The world needs more mouse traps that work. Why? Because the world will always have mice ready to run into your home the second you let your guard down. No matter how vigilant you are, or how secure you think your home is, it only takes one mistake. That’s why inventors everywhere work under the mantra of ‟building a better mouse trap.” But is that even possible?
Snap mouse traps The most successful mouse traps ever invented have been around for hundreds of years. The classic snap trap is a study in simplicity, as explained by Drexel University’s Department of Physics:
‟In 1895, John Mast of Lancaster, Pennsylvania, invented the snap-trap. Mast's simple trap enticed the mouse with a bit of bait held in a bait pedal and dispatched it with a striker that struck within three milliseconds of the mouse's fatal nibble.”
This unsophisticated but effective trap works with just a bit of mouse bait and a steady hand. Yet as impressive as they are, snap traps still haven’t wiped mice off the planet or even prevented them from entering homes.
Try, try again The continuing mouse problem has led to constant innovation in mouse control. Unfortunately, much of it hasn’t been successful, as the physicists at Drexel go on to note, ‟since 1838 when the U.S. Patent Office was opened, 4,400 patents have been granted for mousetraps (sic), although less than 25 such inventions have made their creators any profits.”
Electronic mouse trap But those statistics haven’t kept inventors from trying to build mouse traps that work better, if not differently. Take this futuristic electronic mouse trap, proposed by some very smart engineering students at the University of Massachusetts (Umass) :
‟Smart Trap is a high-tech, non-lethal mouse trap. It uses a passive infrared sensor to detect when a mouse has entered. The trap then automatically pushes the notification data to the cloud that will sync with the android application. The user will be notified of the mouse capture on the app on their mobile device and can then take the trap outside and release the mouse. Release can be done either remotely from the application or by pressing a switch on the trap. Once the mouse leaves the trap, the user will be notified, and the trap can then be brought back inside to be setup again.”
Of course, nothing is preventing the mouse from coming back in the second you let it go, so sealing off points of entry is vital with these kinds of ‟catch and release” traps.
Live mouse trap Not all non-lethal mouse traps are high-tech, but they all have the same drawback for anyone who is scared of mice. The University of California at Davis explains:
‟Multiple-capture live traps for mice … can catch several mice at a time without being reset, reducing the labor involved. When using such traps, live mice need to be removed frequently and humanely euthanized.”
These live ‟mice traps” are generally ‟some sort of cage that has an entrance but not an exit,” according to Drexel’s physicists. They work fine, as long as you don’t mind handling the mice afterward. Not many people want to do that, though (and with good reason – mice can transmit diseases, viruses and parasites to humans).
The best way to not deal with mice at all? Call Terminix®, and find out that a better mouse trap already exists: the Terminix Service Technician.
