Mid-Atlantic Gardening: Seed starting 2008 part 2 , 0 by Gitagal

Gitagal wrote:
Jill,

The plastic traps "set" if you point the open/baited end upwards. Something or other just "falls in place" when they are in that position. They do not "set" too well if you keep them level. Try that!

Even on these traps--the mouse can get caught in a non-killing grip. That happened to me one night a couple of years ago. I was sound asleep, and the snap of the trap under the stove cover woke me up. So--I hear all this thrashing (hard plastic trap against all the metal under the burners of the stove) for a long time. The it stopped---and I thought, OK! Now it is dead.
After a while--there it goes again--clash/bang/thrash/bang.....Now I am thinking...this mouse sure is taking it's time to die!

In the morning I went to see. I lifted up the cover to the range-top and, sure enough, there was a mouse in my trap, except the trap had traveled half way across the undersides of all the burners and had gotten wedged between two of them. I carefully picked up the trap, and almost freaked out! The mouse was still breathing!!!!! Pant...pant...pant....The trap had snapped over it's shoulder and, partially, the skin on the side of it's neck--NOT killing it.

WHAT DO I DO NOW??????????? Freaking out! Do I kill it? HOW? Do I flush it down? Aggh! NO! So, I took the poor, half- dead mouse, outside and dropped it off under my back yard neighbor's HUGE Holly bush. I kind of "threw" it out of the trap. It caught a limb and hung on it for dear life for a moment-- then fell to the leaf-covered undergrowth and staggered off to who knows where. PHEW!!!

I THINK I am strong and mean and not all that sensitive--and I COULD HAVE just stomped on the mouse and ended it's misery, but--NO! Couldn't do any of it! SEE? I AM a softy at the heart..... I would rather have them DEAD in the traps--NOT panting away for dear life.............I want my black snake back that honored me with it's residence for ONE Summer. Kept all the chipmunks in check!
Never know where it went off to, but it has never returned....

Here--it is not too happy to see me this close--camera in hand.....