Important Research -mice and junk food
We have mice at the studio. It is an unfortunate and somewhat embarrassing fact - but it is the truth. They may be super powered mice from radiation exposure from the lot next door, or just plain old NYC mice that are moving through the various apts. in our building. If only they didn’t poop so much and eat our food I wouldn’t really care, and would be happy to have a mini-mascots, but alas they are nasty little creatures and they have to go.
Which brings us to our experiment. Yesterday we went down to Lowes and picked up a live mouse trap. We are going to begin a series of experiments to see what delicious bait gets them into the trap.
Day 1: Unbaited Trap
We followed the instructions on the package and left the trap unbaited. We saw squeakers run past the trap twice without blinking an eye. This morning when we came into the office nothing had been caught.
Day 2: Crushed Peanut M&Ms
I crushed 3 peanut M&Ms and left them in the trap. We’ll report back tomorrow to see if we had any luck.
Day 3-4: Snickers
UPDATE: Snickers attracted no attention. On to the next item.
- Day 5: BACON
Per a comment below, our next bait item is a piece of bacon. We couldn’t get our hands on some bacon grease, but perhaps the smell will be strong enough to lure him into the trap. He just scurried across the floor about ah hour ago (while the snickers was still inside), running right past the trap.
If you have any suggestions of successful mouse bait - let us know!
On a side note, I brought my cat Wiggum down to the office today so he could spread his cat mojo around, and maybe even earn his keep for once. While Wiggum is a real tough guy at home, terrorizing our other cat and generally lording over his domain, he isn’t taking the trip to the studio too well. He is hiding under a chair.
August 17th, 2006 at 9:54 pm
Yes. I am currently being outsmarted by a mouse in my apartment as well. Previously I have had pretty good luck with peanut butter on a little corner of a cracker. This time I have been using natural peanut butter and it is definitely not appealing to the mouse at all. Apparently choosy rodents choose Jif. Or something.
I am going to try M&Ms also, if only because they sound good to me right now.
I’ll check back on your progress and let you know if I have a breakthrough.
August 18th, 2006 at 3:56 am
I am told by an exterminator that bacon grease is irresistible to mice.
August 18th, 2006 at 1:59 pm
If you can find the holes they are coming in from, stuff steel wool in them. Also, if you are using “glue” traps, and gosh-for-bid they are still alive on it when you find them and you want to release them, use olive oil. Pour it on the trap so it works itself underneath the mouse and losens the glue. This has worked in the past, but who knows what industrial strength adhesives they use now.
August 18th, 2006 at 2:07 pm
All very good suggestions! We are tyring to avoid the glue traps cause we don’t think we can handle the guilt. My cat actually sat his big 20lb butt right on top of the mouse hole yesterday so maybe that scared them into moving out.
August 18th, 2006 at 2:19 pm
Peanut butter, no cracker needed. Let me know how the tender traps work and if Andrew remembers our adventure with them. I can’t bear to use the glue traps either.
August 18th, 2006 at 8:31 pm
i tried the steel wool trick - didn’t work at all. They just chewed around it and popped it out of the hole.
I poisoned my mice, but it didn’t work that well and I had to finish the job with a big board. nasty business.
August 19th, 2006 at 12:41 am
We’ve got a few slices of a snickers bar in the trap with some crumbs trailing into the entrance. (very old school tom and jerry trick). Hopefully this will attract some attention over the weekend. The crushed peanut M&Ms proved ineffective.
We tried poison a few months ago, but then we ended up with the stink of the decomposing mice in the office. We were eventually able to track down the source - and it wasn’t pleasant - AT ALL.
Related note: when I was young we found a dead mouse in a bottle of vegetable oil (it had found its way in but couldn’t make it out). That was REALLY nasty.
August 19th, 2006 at 12:52 pm
Billy Collins
I ask them to take a poem
and hold it up to the light
like a color slide
or press an ear against its hive.
I say drop a mouse into a poem
and watch him probe his way out,
or walk inside the poem’s room
and feel the walls for a light switch.
I want them to waterski
across the surface of a poem
waving at the author’s name on the shore.
But all they want to do
is tie the poem to a chair with rope
and torture a confession out of it.
They begin beating it with a hose
to find out what it really means.
August 21st, 2006 at 5:14 pm
I can’t believe you guys haven’t done what every cartoon says you should use: CHEESE!
September 2nd, 2006 at 5:14 am
The problem with catching a mouse is that you then have to dispose of the little critter. Best solution is to give the cat time to do his magic. Can’t Wiggum stay in the office for a few days?
April 12th, 2007 at 5:09 am
usually mice goes to the place where they can find food…garbage. clean your place properly and if still there are mice… you can put poisons for rat on places where you can see them commonly, put the poisons during nigth time. i think there are a lot of poisons for rats available in stores. i usually dont trust cats…
April 12th, 2007 at 7:50 pm
Try using some gummy worms for bait
September 5th, 2007 at 9:27 am
When using gummy worms for bait, what type of water is it usedin(fresh or salt water) , and what type of fish would it catch?
September 5th, 2007 at 9:27 am
When using gummy worms for bait, what type of water is it used in(fresh or salt water) , and what type of fish would it catch?
September 5th, 2007 at 9:37 am
I am an 11 year old boy thatm lovesw to go fishing and found outthat gummy worms are a sorce of bait and i”m going in salt water. I’m fishing for baby bluefish /snapper, big bluefish, and striped bass. Would gummy worms be used for this type of fishing. Usally I use bunker and clams on a lure. Can you put a gummy worm on a lure and use it for luring?