Who was the last one to actually build a better mouse trap?

I have heard the expression “Why build a better mouse trap?” I assume it means that if it is cheap and catches mice, why would you have to change it?

Who was the inventor of the modern mouse trap, and when was the last improvement to the design implemented? What was the ‘worse’ mouse trap like, before Dr. Mouse Kill improved the trap?

“Better” is a relative term. However, I can describe a methodology to follow if you’re really interested in pursuing this inquiry.

a. Go to your local hardware store and buy a bunch of mousetraps. Sticky traps, live traps, snappy traps.

b. Go home and catch a few mice. Rate the traps according to how effective they are and how closely they correlate with your attitude towards rodenticide (e.g. fast and painless, keep 'em alive, or, in the case of sticky traps, make them brood on the unfairness of fate for a while before they die)

c. Having chose the “best”, look at the patent or patent pending number on the package. That will tell you when it was devised.
Having had occasion to hold various mass mouse exterminations in my time, I will venture into IMHO territory and say that the best mousetrap is the reuseable snappy traps that you can reset without having to touch anything icky. Very effective, cheap, and they minimize mouse suffering as much as possible.

The statement I’m most familiar with, attributed to Emerson, is:

“Build a better mousetrap and the world will beat a path to your door.”

Which would seem to encourage people to build better traps, rather than settling for those currently available.

A quick patent search turned up 48 results for ‘mouse trap’ - (actually, it was ttl/(mouse and trap) - those guys need a more user friendly search engine) since 1976. I will look at them now.

What’s really needed is a better rat trap that can deal with several hundred thousand rats in a metropolitan center.

Get working on it!

The original mechanical mousetrap dates to 1899, according to this site. I could never figure out how someone would think a sticky trap was “better”, or the purpose of a catch and release trap. Maybe if the latter came with a mouse mortar so I could shoot the little buggers a quarter mile away? :dubious:

Personally, I like the original mousetrap-the warm, furry kind that purrs. :wink:

American Heritage had a fascinating article about this a few years ago. Among the things pointed out:

  1. The patent office gets an inordinate number of new mousetrap designs, because of the Emerson quote.

  2. The old-fashioned Victor trap is probably as good as you can get.

  3. Victor has changed their design, but it probably wasn’t as good as its older design. The older design had “four-way action,” which meant the slightest touch would set it off. The newer design has a plastic pedal that looks like cheese and is supposedly more attractive to mice, but they had to drop the four-way action, which means it won’t fire as readily.

  4. Victor’s advantage has been better manufacture, so they could be reused. Nowadays, with people throwing out traps after one use, that isn’t so much an advantage.

I would say that I’ve discovered the D-Con covered trap is superior to the Victor, however.