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Winter Trapping Tips

Winter Trapping Tips

Each season brings its own challenges to the WCO and winter is no different. Here are a few tips to maximize your results when Mother Nature tries to slow you down.
1. Choose the right glue board. I am not a big fan of glue boards but sometimes they are needed. In cold weather, choose the freezer-style glue boards as they stay tacky even down to freezing temperatures.

Board used to protect a cage trap from snow. Photo by Stephen M. Vantassel.
Board used to protect a cage trap from snow. Photo by Stephen M. Vantassel.

2. Protect your cage traps from snow. Snow can conceal your bait and bury your traps making it ineffective. Worse yet, you have to dig out your traps later. Protect your traps in advance by setting them under an evergreen tree, under an eave, on the lee side of a tree or building, or place a sheet of plywood on top.
3. Improve your baiting technique. Bait won’t volatize as easily in cold weather so don’t think that your bait will have the same draw as it does in the summer. Thus you need to pay more attention to locating your traps in the best location. But since that may not be possible (see point 2) think about using trailing lures to help guide the animal to the trap.

About the Author

Stephen M. Vantassel is a Certified Wildlife Control Operator (CWCP®) who helps individuals, businesses, and agencies resolve wildlife damage issues through training, writing, expert witness, and research. He has written the Wildlife Damage Inspection Handbook, 3rd edition. Reach him at wildlifecontrolconsultant at gmail dot com.

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All postings are the property of Stephen M. Vantassel and Wildlife Control Consultant, LLC. Text (not images) may be reprinted in non-profit publications provided that the author and website URL is included. If images wish to be used, explicit and written permission must be obtained from Wildlife Control Consultant, LLC.

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Are Glueboards Efficient Mouse Traps?

Glueboards and Mice

Common house mouse (Mus musculus), wild type.
Common house mouse (Mus musculus), wild type. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Lots of people and pest control operators use glueboards to control house mice (Mus musculus). But have you ever wondered if they are very efficient at catching mice?

Glueboards not the Most Efficient Mouse Traps

Dr. Robert Corrigan performed some research at Purdue University and discovered that glueboards really aren’t that good at catching mice.  In a publication entitled “The Efficacy of Glue Traps against Wild Populations of House Mice, Mus domesticus, Rutty” in the Proceedings of the Eighteenth Vertebrate Pest Conference (1998), he says that while mice do get caught in glueboards, the fact is that the one’s that get caught are like young mice or mice that were travelling according to muscle memory and therefore were not paying attention enough to avoid the trap.

Corrigan also explained that house mice frequently learn to avoid the devices as proven by the number of observed accounts where hairs of mice are found on the boards (suggesting escapes).  Furthermore, mice eat insects (e.g. cockroaches) caught on glueboards and thereby become educated to their effect.

Bottomline, if you wish to control mice on a property, glueboards are just not that good at getting the job done. You are much better off using snap traps or other devices to capture mice.

About the Author

Stephen M.Vantassel is a certified wildlife control operator. His latest book, The Wildlife Damage Inspection Handbook, 3rd ed. is available from dealers or by contacting the author.

 

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About Stephen

Stephen M. Vantassel MNI, CNI, CWCP, ACP, ACE Bio Stephen M. Vantassel is the Vertebrate Pest Specialist for the Montana Department of Agriculture (2015-present). Formerly, he was the Program Coordinator of Distance Education-Wildlife Damage Management for the University of Nebraska-Lincoln School of Natural Resources from 2004-2014. Stephen filled the position vacated by Dallas Virchow, who … Learn More

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