# How not to catch a mouse **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [May 6, 2015, 3:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-not-to-catch-a-mouse/719357 "2015-05-06T03:46:09Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![trapezoidal\_jellyfish](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/6f9a4e/32.png) [@trapezoidal\_jellyfish](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/trapezoidal_jellyfish)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2015, 3:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-not-to-catch-a-mouse/719357/1 "2015-05-06T03:46:09Z")
This is an educational post about one of the many incorrect ways to catch a mouse. Step 1: Buy one of those traps that encloses the dead creature inside a plastic box. Step 2: Leave the trap in the corner of your bedroom Step 3: Forget about the trap for a month Step 4: Wonder where that smell is coming from My whole apartment now smells like dead mouse, but at least it’s not running around anymore! ---
**Author:** ![Joey\_P](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/919ad9/32.png) [@Joey\_P](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Joey_P)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2015, 4:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-not-to-catch-a-mouse/719357/2 "2015-05-06T04:03:57Z")
Click and Clack often spoke of the unforgettable smell of a dead mouse and how it took them forever to get the smell out of their office. I think they used to suggest selling your car if you had dead mouse smell in it. ---
**Author:** ![Senegoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/senegoid/32/6606_2.png) [@Senegoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Senegoid)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2015, 4:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-not-to-catch-a-mouse/719357/3 "2015-05-06T04:15:37Z")
_Usually_ a dead mouse will just dry up and not smell. Sometimes a dead mouse will [putrefy](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Putrefaction) which means its body will decompose into a runny black tarry glop, the veriest whiff of which will send you retching to the bathroom. Good luck if that happens inside a wall or under the floor or elsewhere you can’t get to it. Last time I had a putrefied mouse, I found it under the bathroom sink where I could clean it up. I sopped it up (holding my breath the whole time) and then poured a lot of Clorox on the spot and let it soak for a long time. That seemed to take care of it. ---
**Author:** ![GusNSpot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gusnspot/32/436_2.png) [@GusNSpot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GusNSpot)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2015, 5:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-not-to-catch-a-mouse/719357/4 "2015-05-06T05:16:30Z")
Cats that hunt. No mice. ---
**Author:** ![Anne\_Neville](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/b9e5f3/32.png) [@Anne\_Neville](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anne_Neville)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2015, 2:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-not-to-catch-a-mouse/719357/5 "2015-05-06T14:11:38Z")
> [@GusNSpot](#): > > Cats that hunt. No mice. No whole mice, at least. I once found half a mouse in my foyer. I had two cats at the time. The other half of the mouse never turned up, so it must have been eaten. ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2015, 2:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-not-to-catch-a-mouse/719357/6 "2015-05-06T14:22:59Z")
> [@Anne\_Neville](#): > > No whole mice, at least. I once found half a mouse in my foyer. I had two cats at the time. The other half of the mouse never turned up, so it must have been eaten. _Hungry_ cats that hunt. No mice. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Crotalus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crotalus/32/41_2.png) [@Crotalus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crotalus)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2015, 2:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-not-to-catch-a-mouse/719357/7 "2015-05-06T14:55:56Z")
> [@carnivorousplant](#): > > _Hungry_ cats that hunt. No mice. 🙂 Or you could just get a carnivorous plant. ---
**Author:** ![Mithras](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f04885/32.png) [@Mithras](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mithras)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2015, 3:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-not-to-catch-a-mouse/719357/8 "2015-05-06T15:12:03Z")
I’m familiar with steps 1-3 but my step 4 was learning that mice can be cannibals when there was nothing but a head left in the trap. ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2015, 3:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-not-to-catch-a-mouse/719357/9 "2015-05-06T15:24:49Z")
> [@Crotalus](#): > > Or you could just get a carnivorous plant. One of the larger [nepenthes](http://www.hartmeyer.de/Bilder_homewechsel/N_truncata_mitMaus_720.JPG). 🙂 I’ve seen white mice at the pet store devouring each other. ---
**Author:** ![kopek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kopek/32/337_2.png) [@kopek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kopek)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2015, 3:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-not-to-catch-a-mouse/719357/10 "2015-05-06T15:44:48Z")
Clean around where the trap was with bleach (and possibly a second time with vinegar) and put a plastic bin (say left-overs sized) of charcoal next to the spot. If you can get the small fish-tank-filter charcoal all the better. (What can I say? In my family, odd pieces of dead things turning up isn’t all that unusual.) ---
**Author:** ![Shoeless](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/shoeless/32/7099_2.png) [@Shoeless](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shoeless)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2015, 3:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-not-to-catch-a-mouse/719357/11 "2015-05-06T15:59:24Z")
> [@Crotalus](#): > > Or you could just get a carnivorous plant. The Venus Mousetrap! ---
**Author:** ![Omar\_Little](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/omar_little/32/269_2.png) [@Omar\_Little](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Omar_Little)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2015, 4:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-not-to-catch-a-mouse/719357/12 "2015-05-06T16:57:10Z")
The worst are those sticky glue sheets where you end up with a live mouse stuck to a sheet of sticky paper unable to move. ---
**Author:** ![Musicat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/musicat/32/20189_2.png) [@Musicat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Musicat)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2015, 5:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-not-to-catch-a-mouse/719357/13 "2015-05-06T17:05:34Z")
> [@Senegoid](#): > > _Usually_ a dead mouse will just dry up and not smell. > > Sometimes a dead mouse will [putrefy](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Putrefaction) which means its body will decompose into a runny black tarry glop, the veriest whiff of which will send you retching to the bathroom. May depend largely on the length of time. I have discovered 2yo dead mice in forgotten traps in the basement. No smell, no flesh, just a flat pile of fur and bones. ---
**Author:** ![VunderBob](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/839c29/32.png) [@VunderBob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/VunderBob)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2015, 5:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-not-to-catch-a-mouse/719357/14 "2015-05-06T17:45:15Z")
One time, I found a mouse tail sticking up from inside an open box of grass seed. I carefully pulled it out (with gloves) to find the rest of the owner, mummified completely. Mice in that garage were a constant battle. ---
**Author:** ![Anne\_Neville](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/b9e5f3/32.png) [@Anne\_Neville](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anne_Neville)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2015, 6:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-not-to-catch-a-mouse/719357/15 "2015-05-06T18:45:08Z")
> [@Shoeless](#): > > The Venus Mousetrap! WANT. ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2015, 6:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-not-to-catch-a-mouse/719357/16 "2015-05-06T18:55:47Z")
> [@Anne\_Neville](#): > > WANT. I am sincerely flattered. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Anne\_Neville](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/b9e5f3/32.png) [@Anne\_Neville](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anne_Neville)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2015, 8:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-not-to-catch-a-mouse/719357/17 "2015-05-06T20:30:54Z")
> [@carnivorousplant](#): > > I am sincerely flattered. > 🙂 Not sure our house is the right place for a carnivorous plant right now, though. I showed my toddler a YouTube video of someone poking a Venus flytrap with a stick to make it close up, and she was fascinated. You might have to endure more poking and prodding than you’d like in our house. I started feeling sorry for the plant after watching 10 or 15 repetitions of the video. Poor plant, being poked with a stick and thinking it will get something to eat, and then not getting anything. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Angry\_Badger](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/b38774/32.png) [@The\_Angry\_Badger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Angry_Badger)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2015, 8:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-not-to-catch-a-mouse/719357/18 "2015-05-06T20:51:13Z")
> [@Omar\_Little](#): > > The worst are those sticky glue sheets where you end up with a live mouse stuck to a sheet of sticky paper unable to move. Ugh, those things are awful. They need to be banned. I’ve got no problem with killing mice (although personally, I prefer to catch them live and release them away from the house), but those things are basically torture. At best, they’ll trap the mouse there until it dies of hunger/dehydration, at worst the mice can actually manage to pull their own legs off trying to escape. If you really must kill the mice, then either use a poison trap or a good old fashioned snap trap. [QUOTE=carnivorousplant] _Hungry_ cats that hunt. No mice. 🙂 [/QUOTE] I’ll quite often find little piles of mouse intestines outside our back door. No sign of the rest of the mouse, just a neat and tidy pile of organs. It’s positively surgical in its precision. I’ve also found random eyeballs (just the eyes, no head or anything else) sitting on the back mat. For these reasons, I’ve learned to not walk around barefoot anymore. 🙂 The thing with cats is, since getting cats (and I’ve got four), mice have been far more of a problem in the house than ever. Our little darlings like to bring them in, get distracted by something, then let them go scurrying off under the furniture. Mice aren’t a problem - I’ve become quite adept at catching them - but a live partridge? That’s more of an issue. It has to be said, having cats has been an education in local wildlife. I’ve seen things I never even knew lived in our area. The first time I ever saw a shrew was when I found one dead under the fridge… :rolleyes: ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2015, 10:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-not-to-catch-a-mouse/719357/19 "2015-05-06T22:33:57Z")
> [@Anne\_Neville](#): > > Not sure our house is the right place for a carnivorous plant right now, though. I showed my toddler a YouTube video of someone poking a Venus flytrap with a stick to make it close up, and she was fascinated. You might have to endure more poking and prodding than you’d like in our house. > > I started feeling sorry for the plant after watching 10 or 15 repetitions of the video. Poor plant, being poked with a stick and thinking it will get something to eat, and then not getting anything. The leaf dies after half a dozen closures. ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2015, 10:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-not-to-catch-a-mouse/719357/20 "2015-05-06T22:36:52Z")
I thought that predators ate the insides first. That is how dogs eat rabbits. I usually find shrews dead in the road. Their metabolism is so high that they don’t think, “Gee, I feel sick. I’ll go back to the burrow and lie down.”, they just keep going until they drop dead. I’ve quit letting cats go out, they live longer. ☹ [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-not-to-catch-a-mouse/719357.md?page=2)