Friday, July 19, 2024
Do Mice Really Like Cheese?
In a word, no. But somehow we got that idea and enshrined it in our fables and pop culture. Simon Whistler from Today I Found Out gives us the lowdown. Someone told me long ago that it’s better to load your mousetraps with peanut butter. But I never had to compare the baits because I have cats. (via Laughing Squid)
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3 comments:
I've trapped and killed a lot of mice with cheese. Also with peanut butter, also bacon-fat. Ritz crackers, bread. The thing about mice is that they'll try pretty much anything. But also... the positioning of a mousetrap is probably the most critical thing.
And I've seen cats idly watch as mice saunter by.
I lived for a few years in a very old house that mice used to come to, I think, for their vacations....
I tried humane (catch and release)traps, cats, cage traps, lethal electric shock traps, and the overall winner in number was the good old spring-loaded "Little Nipper" But they kept on coming, I lost count. Then, when I was in despair and ready to move house, the thing that finally did it was an ultrasonic gadget. Despite the fact that I found articles saying they were ineffective. So my mother bought one, and said "There, it hasn't cost you anything at all, so it will cost nothing for you to try it. It worked. And if I switched it off for a week or two? Mice. Back on, no mice.
Peanut butter. A little dab will do ya. And yeah, the standard OTC snapper is by far the best thing to use. Steel wool is the best way to keep them out or moving around inside (they'll eat through expanding foam filler). They only need a hole the size of a dime so use that around heating or plumbing pipes that are accessible. There's also a copper wool that won't rust for outdoor use.
I found peanut butter better than cheese because they couldn't steal the bait from the trap without tripping it.
I wonder how that ultrasonic gadget affects humans and pets over time?
xoxoxoBruce
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