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The Cat Proof Trap Revisited

I am entering this blog to update my article called The Cat Proof Rodent Trap: Part I whereby I wrote an article that described my dilemma trying to trap rodents in a house full of cats. The problem that faced me was that the trap had to be located in the same place the cats had access to. I realized an accessible spring loaded trap could snap on their nose or poison could kill them and not the mouse.

Seeking a solution for this dilemma, I went to the local Tractor Supply Company (TSC) and purchased a Rabbit Nesting Box which I converted it into my Cat Proof Rodent Trap. When I published that post on October 17th, 2018, I hadn’t caught anything. I noticed that the critters did go inside the box to escape the cats and popped the trap. They also left droppings at other times. But I still had no trapped mouse or rat to show successful implementation of my efforts until today, June 22, 2019.Yikes!

As I stated in the first blog, my introduction to the problem came when I first did work on my house before moving in. I was making repairs in the utility room and sat on a 5 gallon bucket. Without any noise or warning, a big rat crawled right over my left foot (no running or quick movements involved). It disappeared through a whole in the wall and I never saw it again. Freaked me out!

I guessed the critter came out from under the vanity in the guest bathroom behind me. I tried to follow it with a 4′ level in my hand to use as a club. Since that procedure has never worked, I had to search for effective solutions to lure the pests into some type of trap and then kill them while they are in there.

Different Ways To Catch A Mouse

Cats may be your best weapon. They can hear the slightest noise running across the floor and will wait for endless hours in front of a mouse or rat escape hole for the victim to emerge. Acting like the perfect stealth weapon, they can pounce with lightning-quick reflexes and snatch anything in a flash with their front claws. I found this out while teasing them. Ouch!

We started out with 7 cats and are now down to two, a mother and one son. Some just took off on their own, and a few disappeared via a possible predator. One died of some unknown sickness. So those two that are left are the ones we depend on to catch mice which have totaled 5 or 6 so far.

Another method we discovered recently is the drip buckets under our window air conditioners. When the condensate from the units fills the receptacles halfway with water, the liquid refreshment invites the mice to climb in for a drink. The kicker is, once they manage to get in, they can’t climb the slick walls of the plastic and can’t jump out of the water. So, they swim until they drown (2 so far).

The third option is poison. But you have to put it where your pets can’t reach it. It is not my favorite method either. I had a client, whom I built a home for in New Orleans, catch one with a snap-trap where the exterminator’s poison bait failed doing its job. So the snap-trap seems to be the best method. I tried peanut butter as bait for a long time with no results. Finally, I resorted to using a chunk of Velveeta Cheese and voila! We got our first mouse with my contraption.

The Final Verdict

If all this fuss I am spouting forth seems silly, then you haven’t had a mouse (or rat) in your house. Seeing one scurry along a wall in your bedroom is disconcerting. And if you live in the country, they are much more prevalent. My Cat Proof Rodent Trap is my invention and now I know it works. It is halfway completed for you with the Rabbit Nest Box. All you have to do is finish it as per my instructions in The Cat Proof Rodent Trap: Part I. Once done, your pets will thank you for sparing their tender noses or soft paws. Happy hunting!

UPDATE: 

8/20/2020

Another Mouse?

We caught another mouse and 5 more since then using Velveta Cheese as bait. These are the pictures:

I am requesting that my readers click on the links provided and download a sample read of each book and give a review on Amazon. You will have free access to the first four chapters of each book. My hope is that you will like the story lines enough to obtain either an eBook version or a paperback copy that you can put on your bookshelf as a masterpiece when you are done. FATE STALKS A HERO I: RESURGENCE, FATE STALKS A HERO II:THE FIJI FULCRUM, and THE SAGA OF HERACLES PENOIT. I will be giving excerpts on these works in upcoming blogs to familiarize you the reader with exciting details about the contents of each one. Thank you!

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