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How to Attract Mice To Your Trap In A Nutshell:
Test using different bait.Use gloves so they can’t smell humans around the trap.Check all traps daily; don’t leave a dead mouse in a trap longer than a day so as to avoid decaying smell which can put mice off.Place traps near mice activity i.e. mice runs
No Mice Aren’t That Smart
The answer to this question is a bit of yes and no, actually. If you have a mouse infestation, then setting traps will mean that mice will be caught in the traps. Will the mice become wise to the fact that every mouse that has mysteriously disappeared, coincidentally entered a mouse trap?
No, they are not that smart, but they may start to avoid traps for other reasons. If this happens, it can appear that the mice have figured out what happens to any one of them who enters the trap. The truth is usually more down to earth.
Mice have a very keen sense of smell. If they start to avoid traps, it could be because they sense a human smell around the trap. That is why it is always best to wear gloves when handling mouse traps. You also need to clean the traps thoroughly.
When a rodent is killed by a mouse snap trap, or an electric mouse trap, if the mouse lies for perhaps a day or so before being removed, the smell of the dead mouse can be very strong to other mice. When you bait the trap again, other mice may sense the dead mouse smell and be repelled by it.
This is one reason why some people think mice are very smart, and can work out that mouse traps are dangerous things for them. It’s actually more likely that they sense the build up of the smell of death on the trap, or the build up of a human smell through repeated handling. They will likely not know that the trap can kill them, just that a dead mouse was there, or that a human was there, and they would rather not be there.
For this reason, humane mouse traps work extremely well. Mice dribble urine almost constantly. The smell of mice urine is reassuring to them. So, when a mouse is caught in a humane trap, it will spend the time trapped dribbling urine from time to time.
If you subsequently release the mouse and refresh the bait, then when another mouse comes along, it will smell the urine. The mouse will think that if the first mouse was happy to spend time in the trap, there can’t be a problem, and it will happily enter the trap, only to be caught.
Another possible reason why some people think that mice can grow smart about avoiding traps is simply that they don’t position the traps where there is the most mouse activity. They may also not use a bait that the mice are enticed by. So, when you know there are plenty of mice in your home, but they are not getting caught in the traps you have laid, it’s easy to think they know how to avoid traps that will kill them.
The answer here is obvious.
- Work out where the best place is to position the traps – mouse runs.
- Use a bait that the mice will find irresistible, and you may have to experiment with this.
- Clean the traps thoroughly or throw them away after each use.
- Only handle the traps wearing gloves.
- 5. Learn everything about how to get rid of mice and the mice will be caught in your traps.