Freeing mice from glue traps; humane traps

Question
QUESTION: Every year I get dozens of mice in my basement but i can't stand to use traps that kill them.I made a trap myself that will not harm the mouse but what kinds of food will attract mice to the trap?

ANSWER: Dear Brianna,

Mice LOVE peanut butter, and by that I mean the commercial stuff such as Skippy, Jif, Peter Pan, etc.  They love it because it has three ingredients they enjoy:  fat, salt, and sugar.  You can put it on a Triscuit if it is too messy otherwise.  Butter on toast is another yummy idea.  It will go bad fairly quickly so if it doesn't get eaten, change it often.  The same goes for salted, buttered popcorn.  Soft cheeses because the small carries; i.e., brie or camembert.  Something like Stilton with apricots-- that is, dessert cheeses, found in the deli section-- is also delectable.  For you and for the mice!  

When you release the mice, do it over two miles from the house, in an area where the mice can find lots of places to hide, on a nice weather day.  Leave them some food-- from the pet store or bird feed or any kind of seeds-- to start them on their way.

Thank you for being kind to mice!

squeaks n giggles,

Natasha

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: I just have one more question. my dad uses a lot of sticky mouse traps to kill the mice.and he doesn't care if they die or not.i have tried to pry a mouse off one of the traps but i can't get the mouse off.is there a way to get a mouse off a sticky mouse trap without killing it?

Answer
Dear Brianna,

Glue traps are terribly inhumane.  The mice on those traps spend several days dying of a combination of terror, thirst, and hunger.  The traps are marketed as being 'convenient'-- all you have to do is dump the occupied trap in the trash and you can 'conveniently' forget the fact that you are condemning a little life to an excruciating death.  

What to do if a mouse is on a glue trap?  I found the following instructions on the Internet:

"How to remove mice from glue traps so they don't starve and so you don't break their legs and/or tails:
ITEMS NEEDED
Q-tips
leave-in hair conditioner*
*(Infusium 23 spray works great)
large plastic jug or bottle with little air-holes
snug-fitting latex or rubber gloves
a gentle touch
patience
empty, clean five-gallon bucket*
*(or cheap plastic trash can)
chemical free paper-towels (or an old cotton sock)

At all times keep your fingers away from the mouse's body, feet, and face. They bite when they are frightened. Keep a Q-tip's length between you and mouse at all times (unless you're very gently handling it by the tail).
On a flat counter-top or tabletop (with the five gallon bucket very close by) spray a bit of leave-in conditioner onto the mouses stuck feet and fur, where they come in contact with the glue-board.
With two Q-tips, begin gently working the mouse's tiny, delicate feet and fur away from the glue.
Spray a little more conditioner on the glue-board (beneath the mouse) as you go---every time you manage to get a foot or some fur loose (which will form a layer BETWEEN the mouse and the glue, enabling it to stay un-stuck). Little mouse will get re-stuck immediately if you do not do this.
When you're on the last appendage (foot or tail) hold the mouse and trap just a few inches above the bottom surface of the five-gallon bucket (or deep plastic trash can).
CAREFULLY work the last appendage free of the trap (you can sometime pull very gently on the tail but it's best just to use the Q-tips as little levers).
Let the mouse fall gently into the bottom of the five-gallon bucket. He'll be happy with some ripped up paper towels (unscented, no chemicals, mice are sensitive to this stuff) and a few honey-nut cheerios or some granola. (Seriously, they love this stuff.)
Take the mouse to a wooded or brushy area with natural shelter and at least some kind of food source, and release it. (Blackberry bushes are great shelter and food.) Leave him a pile of oats. He'll love you and respect you in the morning. Preferably don't do this in the dead of winter... have the common sense to wait until spring so they don't starve or freeze. (I typically keep the mice I catch until then and let them go when the snow thaws. They're such cute little buggers, but not when they're crapping all over my pantry... ;-)"

A comment by another user:

"hey-- a simpler way to free mice from glue traps is with some water and cooking oil-- just stay away from the little guy's face, and put on some plastic gloves. pour a bit of oil and water on the parts where he's stuck and mush it around with your finger until he's almost free. Just make sure to stay away from his face and put the trap in a box so he doesn't scurry away. this worked the other day for me, when the new apt. I moved into had left a trap set for us."

~~

You could also work behind your father's back.  One strategy would be to put a layer of oil or hairspray on the trap before a mouse finds it.  Another would be to put something on it which will discourage the mouse from getting near it.  I would try a pepper spray, as it probably wouldn't be noticed by your dad.  Hot sauce would be a little more difficult to use.  Another sneaky trick would be to hide moth balls near the traps.  Mice hate moth balls.  

You could also beg your dad.  Tell him how awful it is.  Poison isn't any better-- the mice die terrible, agonizing deaths "conveniently" out of sight.  If you have to kill mice, and I don't believe you ever have to, but if your father insists on killing mice, please use a normal spring mouse trap.  It may be slightly less 'convenient' to have to see the death you are causing, but a little dose of reality is better than hiding torture.  

There is also a multitude of humane traps.  The most common is the original Hav-A-Hart trap:
http://www.pets-warehouse.com/Vpasp/shopdisplayproducts.asp?id=2306

which is a little mesh cage with doors that close when the mouse puts its paws on a little food dish.  You will note they also have little one-mouse reusable plastic box cages which might work well too, and are quite inexpensive.  I have also seen various home trapping methods around the 'net.  Here are a couple of ideas:

~~

One person writes "I have humanely caught mice... by placing a plank over a bucket with bait on the end. A paint stirring stick is the perfect plank. Set it such that it's a few inches over the lip of the bucket. Set the other end on another surface that is level with the bucket so that it acts as a bridge. When the mouse walks across it and over the bucket's edge towards the bait, the plank will tip from the weight of the mouse, and it will fall inside."

Similar:  "Another easy way to catch mice without hurting them that I have used is to take a paper towel roll and balance it on a counter top, place peanut butter at the end of the paper towel roll and put a garbage can or something the mice can't jump out of underneath. Balance the paper towel roll so that it will fall when the mouse runs to the end."

A funny idea: "A trap along the same lines but with less work, is by using a glass milk-bottle. Pour a little olive-oil inside and roll the bottle to coat the inner surface, insert your bait through the opening and use a lot. Leave bottle resting tilted slightly upwards near where you know the mouse has been.
The mouse should get in easily enough but after stuffing his face, he will have expanded considerably and will find it hard to drag his fat self up an oil-coated glass surface. Even if he succeeds, his bulk will probably prevent him getting through the neck until he slims down a bit.. To release him, just take the bottle to a shaded area and leave it.. He will eventually get skinny enough to leave and predators will be unable to get in to him.."

Here is a really complicated but no-cost homemade trap:

http://www.humanemousetrap.info/

Not every trap works for every mouse.

~~

One last note-- if the mouse is going to die, do it quickly.  Get your dad to chop its head with a sharp knife while it is on the trap.  There is no excuse not to do this.

keep up the crusade...

squeaks,

Natasha