It’s only October, and already it feels like winter is in too much of a hurry to get here. That means millions of us are about to start sharing our living quarters with some unwanted guests – those “snowbirds”–the mice–who move indoors as outdoor temperatures drop.
I think the little darlings are perfectly adorable–in cartoon animation in a Disney movie. They’re also fun to watch scamper about in the woods outside my home. But when I go to bed at night and hear their little scratchy nails darting up and down the plasterboard behind the walls and see the little “presents” they leave me in my cabinets and empty suitcases (yeech), it’s time for more drastic action.
Introducing the Eco-Friendly Live Mouse Trap
I won’t do traditional mouse traps, mostly because I don’t want to hear them snap or empty them after they do. I know, I’m a wimp. My other option up til now has been to call the pest control company and then go hide.
But I just found out about Catch-A-Mouse, a third alternative solution that’s efficient and eco-friendly. It uses empty recycled plastic bottles with a special top to relocate the little darlings outdoors again – alive.
Americans are estimated to throw away more than 60 million plastic beverage bottles a day! That’s so outragious. But with Catch-A-Mouse, plastic beverage bottles get a second life as a humane mouse trap.
Here’s How These Live Mouse Traps Work
Forget about setting snap traps, especially if you have pets or children at home. And there’s no sticky glue pad or poison to worry about, either. Catch-A-Mouse is clean and easy to set up, and it’s safer than other pest control options because you never actually have to come into contact with the rodent.
All you have to do is find an empty plastic water or soda bottle, bait it with peanuts or peanut butter and attach the bottle to the Catch-A-Mouse’s cheese-shaped portal. (You may as well hang a welcome sign on front.) Mice are attracted to the baited bottle’s one-way entrance. Once caught, they remain unharmed inside, so there’s no more alarming discoveries of snapped or poisoned mice.
No mice are harmed in the making of this humane capture scenario–and they’re not escaping either. The company says trapped mice appear relaxed and comfortable inside the bottle until they’re release live outdoors. I’m not sure I’m looking that carefully.
But relocation of the bottled mouse from inside your home to the outdoors is touch-free and at your convenience. Trapped mice are then released by rotating the cheese-head trap upside down. Au revoir, mouse.
Product inventor Bryan Muche sums up the motivation behind his invention perfectly, “We have found that homeowners especially prefer Catch-A-Mouse because it removes the ‘ick factor’ from mouse trapping; mice are securely contained within the bottle.”
Green Bottle USA, the small, nature-friendly company based in Janesville, WI, that markets Catch-a-Mouse and other eco-friendly products, specializes in creative ways to reuse or remake empty plastic beverage bottles.
Where I live out in the woods, I can see myself playing this cat-and-mouse game all winter long. But, come Spring, I’ll have a clear conscience.
Other pest control articles:
Meet Duke, The Bed-Bug-Sniffing Dog
Borate Ends Annual Treatment for Termites
Enjoy Your Back Yard without Pesky Mosquitos
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