# gnomes or gremlins - I need ideas for traps! **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [April 16, 2002, 11:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gnomes-or-gremlins-i-need-ideas-for-traps/103918 "2002-04-16T11:18:10Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 13\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![kellibelli](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/e480ec/32.png) [@kellibelli](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kellibelli)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2002, 11:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gnomes-or-gremlins-i-need-ideas-for-traps/103918/1 "2002-04-16T11:18:10Z")
I have panty gnomes, or sock gremlins, and the little bastards are stealing towels now, and dammit, I have to do something! I was thinking an acme trap - the cardboard box, stick, string one, with some freshly worn panties as bait. OR, I could leave out a pair of new socks, never worn, how could any self respecting gnome leave those alone? Ok, what else can I use for a trap? ---
**Author:** ![Cougarfang](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/c67d28/32.png) [@Cougarfang](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cougarfang)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2002, 11:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gnomes-or-gremlins-i-need-ideas-for-traps/103918/2 "2002-04-16T11:23:57Z")
Hm… _Turns away, apparently scribbling wildly on a piece of paper_ _Turns back around, presenting a Rube-Goldberg-like diagram with arrows pointing everywhere_ I’m not exactly sure the thingamabob fits _exactly_ there, and the whachamacallit may screw up in a crucial moment, but I think this oughta work! Of course, you musn’t forget the all-important bait (new socks oughta work, but since the current fad seems to be towels, maybe you could double the irresistibleness of the trap…) 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Tranquilis](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tranquilis/32/3639_2.png) [@Tranquilis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tranquilis)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2002, 2:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gnomes-or-gremlins-i-need-ideas-for-traps/103918/3 "2002-04-16T14:24:23Z")
Ever hear of the game “Mouse Trap”? That seems to be what’s called-for here. ---
**Author:** ![Cap\_n\_Crude](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/b9e5f3/32.png) [@Cap\_n\_Crude](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cap_n_Crude)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2002, 3:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gnomes-or-gremlins-i-need-ideas-for-traps/103918/4 "2002-04-16T15:12:12Z")
The problem with your proposed panty trap, kelli, is that you might catch one of us by accident. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![MrVisible](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/46a35a/32.png) [@MrVisible](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrVisible)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2002, 3:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gnomes-or-gremlins-i-need-ideas-for-traps/103918/5 "2002-04-16T15:40:47Z")
Get a black rubber bungee cord. The good strong kind. Stretch it between two eyebolts, set into opposite walls. Make sure to set the eyebolts into studs, not just plaster. Stretch the bungee back as far as it will go. Secure it to a stack of cinderblocks using a cord, tied in a slipknot. Tie a brand new sock to the end of the cord, just a few inches above floor level, making sure that tugging on it will release the bungee. When the offending gnome tries to take the sock, the bungee releases, snapping the gnome across the room, and into a waiting net. The only problem is that if you let the gnome loose after that, he’ll tell all his friends, and they’ll all want to try it. But then you can start charging admission, which can more than pay for your socks. ---
**Author:** ![Swampwolf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/8edcca/32.png) [@Swampwolf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Swampwolf)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2002, 4:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gnomes-or-gremlins-i-need-ideas-for-traps/103918/6 "2002-04-16T16:36:59Z")
Well, anyone who has a cat (or cats) will tell you that feline eyes are specifically evolved to see otherwise invisible gnomes. This is, of course, the reason that the little critters go chasing around the house for no readily apparent reason, often at 3 a.m., when gnomes are most active. See your local animal shelter for details on adopting an “invisible gnome hunter.” ---
**Author:** ![Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bosda_di_chi_of_tricor/32/16845_2.png) [@Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosda_Di_Chi_of_Tricor)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2002, 4:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gnomes-or-gremlins-i-need-ideas-for-traps/103918/7 "2002-04-16T16:47:52Z")
Well, for Pixies I use a trap made of a cake dome, some rope, a pulley & an anvil. Also some odds & ends. For bait, I use strawberry cake. (Pixies love strawberry cake.) Take the bait & KER-SMASH! ---
**Author:** ![kellibelli](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/e480ec/32.png) [@kellibelli](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kellibelli)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2002, 5:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gnomes-or-gremlins-i-need-ideas-for-traps/103918/8 "2002-04-16T17:56:03Z")
Y’all are nuts! (I love it!) Ok, I HAVE a cat, and he has on occassion chased the invisible critters, but not lately, I think he might be in kahoots! ---
**Author:** ![Ranchoth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ranchoth/32/1066_2.png) [@Ranchoth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ranchoth)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2002, 11:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gnomes-or-gremlins-i-need-ideas-for-traps/103918/9 "2002-04-16T23:32:52Z")
I saw a movie once that mentioned the British Prime Minister planning to bait economic gremlins with Gingerbread…Although if you’re dealing with electronic Gremlins, you’ll have to arrange a situation where an electrical device can’t fail without causing a minor catastrophe. They’ll show up in no time. As for the actual extermination, you’ll have to lure one on to the wing of an aircraft during a storm. Ranchoth ---
**Author:** ![Eats\_Crayons](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/278dde/32.png) [@Eats\_Crayons](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eats_Crayons)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2002, 2:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gnomes-or-gremlins-i-need-ideas-for-traps/103918/10 "2002-04-17T02:57:35Z")
I once built a fancy trap: requires a car battery, two tennis rackets (cheap ones with metal handles) and LOTS of duct tape. The first two nights, it just knocked out a couple of leprechauns, but on the third night, I got me a gnome! (Much tastier than smurfs.) Turn out the bastards are also the one responsible for stealing ONE sock out of the dryer with every load. ---
**Author:** ![Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bosda_di_chi_of_tricor/32/16845_2.png) [@Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosda_Di_Chi_of_Tricor)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2002, 11:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gnomes-or-gremlins-i-need-ideas-for-traps/103918/11 "2002-04-17T11:43:41Z")
[http://www.kixie.com/strips/kixie001.html](http://www.kixie.com/strips/kixie001.html) enjoy 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Fern\_Forest](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/71c47a/32.png) [@Fern\_Forest](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fern_Forest)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2002, 12:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gnomes-or-gremlins-i-need-ideas-for-traps/103918/12 "2002-04-17T12:14:46Z")
A catapult and a bowl of root beer. Eh? ---
**Author:** ![Fern\_Forest](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/71c47a/32.png) [@Fern\_Forest](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fern_Forest)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2002, 12:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gnomes-or-gremlins-i-need-ideas-for-traps/103918/13 "2002-04-17T12:20:27Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Bosda Di’Chi of Tricor \* > \*\*[http://www.kixie.com/strips/kixie001.html](http://www.kixie.com/strips/kixie001.html) > > enjoy 🙂 \*\* Holy Krakatoa! That’s the cutest thing. I wish it came in a book I could buy for my nieces.