CONOR POPEtakes a look at mouse traps
Rentokil Live Capture mouse trap €9.99
We are delighted to say that this ingenious and humane trap, which can be used over and over again, was the undisputed winner – it was the only one which actually caught the mouse. It was simple to set but while it won our heart it stole our pride. Thanks to our stupidity, it had to capture the same clever little mouse not once but twice. It was lured into the pipe by a piece of chocolate. Once it crawled in, the pipe tipped over and the entrance door slammed shut, trapping it within. Job done. But no. We opened it to check what was going on and the mouse leapt out and fled under a skirting board.
Verdict:The best a mouse can get *****
Pest Free Zone pre-baited trap €5.39 for 2
This is for the lazy mousehunter as you don’t even need to find bait – it comes already in place. It can be set with the push of a single lever. The problem was, however, that our mouse showed absolutely no interest in it and was seen to walk past it with his nose in the air on a number of occasions. Not only that, but the device did not seem to be particularly robust and while it never got a chance to test itself against a real mouse, it did have a go at our finger when Pricewtch accidentally pressed down on the bait after it had been set. We barely noticed it snapping shut.
Verdict:Lightweight **
Luna mouse trap €1.79
This is the cheapest and most old-school trap we could find and the opposite of the humane device. It was, we reckoned, also the one most likely to take our fingers off if we inadvertently set it off while testing its springiness. Setting it was tricky enough (mostly because we were so worried for our fingers) but once done, it looked menacing and we reckoned its power would spell the end the mouse in our house if he got in its way. We were wrong. For the first couple of days, our mouse ignored the chocolatey bait, then stole it from the jaws of the trap and still managed to escape.
Verdict: Cheap and deadly(ish) ***
Pest Clear Ultra Sonic €40
Okay, if you want to get rid of a mouse without getting blood on your hands, or in fact confronting the little beast in any meaningful way, this might sound appealing. Plug it in to any electric socket and it emits a high-pitched whine through your whole house’s cable system that is supposed to send the mouse into your neighbour’s house. This is great in theory – particularly if you don’t like your neighbours – but it did not work for Pricewatch. If our mouse did not like the sound this made, it didn’t let on. In the week it was plugged in, the mouse wandered around the house as if he owned the place.
Verdict:Pricey but may work for some **
