5 Clever Ways to Make a Simple No-Kill Trap for Mice & Rats

Once when I was a kid, my dad used a glue trap to catch a mouse in our basement. The result was so awful for the mouse that my mom and I made him promise to never use that kind of trap again. Call me a softy, but I'm a firm believer that you don't have to kill pests to get rid of them.

There's no shortage of traps, repellents, and poisons available, but if you don't want to kill or hurt the mouse, your options are pretty limited. Sometimes, you just have to get creative, but hopefully with better luck than this guy.

Image Credit blogspot.com

Though I do admire his tenacity.

1. Bucket & Spoons

One particularly clever solution requires only a large bucket, a spoon, and some peanut butter. Put a dab of peanut butter on the handle of the spoon and balance it on a countertop with the bucket underneath. When the mouse runs out to get the peanut butter, it will fall into the bucket along with the spoon.

Image Credit imgur.com

Check out the comments on the original reddit thread for more tips.

2. Bucket & Cardboard Tube

If you don't like the idea of a mouse touching your silverware, you can make a similar trap using any number of materials, like this toilet paper roll version by Instructables user kre84fun.

Image Credit instructables.com

3. Bucket & Soda Bottle

Don't want to keep resetting the trap? Try skewering a plastic bottle and positioning it over a bucket so it spins when the mouse runs out to get the peanut butter like in the video below (skip to 1:25 to see it in action).

4. Bucket & Paper Plate

Similarly, you can also use a paper plate to make a repeating mouse trap.

5. Glass & Coin

Even simpler, Instructables user Tim Anderson just puts some peanut butter on the inside of a glass and props it up on a nickel. When the mouse tries to get the peanut butter, the glass should fall and trap it inside.

Image Credit instructables.com

Now What?

The hardest part of catching a mouse is figuring out what to do with it.

Once a mouse marks its territory, it can find its way back from a pretty impressive distance. If you plan to release it anywhere near your home, make sure you find and block the entrance it originally came through, or else your guest will be back in no time.

If it's determined enough to get back in via another means, you might as well learn to live with it, maybe teach it some basketball.

Got Any Other Ideas?

Know of any other simple no-kill traps you can make at home? Let us know in the comments below.

Mouse in container via hradcanska, Wile E. Coyote screen capture via Ryan Wells