IoT Mouse-Friendly Live Trap

This is a trap to capture the mice without hurting them, so you can release them outside. If the proximity sensor detects the mouse, the Servo motor will close the door. You will receive an instant message and/or an Email, to inform you that you captured a mouse. When you are not at home or to far away, you can release the mouse, wherever you are.

Video Link: https://youtu.be/LA21193Wel4

Step 1: The Design in 3D and the 2D File

As always, I still use Google Sketchup 8 to visualize my idea. Other programs I use are Qcad and Inkscape.

Step 2: Electronic and Software

In this project I use the Sparkfun 8266 Thing, an Ir proximity sensor and a small servo motor.

To use the cayenne library in Arduino you can download the library here

https://mydevices.com/cayenne/docs/getting-started/#getting-started-arduino-arduino-setup-using-cayenne-arduino-library

Step 3: 3-wire Reflective LR Sensor.

There are different versions of this LR modules. I took this one, because when it is mounted, you can easy access the trimmer to adjust the distance. So far I found 3 different Models on the internet. All of this three worked fine on this project.

Model 01 Is the one I finally used.

Model 02 same as Model 01 but a different pinout.

Model 03 Easy to find, but you have to solder the Ir diodes on the other side of the PCB, otherwise you can not access the rotary potentiometer.

Step 4: The Enclosure

I used a laser cutter to create the wooden version of the mousetrap. I tried to design the optimal box. Here you can see how the housing is assembled together. For the windows I used the acrylic part of a CD box.

Step 5: ​Cayenne Dashboard

Most of the trap is controlled over the Web side of https://mydevices.com/.

There are still a few issues with the trigger, but it works and I receive an SMS when the trap catches a mouse. You can: open/close the door and see the status.activate/deactivate the motion detection. It will always display when there is a motion, even when not activated, to see if a mouse moves inside.

Web browser and mobile app screenshot:

Step 6: Last Words

Things to do:

• Add an emergency timer, to release the mouse after a certain time when the connectivity to the internet is lost.

Last points to know:

• You can use this ESP8266 Wifi module or any other Wifi module.
• Avoid direct sunlight, or the LR proximity sensor will not work.
• No animals were hurt during these tests.
• I know that there are more simple solutions, like a cat or an empty bottle, but this is a fun project with potential :)