Half a croissant, on a plate, with a sign in front of it saying '50c'
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Expanding mouse bait

Find out how the critters get in and block their access using expanding food
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Rather than evil methods of trapping mice, scattering their viscera across furniture, or gluing them to stuff, this method will just possibly allow you to rid yourself of an infestation without any horrible killing or humane-trap-driving-into-the-woods nonsense.

The basis of this is a new sort of mouse trap, which is designed not to lie on the floor and trap the mouse, but for the mouse to pick up and take away with it. The mouse bites onto a delicious morsel and then runs away. However, the delicious morsel isn't all yummy cheesy goodness. It is attached to a small packet containing some sort of expanding foam. As the mouse drags it across the floor it will slowly expand, until the mouse tries to drag it through a hole to return to the outside world. However, the expanding foam will stick tightly in the hole. This will have 2 effects: it will block off the entrance the mouse used, and show you where the mouse got in so you can make a more lasting cover.

(As an aside, I recommend baiting all kinds of mouse traps with rubber and books, rather than food, because mice are equally fond of chewing them and they won't go stale and moldy.)

kropotkin, Feb 05 2004


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       I thought it would expand once they eat it
theircompetitor, Feb 05 2004
  

       theircompetitor, that's what I was thinking. Like giving alka-seltzer to pigeons.
DonBirnam, Feb 05 2004
  

       Apparently chocolate is much better than cheese any how. And I have never had a mouldy chocolate (I think it has to do with the levels of Sugar & Preservatives?). What if the mouse climbs into the hole before the expanding foam expands? You may get cracks in your walls where these big balls expand and make a mess of your plaster work. And assuming the mouse made the hole I guess he can always make another.   

       I think the last of the half baked croissants were fed to the mice.
PainOCommonSense, Feb 12 2004
  

       How do you know it won't expand too much before he gets to the hole, or that it will expand enough to plug up the hole?
15420, May 26 2004
  

       I was hoping for some morsel of food that would expand inside the mouse, causing the bloated furball to get stuck in the hole.
Freefall, May 26 2004
  

       Hate to do it, but I'll fishbone you. Any time a critter discovers that what he is pulling is moving, he'll either a) attempt to rekill it, or b) abandon it.   

       Mice, not being predators, go with B. So you'll have nothing but a lot of fluffy cheese-smelling foam spheres all over your house.
shapu, Jun 03 2004
  


 

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