behind a moving boat, or by slowly winding the line in when fishing from a static position, or even sweeping the line from side-to-side, e.g. when fishing from a jetty. Trolling is used to catch pelagic fish such as salmon, mackerel and kingfish.
A booby trap is a device or setup that is intended to kill, harm or surprise a human or another animal. It is triggered by the presence or actions of the victim and sometimes has some form of bait designed to lure the victim towards it. The trap may be set to act upon trespassers that enter restricted areas, and it can be triggered when the victim performs an action. It can also be triggered by vehicles driving along a road, as in the case of improvised explosive devices (IEDs).
Pest control is the regulation or management of a species defined as a pest; such as any animal, plant or fungus that impacts adversely on human activities or environment. The human response depends on the importance of the damage done and will range from tolerance, through deterrence and management, to attempts to completely eradicate the pest. Pest control measures may be performed as part of an integrated pest management strategy.
Mouse Trap is a board game first published by Ideal in 1963 for two to four players. It is one of the first mass-produced three-dimensional board games. Players at first cooperate to build a working mouse trap in the style of a Rube Goldberg machine. Then, players turn against each other to trap opponents' mouse-shaped game pieces.
Rodenticides are chemicals made and sold for the purpose of killing rodents. While commonly referred to as "rat poison", rodenticides are also used to kill mice, woodchucks, chipmunks, porcupines, nutria, beavers, and voles. Despite the crucial roles that rodents play in nature, there are times when they need to be controlled.
A fly-killing device is used for pest control of flying insects, such as houseflies, wasps, moths, gnats, and mosquitoes.
A spring-gun, booby trap gun etc. is a gun, often a shotgun, rigged to fire when a string or other triggering device is tripped by contact of sufficient force to "spring" the trigger so that anyone stumbling over or treading on it would discharge the gun. Setting or maintaining a spring-gun is illegal in many places.
A rat trap is a trap designed to catch rats. Designs are often larger variations on mousetraps.
Live food is living animals used as food for other carnivorous or omnivorous animals kept in captivity; in other words, small preys fed alive to larger predators kept either in a zoo or as a pet.
Animal trapping, or simply trapping or ginning, is the use of a device to remotely catch and often kill an animal. Animals may be trapped for a variety of purposes, including for meat, fur, sport hunting, pest control, and wildlife management.
Nuisance wildlife management is the selective removal of problem individuals or populations of specific species of wildlife. Other terms for the field include wildlife damage management, wildlife control, and animal damage control. Some wild animal species may get used to human presence, causing property damage or risking the transfer of diseases (zoonoses) to humans or pets. Many wildlife species coexist with humans very successfully, such as commensal rodents which have become more or less dependent on humans.
Rodents have been employed in biomedical experimentation from the 1650s. Currently, rodents are commonly used in animal testing, particularly mice and rats, but also guinea pigs, hamsters, gerbils and others. Mice are the most commonly used vertebrate species, due to their availability, size, low cost, ease of handling, and fast reproduction rate.
James Henry Atkinson was a British ironmonger from Leeds, Yorkshire who is best known for his 1899 patent of the Little Nipper mousetrap. He is cited by some as the inventor of the classic spring-loaded mousetrap, but this basic style of mousetrap was patented a few years earlier in the United States by William Chauncey Hooker in 1894.
Bal-chatri are traps designed to catch birds of prey (raptors). The trap essentially consists of a cage baited inside with a conspicuously visible live rodent or small bird, with a series of monofilament nooses attached to the surface to snare the legs of a free-flying raptor that attempts to take the bait. The name is derived from the Hindi word used by trappers in India. Modified bal-chatri traps are also used for catching shrikes.
"Build a better mousetrap, and the world will beat a path to your door" is a metaphor about the power of innovation. It originated, in a somewhat different form, with Ralph Waldo Emerson. The epigram as known today, which specifies "mousetrap", probably also originated with Emerson, although the evidence for this is indirect.
MouseHunt is a passive browser game in which players, referred to as hunters, catch mice with a variety of traps to earn experience points and virtual gold. MouseHunt was developed by HitGrab, Inc. under the direction of Bryan Freeman and Joel Auge, and was released to a select group of beta testers in early 2007. On 7 March 2008, MouseHunt was officially released to the general public. Just nine months later, MouseHunt earned a $250,000 grant from Facebook's seed fund fbFund. In 2011, it was shortlisted by Facebook as a top game with 50,000 to 100,000 users. It was one of the first games on Facebook to introduce a tradeable digital good (SUPER|brie+).
Bird trapping techniques to capture wild birds include a wide range of techniques that have their origins in the hunting of birds for food. While hunting for food does not require birds to be caught alive, some trapping techniques capture birds without harming them and are of use in ornithology research. Wild birds may also be trapped for their display in captivity in zoological gardens or for keeping as a pet. Bird trapping was formerly unregulated, but to protect bird populations most countries have specific laws and regulations.
d-CON is an America brand of rodent control products, which is distributed and owned in the United States by the UK-based consumer goods company Reckitt.
On August 21 1882, a man by the name of James Alexander Williams from San Saba County, Texas filed a United States patent No.269,766. for a mousetrap incorporating a handgun, "by which animals which burrow in the ground can be destroyed".
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