I still can't wait till I get to tear this crappy fake fireplace out. We've been using this 2nd family room as a work and storage room since we moved in, but with Christmas coming we need to make room in the main family room for the tree. Extra furniture and the computer can go in this room for a while. Before that happens, there is a LOT of cleaning to do - all the tools, boxes, new appliances, etc need to be moved around for room. Lots of fun . . .
This is also the room where the Great Mouse Eradication of '07 is taking place. My fear is that now that we've moved so much stuff around, that they'll go elsewhere. To help keep the odds in my favor I finally picked up the Victor snap-traps - 8 of 'em. 4 in this room, 4 in the basement ('cause I think they might be coming in there and then migrating upstairs), 2 in the garage, and 1 on the stairs. Yeah, I know that adds up to more than 8. Included in the counts are the crappy traps I've been using plus one covered trap for the stairs that the cat probably won't get caught in (and oh, I'd feel so bad if that were to happen...).
I've also looked at the TomCat traps in a little more detail and think I understand why they don't kill the mice quickly.
When the mouse trips the trap the jaws close quickly, but don't gain enough momentum and don't have a strong enough "snap" to really feed the mouse a cup of hot death. The Victor traps, on the other hand, use a thin metal bar which travels 180 degrees, allowing it to gain some good momentum. Plus, that bar is a lot thinner than the "jaws" of the TomCat trap meaning a more localized impact on the mouse. For a comparison, hit your hand with a rubber mallet and then with a regular hammer. Which hurts more? The smaller face of the hammer.
To test my theory (and look like either an idiot or a God to my kids), I put my finger in each trap. By far, the Victor trap scared me more before the experiment and did hurt a lot more. The TomCat didn't hurt at all, while the Victor trap hurt like hell.
Get ready mice, I'm bringin' the pain!
8 comments:
I like your pretty cardboard fireplace. It reminds me of a prop from a high school musical.
Give 'em hell with those traps. I just set out eight of the good 'ol fashioned snappers... flinched more than any guy should in the process... but I'm excited to see some results here.
It's really unfortunate you can't take out that "fireplace" with something like a flamethrower. Something that ugly should be dealt with extreme prejudice.
Some day I will make a pilgrimage to the grave of the motherless bastard who invented Z-Brick. With me will be a large can of gas and a road flare.
Go get 'em, Nate! I had one of the traps in the garage tripped and cleaned out of peanut butter. Those little fvckers are getting too smart.
I'm up to 8 now thanks to a pair of 'em in the garage overnight, Nate. The bar has been raised, how's your reign of terror going?
Oh so you DO have a cat. Hm. You must have gotten a defective one.
OW! You're right about that rubber mallet vs. hammer thing. Dang.
I don't have a cat. My wife has a cat. At 17 years old, he is grandfathered into the household, since she had him before finding me (drunk in a bar, if I remember correctly). I don't know if the cat would know what to do with a mouse if it ever managed to find one - I'm just happy that he still finds his litter box...
oh, and I'm up to 9 now, but none for the past 24 hours. They're probably waiting for reinforcements so they can try and take over by force.
Lawsie mercy, Jeff! LMAO!!
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