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No-See, No-Touch Rodent Death Chamber

No-See, No-Touch Rodent Death Chamber
If you're like me, you experienced a childhood trauma that left you with an unreasonable fear of dead animals. Then you wisely bought a hundred-year-old house, which sometimes is visited by mice. How will you get rid of the unwelcome guests without coming face-to-face with their disgusting little corpses (which give you the jibblies)? You'd build a no-see, no-touch rodent death chamber.

(You consider using poison, but you realize it would be a mistake. They usually crawl into the walls to die, but not always. Sometimes they die in shoes or coolers or under your sofa (see "childhood trauma" above). And the whole idea is to get rid of them without having to see them. Ever.)
 
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Step 1Gather stuff

Gather stuff
Materials:
Paper grocery bag
Spring-loaded mousetrap (the killing kind)
Strip of paper (not pictured)

Tools:
Sharp knife
Glue gun
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39 comments
Jan 3, 2012. 9:22 PMstudiohq says:
ROFL OMG THAT WAS FUNNY!

Awesome instructible !

Very Useful, I would not have thought of that!

Gonna try it!

Oct 31, 2010. 8:17 AManibioman says:
this is great i got all the mice out of my house using no kill traps and releasing them at my high school not in it just on the grounds
Aug 20, 2010. 7:35 AMbeehard44 says:
does anyone know where to buy rat traps here in Makati, Philippines? i have been using rat poison but want to see the rats suffer a little by getting trapped. It seems that the rats here are used to being chased down by cats and running from human visual.
Apr 10, 2010. 7:41 AMalaskanbychoice says:
Great Instructable for the squeemish.
Jul 16, 2009. 5:51 AMgetthim says:
very useful
Oct 17, 2008. 3:03 AMblindflacker says:
Great idea. I had to buy one of those grabber arms just so I can handle the trap and I hate looking at the mouse when their eyes bug out from the spring.
Nov 15, 2007. 7:06 PMsuerose says:
this was sent to me by a friend who knew i needed it.
Aug 30, 2007. 1:04 PMmusicalbee2003 says:
Fear of dead animals + infestation = need for havahart trap, or visit this sight, http://mousetrap.droehnland.net/
Aug 30, 2007. 1:06 PMmusicalbee2003 says:
Aug 24, 2007. 11:57 PMtruovrld says:
I think you've managed to build a 'better mouse trap.' Way to go! I, too, have a traumatic story dealing with dead mice.
Aug 20, 2007. 7:02 PMnedfunnell says:
Clever... but seriously, this is ridiculous. Get over your fear and just empty the trap. When did it become acceptable to be a pansy? My intent is not to insult you, but it's not okay to carry irrational fear to this extent. Suck it up, get over it, and empty the mousetrap. It's not that hard.
Jun 22, 2007. 7:22 AMdanakayama says:
Examining the corpse of a trapped mouse gives you valuable information, such as general health, parasite load, sex ratios, and breeding status. If I had not known that the dead mouse on the counter was a lactating mother, I would not have known to go and find the orphaned mouse babies. They are little, but still stink when they decompose. Besides, in a culture that glorifies 'guilt-free' killing, experiencing the frisson of guilt invoked by the deliberate death of a mouse is real and good.
May 12, 2007. 9:04 PMJawatech says:
lol @ "WELCOME"
Mar 19, 2007. 11:32 PMWonderground says:
Very clever, however why not kill them at all, there are many means to capture them. Problem:Fear of dead animals. Illogical solution:Convert living animals into dead ones, however shield from sight. Logical solution:Capture animal and release away from infested area.
Apr 17, 2007. 8:41 PMthingygoboom says:
infested area: your evil neighbors yard where they will kill them Besides some people dont even want to see mice.
Mar 19, 2007. 3:31 PMarmindilo says:
It is a neat idea. However, I would be one of those people that says this is a very wasteful method. Something about filling landfills with bits of wood and metal just so you don't have to clear the trap doesn't appeal too me. Maybe I just love the environment too much.
Mar 19, 2007. 9:09 PMmdmoose29 says:
that darned thick metal wire and wood that doesn't decompose.. whispers (u forgot about the paper bags and spots of hot glue) atleast a dump is designated for trash.. in my neighborhood the workers tend to push all the trash into a pile and bury it in the yards.. it makes for nice sink holes in the years to come.
Mar 21, 2007. 12:33 AMarmindilo says:
Wood in a landfill doesn't compose. Also it has nothing to do with how big or small the garbage is, its the fact that it's unnecessary garbage. The idea of a landfill is really dumb anyway, it can be used more efficiently, but I guess some people love polluted drinking water, no big deal.....
Apr 14, 2007. 5:05 AMVendigroth says:
the pthalates give it extra flavour....
Mar 19, 2007. 2:53 PMjtobako says:
the only problem i can see with this is 'false positives' increasing the cost.
Mar 19, 2007. 4:45 PMAndrew546 says:
Unless your trapping anorexic mice, I think you'll be able to tell if its a false positive or not just by holding it. just make sure you get a fell for how much the trap + bag weighs empty, so you can compare it to "full."
Apr 12, 2007. 4:58 PMhenryj says:
How about mixing a "live trap" and automatic potato gun? That way it will shoot the little rodent into the neighbors yard. If he is lucky and has lived a good rodent life, maybe he will survive to try it again someday. Just an idea to keep the wheels turning.
Mar 26, 2007. 12:16 AMErik Lindemann says:
Now a better idea, while still using your flag technique, would be to have the trap pull a drawstring that shut the bag when it is triggered. That way you can be extra sure you wouldn't look inside.
Mar 26, 2007. 11:58 PMErik Lindemann says:
As will I.
Mar 21, 2007. 4:42 AMStev0lution says:
Anyone who eats meat should be able to look at a dead animal. Do you eat meat? Pretty wasteful as well. The flag idea is a good one, but still for a pretty vegan-tastic device. Keep on makin.
Mar 20, 2007. 5:13 PMRobyntheslug says:
How about a catch and release trap? you can make them with stuff you find around the house (maybe I'll do an instructable and use my pet rats as an example!)
Mar 19, 2007. 4:01 PMcrapflinger says:
so it would be safe to say thatthisinstructable is not in your favorites list? (or anything else canida posts for sure)...hehe i'd love to hear the background of your dead things aversion
Mar 19, 2007. 8:42 PMjtobako says:
that's a nasty trick, at least warn them that it's the taxidermy one.
Mar 20, 2007. 8:42 AMcrapflinger says:
wasn't meant as a trick...sorry...DON'T CLICK MY LINK IF YOU HAVE A DEAD-THING-AVERSION...sorry
Mar 20, 2007. 5:15 AMCalltaker says:
Neat idea. I count myself fortunate to not need to use wood and metal traps any more. Between a Chihuahua and a Golden retriever, I never have to worry about mice, the Chihuahua renders it living impaired and the retriever takes it outside and dumps it, after that the neighborhood stray cats remove it from my property. Mother Nature is a wonderful thing :) Overall, though, well done instructable!! ~C
Mar 19, 2007. 6:25 PMjackfr0st says:
ha ha lol. nice strongbad / homestar runner refrence :D
Mar 19, 2007. 5:38 PMaustin says:
Wait so how do you trap anorexic mice? Ive got a major problem with them running around my house eating nothing
Mar 19, 2007. 3:43 PMJohn Smith says:
Nice. Now, I want to see a giant version for raccoons.
Mar 19, 2007. 2:54 PMfrank26080115 says:
That's the most creative idea I've seen this week!
Mar 19, 2007. 1:59 PMjeffreyf says:
The flag idea is really clever!
Mar 19, 2007. 1:35 PMWeissensteinburg says:
This is a great idea...i'd definitely use this, if I had mice.

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Author:randycox