Victor Snap Traps

[f35phixer]

Putting four traps in my crawl space. I have caught 4, but many days when I go looking all I find are licked clean traps and no mice

I am putting bare minimum peanut butter, mostly trying to put into the curl on the snap holder.... I have put more, but same thing, cleaned out with nothing to show ...

I have filled all holes i know of, i.e. HVAC pass thru, all vents are good to go.

I have never had any mice in house that I know of, no dropping etc...

Thoughts,
Thanks.

 

[anethum]

I've successfully used Victor snap traps. When there seems to be a slightly more intelligent mouse who can eat the bait without triggering the trap, I put a dab of rubber cement on the bait spot before I add the bait. That usually does the trick.

 

[mpeirce]

My preference is Intruder Traps

They are very effective and reusable. I bait them with sunflower seeds and I’ve gotten dozens of uses out of them in our old basement.

 

[njhowie]

I keep a box of unopened Victor traps for when the times come. I swear by them...which is why I keep a stash.

When you set it, try to position the arm so it isn't so locked in to position under the small metal lip that holds it in place. Maybe even put a little oil or grease on it.

Peanut butter is all I use as well. Try pushing some into the hollow metal place at the tip which is rounded. Also put some on the metal lip and arm itself.

 

[Qs Laptop]

I have the solution for you. When you take the new Victor mouse trap out of the package, take some dental floss and run a couple of loops through the curled portion of the snap holder, through the small hole in the top of the snap holder, back and around, etc., then tie it off with a couple of ends of floss ("whiskers") about 1/4" to 3/8" in length hanging off the snap holder.

Now put a small amount of peanut butter inside and under the snap holder curl and dab small amounts on the loose ends of dental floss. (I use a toothpick for this step.) The idea is the mouse feels the floss string and smells the peanut butter and can't resist pulling/biting on the string. This is their downfall. >SNAP!!< Dead mouse.

Have plenty of quart sized zip-loc plastic bags handy, you're going to need them to dispose of all the mice you will be catching. I generally bag up the dead mouse/trap assembly and throw it away as I'm a single use mouse trap user. One bag goes over my right hand, one bag is being held open in my left hand. I grab the dead mouse/trap assembly with my bagged right hand, place it in the bag in my left hand, zip up the bag. Then I put the zipped bag into the bag that was protecting my right hand and zip that one up too. Double bagging cuts down on the odor of dead mouse in your garbage can until pickup day.

Let us know how it goes.

 

[OldShooter]

I have good luck with these traps baiting with chunky peanut butter. I force the bigger chunks into the metal curl from the sides and from the top using a butter knife blade. IMO the smooth peanut butter is too easy for them to just lick, where the chunks take enough effort to trip the mechanism.


That said, I have largely switched to Tomcat Press 'N Set Mouse traps. They are easier to bait and to set and seem to be as effective as the Victor traps.

 

[EastWest Gal]

I put peanut butter on top of a bit of softened Tootsie Roll. Same effect as the dental floss trick. If they get the bait without triggering the trap, I just rebait it with a bit of crazy glue at the bottom. I like the Tomcap press and set mousetraps too. They're easier to bait and set.

 

[f35phixer]

some good thoughts, thanks all.

Plenty of smooth, so I'll play around with ideas for snapping these suckers. Got sunflower seeds so might jam those into the curl.

Going to try NJ's trick of putting some on the arm and I'm going to put some on the wood itself, so they maybe backing arm and cause trigger that way....

Mine are reusables, but i might also try the floss trick..

thanks.

 

[Sunset]

In a crawlspace you could put one of those 5 gallon pail traps. So there will be no limit to the number you catch per day.

 

[JoeWras]

Now put a small amount of peanut butter inside and under the snap holder curl and dab small amounts on the loose ends of dental floss. (I use a toothpick for this step.) The idea is the mouse feels the floss string and smells the peanut butter and can't resist pulling/biting on the string. This is their downfall. >SNAP!!< Dead mouse.

I am writing this down. On May 15, 2023, Qs Laptop actually, really DID invent a better mousetrap.

Seriously, nice tip!

 

[target2019]

In my basement and crawl space there are times when crickets grow in population. I suspect that helps feed the mice. The crickets, or just time, snap the trap. If mice are around they will get all of the bait.

Twice a year I spray an indoor pest solution around the perimeter of the basement. Crickets are reduced to zero, and mice trapped inside are much rarer.

Another tip is to set up traps outside to catch them before they enter.

 

[Amethyst]

I have one word for mouse problems: CAT.

Cats relentlessly patrol their territory, including places humans can't reach, and they don't tolerate invaders.* When we had a cat, we never had mice. After the cat died, within a year we had a field mouse invasion on our hands. Yech.

*Yes, now and then, God makes a cat that doesn't fit the pattern.

 

[CincyDave]

I've used the Victor with the little piece of metal that you put the peanut butter on and a brand called Tomcat that has a yellow plastic piece that you put the peanut butter on. Always caught more with the Tomcat traps. They seemed to be able to clean off the victor traps easier without triggering. Another possibility is ants cleaning it off. Here is the Tomcat brand I'm talking about.
https://www.amazon.com/Tomcat-37352...cphy=9015703&hvtargid=pla-1935286376327&psc=1

 

[CaptTom]

It's also possible that ants are eating the peanut butter. They can clean a mouse trap in no time. Try bating a few traps by cramming a sunflower seed into the bait area. A couple more around the trap will lure them in.

I'm a bit of a connoisseur of mouse traps, since I have a shed that's impossible to mouse-proof. The best one so far is the original "Flip N Slide" bucket trap. It's one step above my second-favorite, the "walk the plank" bucket trap. Even just a bucket with some bait in it works OK.

The problem with all traps is that there's always one who gets away, and learns the trick of avoiding that type of trap. And that one lives to breed. Always use more than one type.

Side story: I'm currently doing battle with a mouse who has learned to avoid the Victor-style trap after getting his leg caught in one, but then shaking it off. Next he (or she) managed to detect Flip N Slide tipping and backed away. That's the first time it's ever had a mouse approach, but not get caught. He ignores the poison bait, too.

I watch him on the night vision security camera I have set up in the shed. As he scampers away from all my traps, he always pauses and looks right at the camera. I'm pretty sure he's taunting me.

Anyway, if you like this sort of thing, search YouTube for "Mousetrap Monday."

 

[rk911]

D-Con. RIP, mice.

 

[mountainsoft]

I don't know which brand of trap I have, it's got a big yellow paddle that is supposed to look like cheese. I never put any kind of bait on them, I just set the trap and place it perpendicular to the wall, with the "cheese" side facing the wall. Mice tend to scurry along a wall and will step on the paddle along their journey. It has worked for me every time.

 

[Qs Laptop]

I am writing this down. On May 15, 2023, Qs Laptop actually, really DID invent a better mousetrap.

Seriously, nice tip!

Thanks. Works for me. It's not so much a new invention as an improvement on an ancient one.

I've tried other, newer types of traps but I keep coming back to the old faithful Victor trap. In my case, a better mouse trap hasn't been invented.

 

[CaptTom]

I don't know which brand of trap I have, it's got a big yellow paddle that is supposed to look like cheese.

I've found that those are a bit overly sensitive. They often go off when the mouse hasn't reached fully under the snap bar, and it either misses or nicks their leg or tail. Usually then they can shake if off, wiser and free to breed.


Good point about putting the traps next to walls or other edges they like to travel along.

 

[ERD50]

...
Good point about putting the traps next to walls or other edges they like to travel along.

That's essential, IMO.

I've also gone to the length of building a little scrap wood box around the trap, so they can't get in from the back or sides. That seems to help assure they get caught right under the snap wire, rather than getting 'grazed' and being able to get out.

I'll also agree that ants or other bugs might be eating the bait.

-ERD50

 

[Qs Laptop]

The "huntin'" spot that works best for me is on top of the air ducts in the utility room in the basement. Apparently the mice use the top of the air ducts like a superhighway to get around in the space between the floor on the main level and the basement ceiling on the lower level. I can access the air ducts in the utility room since there isn't a finished ceiling in that room. I also put the traps on the vents that carry heated air. I presume that creates a baked peanut butter aroma that is irresistible for mice. They come out at night after the furnace shuts down for the day whereupon they get nailed by Victor. I can hear the kill-snap reverberate through the ducts, which usually happens while I'm laying in bed reading. Satisfaction achieved.

I don't position my traps next to any wall or other object but I do put two of them side-by-side.

 

[CaptTom]

I've also gone to the length of building a little scrap wood box around the trap, so they can't get in from the back or sides.

Good idea! Reminds me of another tip: Surround the trap with something that keeps the mice from scurrying away still attached to the trap. In my mouse hunting shed I've arranged some scraps of 2x4's and 2x6's in a rectangle on a tabletop. The traps are inside the rectangle. They can't drag a trap over the edge and into some inaccessible corner.

Another option is to tie the trap to something. I use thin wire, although a string would work. Put a weight on the end of it, or attach it somewhere. For outdoor traps I'll loop the wire over a tent spike.

 

[ERD50]

Good idea! Reminds me of another tip: Surround the trap with something that keeps the mice from scurrying away still attached to the trap. In my mouse hunting shed I've arranged some scraps of 2x4's and 2x6's in a rectangle on a tabletop. The traps are inside the rectangle. They can't drag a trap over the edge and into some inaccessible corner.

Another option is to tie the trap to something. I use thin wire, although a string would work. Put a weight on the end of it, or attach it somewhere. For outdoor traps I'll loop the wire over a tent spike.

Yep, I usually attach the trap to a thin, long board. As you say, it keeps them from dragging the trap away if they get nipped by it but not killed. The long thin stick makes it easier to place them up on ledges or into corners that you don't have clear access too, and to pull them out again.

-ERD50

 

[RunningBum]

I have one word for mouse problems: CAT.

Cats relentlessly patrol their territory, including places humans can't reach, and they don't tolerate invaders.* When we had a cat, we never had mice. After the cat died, within a year we had a field mouse invasion on our hands. Yech.

*Yes, now and then, God makes a cat that doesn't fit the pattern.

My cat, and her now deceased litter mate, believed in catch-and-release. I'd wonder where they were, and then I'd hear a little commotion and they'd come up the stairs from the basement, let the mouse loose in the living room, and then chase it again. Most times the mouse would get behind the TV stand or someplace like that, and the cats would eventually lose interest, leaving me to actually catch it, if I could.

I am catch and release as well. I fling mice off my back deck into the woods. Can they survive a 30 foot fall? I don't know.

I have also come down to the main level in the morning and seen a disabled mouse on the foyer rug. First time, I excitedly called the cats, but it's game over at this time, no interest.

So I got traps. These, when baited with peanut butter, have rarely come up tripped but empty. https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B004B9XPOO

 

[Piper20]

I don't know which brand of trap I have, it's got a big yellow paddle that is supposed to look like cheese. I never put any kind of bait on them, I just set the trap and place it perpendicular to the wall, with the "cheese" side facing the wall. Mice tend to scurry along a wall and will step on the paddle along their journey. It has worked for me every time.

Mountainsoft

I’ve been doing the same for years in the garage. Never bait the trap.

https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/81lRuU70vaL._SL1500_.jpg

 

[Koolau]

I like the sticky traps. Kinda expensive, but I don't get many mice even in our 150 year old house on the mainland. Only had one mouse in our townhouse on windward Oahu. Got him in 10 minutes with the sticky trap. End of story.