Many years ago I gave up on so-called humane traps when a mouse was too quick for its own good and got halfway back out again when the door snapped down. His back was broken which paralysed his rear end and I was forced to end his plight swiftly in the garden with an axe. Never again. Then I discovered something called the Big Cheese which involves 2 metal plates connected to batteries and once the mouse touches the 2nd one, and closes the circuit, it is instantly electrocuted. Overwhelmed with mice at the time I caught and despatched 50 or so in a very short time.
Years have passed with no sightings at all and the trap remained, undisturbed. Then last week a loaf of bread on the board was half eaten and the tell tale little black dropping gave the game away. So I removed the bread to safety overnight and reset the trap on the breadboard, I thought it was ok as the little light flashed meaning the batteries were still live but, in the morning the trap was empty..........but the bait was gone and the little black dots abounded.
New batteries inserted and yesterday morning a large dead mouse in the trap. Set it again last night and this morning it was empty, and no little black dots. Has his clan learned the lesson so quickly, or was he a lone wolf in mouse's clothing? On verra.
