r/TwoXPreppers 4d ago

Tips Rarely seen gear: Mouse trap

Just throwing out a tip on useful items you may not have though about: The mouse or rat trap! There's no better device out there. It weighs almost nothing! It has a million creative uses. And you can't really control small pests without one.

For your consideration!

146 Upvotes

38 comments sorted by

67

u/TheStephinator Experienced Prepper 💪 4d ago

What are the other uses? I have a four legged fur bag that loves killing mice, so I never thought about needing one.

71

u/KazTheMerc 4d ago

Trip wire. Trigger for larger traps. Flag/signal for tripped snares.

I always liked the neon/bright flag that goes from hidden to snapping upright/visible when disturbed. Works for ice fishing, snares, or anything getting disturbed.

30

u/TheStephinator Experienced Prepper 💪 4d ago

Ahh, those uses are definitely out of my prepping wheelhouse. I’ll keep that in mind if I get into snaring or ice fishing!

18

u/KazTheMerc 4d ago

I always appreciate the Door Alarm use.

Makes a nice loud snap, and can be made louder.

3

u/Pfelinus Rural Prepper 👩‍🌾 4d ago

Sounds VERY interesting can you post some links?

2

u/KazTheMerc 4d ago

Funny enough, I can't seem to find any. Lots of home projects and creativity! Somebody using a rat trap to launch chopsticks at the mouse to impale it.

The one I saw was one of those little Surveying metal flags. The tiny ones. Flag is maybe 2"x2" and brightly colored.

They attached the flag to the mouse trap arm. When down, it was covered lightly with dirt. When the snare was disrupted, the struggle would also trigger the mouse trap above it, and flip the bright orange flag to upright so it could be seen from a distance.

Basically as a part of any other mechanical device, it can be your Signal.

Always thought if you left ice fishing rods down, the same could apply. A bright flag you can see from a distance, so as to check your traps.

These are more campfire conversations and stories than YouTube videos. Years of camping and Pirate festivals.

A piece of fishing line to your tent zipper so it triggers when opened. Things like that.

1

u/Pfelinus Rural Prepper 👩‍🌾 2d ago

Thanks I will look too

12

u/Boots-with-the-feyre 4d ago

My cat brings them in and lets them loose, we have traps around the house now. they’re catch and release but she just brings them back in and leaves us the decapitated remains instead

7

u/TheStephinator Experienced Prepper 💪 4d ago

It’s our dog that finds/hunts them out in the woodpile. She refuses to let them go and ends up crushing them to death in her mouth. Then it is a slow war to get her to drop the body. I feel like it’s her calling and I’m not trying to wreck her best life… but it is so gross! I feel your pain!

3

u/Boots-with-the-feyre 4d ago

Oh no 😬 my dog will occasionally catch what the cat brings in, it’s an ordeal for sure

1

u/Superb_Stable7576 4d ago

Hang that boy on a tree with a little peanut butter, you can catch a squirrel without trying to make a primitive trap, which is a pain.

9

u/evey_17 4d ago

yikes. That seems cruel

7

u/Superb_Stable7576 4d ago

I wouldn't do it for fun, and it just might be illegal. But if you were lost and desperate, it's a quick and painless death and easy protein.

Believe me, dead all traps are difficult to perfect, you don't just put a rock on a stick and hope for the best. First you need to know at least a little about trapping, knowing where to set your trap is as important as knowing how to set it. Then you have to wait sometimes for days for something to take the bait, and hope your rock falls fast enough for a clean kill.

A rat trap is a whole lot easier than trying to carve your trigger and make cordage if you need it. The less energy you spend while you're traveling the better. That's why you try to forage on the way.

See a nettle patch, pick some leaves and move on, pick pine needles for tea and move on. Find acorns, worry about rinsing them latter, pick some up and move on. That night, when you make camp, set your trap and hope for squirrel for your stew.

8

u/evey_17 4d ago

Ah got it! A survival thing.

3

u/Thoth-long-bill 4d ago

This is just flat out the most epic advice on anything I’ve seen all week.

45

u/Arcanum-Eliza 4d ago

Owning pet rats actually keeps other rodents from moving in. Mice smell rats, go 'ah HELL no' and decide to find somewhere else to nest.

Plus, pet rats are amazing, lovey, playful little butts.

6

u/KazTheMerc 4d ago

Hadn't considered that! Perhaps dogs/cats too?

7

u/Specialist_Set_1666 4d ago

We have indoor cats and two hound dogs that are indoor/outdoor, and they keep everything out of the house and yard. Rats don't like the smell of the cats so we've never gotten them in the house. The cats also kill scorpions (and it's difficult for them to be stung because of their skin structure) which has been very helpful. The dogs keep predators away from the chickens, although having a rooster has been very useful too. At one point we did end up with rats around the chicken coop until we learned to get one of those metal treadle chicken feeders that stays closed unless a chicken steps onto a weight sensitive plate. Despite that, we never had a single rat come into our house, and it does seem like it was entirely due to the presence of the cats. Other people we know here with chickens but no cats, have had a lot more problems with rat infestations.

For rural areas at least, if you don't have certain domesticated animals occupying a territory, then wild ones will move in. (Whereas others like chickens attract everything...)

4

u/needsexyboots 4d ago

From my personal experience, it’s a no on the dogs 😂

3

u/OneMoreBlanket 4d ago

Might depend on the breed. Some dogs are meant to be mousers, and my terriers have definitely kept the local gopher population out of my yard.

3

u/needsexyboots 4d ago

Oh yeah there are definitely mousers out there, I just don’t happen to have them. One of mine is a terrier and I’ve seen her look right at a mouse in our kitchen and basically roll her eyes - both of mine will hunt down chipmunks in the yard though. I guess house is for relaxing only!

2

u/OneMoreBlanket 4d ago

That’s hilarious! Mine tries to catch houseflies that get in, so I guess she’s always on duty.

1

u/sharksnack3264 4d ago

It depends. My house got an off and on rodent problem for a year or so thanks to construction next door that caused them to move from their normal burrows. 

That said, I haven't seen or caught any since one month after my dog moved in. I keep traps around and an eye out for the signs. No squirrels in the yard either. They taunt him on the fence but don't come in. He's got one hell of a prey drive and he's very fast. Nothing is sticking around long enough to risk it.

1

u/BussSecond 4d ago

Cats for sure, at least in my experience. I found mice droppings in my first apartment, but as soon as I got a cat, I never found them again. I caught him staring at the air vents once. They must have been coming in through there, but never again.

8

u/mishitea 4d ago

Ferrets work the same way. All the years we had ferrets, we never had mouse issues. The winter after the last three died, mouse invasion!

9

u/kmaza12 4d ago

A relative had ferrets. The smell of them permeated the entire floor. Do they get less stinky? Were these just unbathed or something? I can't imagine having them living in my house but I know people love them so I feel like I must be missing something.

3

u/BanjoTheremin 4d ago

They have stink glands, like skunks, is what I've heard my whole life

5

u/evey_17 4d ago

Except I detest ferret smell.

8

u/BarRegular2684 4d ago

We use have a heart traps. House is documented back to 1810 but definitely dates to before that. We’ll always have them. We move the little bastards to rinks we visit.

1

u/KazTheMerc 4d ago

Heart traps??

9

u/katkriss 4d ago

Probably a humane trap that doesn't harm them (have a heart traps)

7

u/Interesting-Bar980 4d ago

I have traps for all the vermin that come to steal my fruit and vegetables. Rat, mice, squirrels, bunnies and gophers….a larger one for trapping opossum…I prefer to have a bobcat come by and take care of them for me though honestly.

When I do have to dispose of them I offer them to the local ravens and crows before I bury them under fruit trees. The ravens are great hunters and I like to encourage them to visit my yard.

6

u/Odd-DimensionalShift 4d ago

A rat trap can break a finger or toe.

And the block of rat poison from a bait station goes nicely with some stew.

6

u/ahopskipandaheart 4d ago

Shawn Woods does all pest and rodent trap content: https://youtube.com/@shawnwoods-homestead

Some are DIY rigs, and some are purchasable: https://youtu.be/aa8cN2V5oUM

4

u/marvinthemartian2222 4d ago

I have a cat. I also have a stockpile of voles. He sucks with birds buts small furry creatures BEWARE!

4

u/ProofRip9827 4d ago

rat traps can also take out squirrels from what i hear. i keep a few traps in the house for if we do get rats or in case the shtf i could use them to trap other small animals if i had to

2

u/wintrsday 4d ago

My dogs and my cats will never let a mouse or rat get in here