DIY mouse traps that work, and where to put them

Which traps are worth buying?

If you've walked down the trap aisle at a hardware store in Paducah or Bowling Green, you know there are a lot of choices. Some of them work great. Some of them mostly work on your wallet. Here's what we've seen hold up in real homes around western and south central Kentucky.

Snap traps: still the best bang for your buck

The old wooden snap trap has been around for over a hundred years for a reason. It's cheap, it's quick and it works. The newer plastic versions with a big trigger pedal are even easier to set and easier to empty.

If you're only going to buy one kind, buy these, and buy a bunch of them. A pack of twelve doesn't cost much and gives you enough to cover a kitchen, garage and utility room.

Live catch traps

Some people would rather catch mice and let them go. That's fine, but there are a couple of catches. You need to check them at least once a day, and you need to let the mouse go a good ways from your house. If you turn it loose at the edge of the yard, it'll probably beat you back inside.

Glue boards

We don't recommend these for most homes. They tend to catch whatever wanders by, including the cat's tail, and a lot of people find them hard to deal with once something's stuck. Snap traps do the job better.

Bucket traps

You've probably seen these online: a bucket, a ramp and a spinning rod or tipping lid. They can work in a barn or shed where there's a lot of activity, but they're bulky and hit or miss inside a house. Fun project, not our first pick.

Electronic traps

Battery powered box traps are clean and easy. You don't have to see or touch the mouse. They cost more, so most people use one or two in high traffic spots and fill in the rest with snap traps.

Placement matters more than the trap

Honestly, a cheap trap in the right spot beats an expensive trap in the wrong one every time. Here's how to place them:

• Along walls. Mice run along edges where their whiskers can touch something. Set traps flush against the wall with the trigger facing the wall.
• Where you find droppings. Fresh droppings mean a regular travel path.
• Behind and beside appliances. The space behind the fridge, stove and dishwasher is a mouse highway.
• In pairs. Set two traps back to back, a few inches apart, so a mouse coming from either direction runs into one.
• In the attic and garage too. If you only trap the kitchen, you're only catching the ones that make it that far.

Bait tips

Peanut butter is the classic for good reason. Use a small dab, about the size of a pea, pressed into the trigger. Chocolate spread, a bit of bacon grease or a cotton ball (mice love nesting material in the fall) also work. Some people leave baited traps unset for a couple of nights so the mice get comfortable, then set them.

Wear gloves when you handle traps. Mice can pick up on your scent.

Why trapping alone often doesn't finish the job

Traps catch the mice that are already inside. They don't do a thing about the ones coming in tonight. If there's an open gap around a pipe or under the garage door, you can trap all winter and never get ahead.

That's the most common thing we see on calls in Hopkinsville, Murray and around Paducah: a homeowner who's caught a dozen mice and is frustrated they keep showing up. The trapping was fine. The house just still had a way in.

So pair your traps with sealing [2]. Steel wool and caulk in small gaps, hardware cloth on bigger ones, door sweeps on exterior doors and good screens on vents. Our guide to getting rid of mice walks through it step by step.

When to call a professional

If you've been trapping for two or three weeks and you're still catching mice or finding fresh droppings, it's a good sign there's an entry point you haven't found or more activity than traps can keep up with.

That's where we come in. At Liberty Pest Control, all rodent problems start with a free inspection, so we can find how they're getting in. We cover Paducah, Hopkinsville, Murray, Bowling Green and the surrounding areas. More on how we handle it is on our rodent control page, and our mice and rats page has more on both.

Find rodent control for your town: Paducah, Benton, Mayfield, Murray, Princeton, Cadiz, Hopkinsville, Oak Grove, Elkton, Pembroke, Metropolis and Bowling Green.

Common questions

What kind of mouse trap works best?

For most homes, plain snap traps. They're cheap, quick and they work, and the plastic ones with a big trigger pedal are easy to set and empty.

What is the best bait for a mouse trap?

A pea sized dab of peanut butter pressed into the trigger. Chocolate spread, a bit of bacon grease or a cotton ball also work.

Why do I keep catching mice?

Usually because the house still has a way in. Traps catch the mice already inside, so pair them with sealing gaps around pipes, vents and doors.

Sources

1. University of Kentucky Entomology. Michael F. Potter. "Control of Mice" (ENTFACT-617). https://entomology.ca.uky.edu/ef617 ↗ (opens in a new tab)
2. University of Kentucky Entomology. Michael F. Potter. "How to Pest-Proof Your Home" (ENTFACT-641). https://entomology.ca.uky.edu/ef641 ↗ (opens in a new tab)