No-See, No-Touch Rodent Death Chamber

by randycox

19K2640

Intro: 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.)

STEP 1: Gather Stuff

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

Tools:
Sharp knife
Glue gun

STEP 2: Prep the Mousetrap

Glue a 1cm wide strip of paper to the top of the trap, right next to the locking arm. The paper should extend up the entire length of the trap.

Lift the kill bar and feed the strip of paper under it.

STEP 3: Prep the Bag

Stand the paper bag on one of its narrow sides. You may need to reverse-fold the creases to make it stand open.

Cut a horizontal slit in the bottom of the bag, near the bottom edge where it is resting on the table. The slit should be slightly wider than the paper flag that is glued to the trap.

STEP 4: Mount the Trap in the Bag

Hot glue the trap inside of the bag on the narrow side which is now the floor of the death chamber. Position the trap so that the flag is directly under the slit. On the trap that is not set, the kill bar should point toward the opening in the bag.

(This and many subsequent photos were taken through a cut-away portion of the bag for demonstration purposes. You should leave your bag intact to protect your sensitive eyes from having to gaze upon dead rodents.)

STEP 5: Set the Trap

Bait the trap with whatever you want. Peanut butter works well.

Set the trap in the normal manner, then feed the end of the flag through the slit so that it is looped over the kill bar.

Tear off the flag so that only a few centimeters extend out of the bag. This will ensure that the entire flag is pulled inside when the trap is sprung.

You might want to fold a handy entrance ramp at the opening for your mice guests. You want to make it as easy as possible for them, right?

STEP 6: Wait for a Critter to Meet Its Doom!

Put the prepared death chamber against the wall in your basement, attic, or wherever you find signs of mousey activity. Check the death chamber daily, but to NOT look into it! Simply glance at the flag on the back. If the flag is still sticking out, leave it alone. If the flag is pulled in, the trap has been sprung.

STEP 7: Dispose of the Whole Death Chamber

When the flag is no longer visible, carefully (so you don't accidentally see inside) pick up the bag and fold over the top a few times. Take the whole thing out to the trash.

Repeat as necessary.

Some people will complain that you are wasteful not to simply empty the trap and reuse it. Those people are insane. Traps are dirt cheap, and you can make a new death chamber in five minutes. That's a small price to pay to avoid the jibblies.

39 Comments

studiohq 12 years ago

ROFL OMG THAT WAS FUNNY!

Awesome instructible !

Very Useful, I would not have thought of that!

Gonna try it!

anibioman 13 years ago

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

beehard44 13 years ago

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.

blindflacker 15 years ago

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.

suerose 16 years ago

this was sent to me by a friend who knew i needed it.

truovrld 16 years ago

I think you've managed to build a 'better mouse trap.' Way to go! I, too, have a traumatic story dealing with dead mice.

nedfunnell 16 years ago

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.

danakayama 16 years ago

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.

Wonderground 17 years ago

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.

thingygoboom 17 years ago

infested area: your evil neighbors yard where they will kill them Besides some people dont even want to see mice.

armindilo 17 years ago

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.

mdmoose29 17 years ago

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.

armindilo 17 years ago

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.....

Vendigroth 17 years ago

the pthalates give it extra flavour....

jtobako 17 years ago

the only problem i can see with this is 'false positives' increasing the cost.
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