I'll preface this with there is no reason to reinvent the wheel or in this instance the mouse trap. But... This trap just works. I have had mice in the shed and pole barn and had mediocre results with snap traps. The pole barn mice were a lot smarter than the mice in the shed. I got tired of having to reset the traps and the mess and guts. The trap is made by Rinne out of Florida. 20ish dollars on their website. I could make something like this for much less but I was interested in trying it out and supporting an American company. The 5 gallon bucket is not included. Top, flipper and 2 piece ramp included. Top cover tabs into the bucket. Latter tabs into the top. The black flipper is placed on the top. Pretty simple. Baiting is simple, I chose peanut butter and sweet feed. The bait is smeared/jammed into the nose which the mouse has to go onto the flipper. I always reapply peanut butter "freebies" on the latter and top to attract mice. The tipping point is well thought out and the mice have to commit to get the bait. The top is a mouse face. It almost looks like a mouse wearing a hat. The bucket can be filled with an inch or two of bedding or cloth if you are going to release the mice elsewhere. Even if you have the best intentions if there are multiple mice in there they will eat each other. Donner party anybody.?. That's not happening at my house. I put 5 inches of water. To check the trap I just tip the flipper and look into the bucket. A lighter color bucket is better for visibility. I have caught 4 in one night, no resetting required. I don't catch a mouse every day but I have got a steady stream. To empty the trap, the top is removed and water is dumped. Refill the water and reapply "freebies" and back in action. I have read that if there are rats present they may chew through the yellow top that protects the bait. I don't have rats. It could be retrofitted with metal or something more durable. Also there are some cheap Chinese knockoffs on Amazon that are junk. The plastic is flimsy and the tipping point is not in the right spot. I would buy it again, the traps are pricey but cheaper than destroyed property and feed.
Thanks boss! I bought two. I set my friend up with one after dinner yesterday. Left the trap in the pole barn let them borrow my shed trap. They live in an older cabin. What I would call a target rich environment... Will update later.
Looking at these traps, clicked an amazin offering, read some reviews. Came upon this one, had to laugh and felt the need to post..... "This worked perfectly. I left it in the garage overnight with the suet. This mouse had been snacking on. The next morning it was waiting in the bucket to be released outside where it belonged." I'm sure the mouse was thankful, and probably went inside to enjoy some more suet. Sometimes I just shake my head....
Alright, its been almost six months... The flip and slide trap is awesome, it simply just works. I brought it over to a friends house and they had good results too . If I don't catch anything I refresh the bait and move it to another location. Would buy again. I prefer the flip and slide to the traditional victor traps.
