Robin in mousetrap.

dinjo99

I spotted a mouse in the back garden last week and set a mousetrap with a bit of cheese in it. I was really upset this morning to find a dead robin in it. The robin had been around our garden for the last year but it had never occured to me that he would go into the moustrap.
My wife and I were really quite upset and |I would like to warn others that this could happen. The trap was the traditional old wooden ones with a metal spring. Does anyone know if a trap exists that wouldn't harm birds?

kylith

Get a biscuit tin. Knock a couple of holes in the side, a couple of inches in diameter. Set the trap and put it in the biscuit tin. This will keep birds and domestic pets from being harmed by the trap.

Artful_Badger

dinjo99 wrote: »

I spotted a mouse in the back garden last week and set a mousetrap with a bit of cheese in it. I was really upset this morning to find a dead robin in it. The robin had been around our garden for the last year but it had never occured to me that he would go into the moustrap.
My wife and I were really quite upset and |I would like to warn others that this could happen. The trap was the traditional old wooden ones with a metal spring. Does anyone know if a trap exists that wouldn't harm birds?

If the mouse is outside he's not doing any harm, I'd suggest leaving him alone.

Tabnabs

Mice also never (as in 99% of the time) go for cheese. That's the stuff of cartoons. Peanut butter or just plain peanuts is their most favoured bait.

Desmo

Artful_Badger wrote: »

If the mouse is outside he's not doing any harm, I'd suggest leaving him alone.

Agreed! Any garden that is remotely wildlife friendly will have mice. They are completely harmless. Pity about the robin.

emo72

little mammals belong outside, its their territory and causing no harm. why break the non aggression pact with them? they'll probably move into your house now because you killed their daddy or mammy:pac:

kylith

It depends on the type of garden, really. A large suburban garden might be grand, but in a small urban one you'd be worried that they'd get in the house.

Desmo

kylith wrote: »

It depends on the type of garden, really. A large suburban garden might be grand, but in a small urban one you'd be worried that they'd get in the house.

The are in your garden already most likely, even if a small suburban one.
Killing the odd one outside, randomly, will not change the chances of them getting in.

stepster

Tabnabs wrote: »

Mice also never (as in 99% of the time) go for cheese. That's the stuff of cartoons. Peanut butter or just plain peanuts is their most favoured bait.

Never tried peanuts or peanut butter myself - chocolate worked very well for me..

kylith

Desmo wrote: »

The are in your garden already most likely, even if a small suburban one.
Killing the odd one outside, randomly, will not change the chances of them getting in.

Possible, but doubtful. Two terriers keep the yard vermin free, or if they can't get to them, alert me to any present.

It makes no difference anyway; mice are not something you want in a small urban garden so setting a trap is perfectly understandable.

Desmo

kylith wrote: »

Possible, but doubtful. Two terriers keep the yard vermin free, or if they can't get to them, alert me to any present.

It makes no difference anyway; mice are not something you want in a small urban garden so setting a trap is perfectly understandable.

I feel ill

meathstevie

Have to concur with the opinion that there's no or very little harm with the a few mice in a garden, be it urban or rural.

What's happened with the robin is a basic fact of life when you resort to trapping without precautions, they're indiscriminate.

I put out the odd cage trap for rats and mink and have used kill traps in the past for same but never without placing them in a suitable box or a lenght of wavin pipe to prevent the likes of ducks and waterhens to get into them.

kylith

Desmo wrote: »

I feel ill

You'd feel a lot more ill if you found mouse droppings in your food press, trust me.

Half-cocked

In my experience, mice in the garden soon become mice in the house. I've recently had to rewire my kitchen lights as a result of them nibbling the wires. Place traps in boxes with restricted access so that non target species can't reach them. Don't use poison, it causes a lot of harm when it gets into the food chain.

Desmo

kylith wrote: »

You'd feel a lot more ill if you found mouse droppings in your food press, trust me.

How often do you get mice in the house?
Our back garden is full of mice; it is quite wild and the cat keeps catching them.
Once every 5 years we get a mouse in the house and I then set a trap and catch it. It is no big deal. This is a "Nature and Bird Watching" board. Killing off wildlife in the garden is a bit extreme maybe?

Desmo

Half-cocked wrote: »

In my experience, mice in the garden soon become mice in the house. I've recently had to rewire my kitchen lights as a result of them nibbling the wires. Place traps in boxes with restricted access so that non target species can't reach them. Don't use poison, it causes a lot of harm when it gets into the food chain.

Agreed about the poison!! Nasty stuff.

kylith

Desmo wrote: »

How often do you get mice in the house?
Our back garden is full of mice; it is quite wild and the cat keeps catching them.
Once every 5 years we get a mouse in the house and I then set a trap and catch it. It is no big deal. This is a "Nature and Bird Watching" board. Killing off wildlife in the garden is a bit extreme maybe?

I used to get them every winter, but not since I got the dogs. The first year I was in the house I caught 15 of them in 2 days.

I'm not advocating killing off wildlife, I'm simply making the point that depending on the location and type of garden you have having rodents in it in may be undesirable, and removing them understandable. Since they made this thread it's not a huge leap to conclude that the OP does not want mice in their garden, for whatever reason, and wants to remove them in a way that doesn't impact other wildlife.

Eddie B

Desmo wrote: »

How often do you get mice in the house?
Our back garden is full of mice; it is quite wild and the cat keeps catching them.
Once every 5 years we get a mouse in the house and I then set a trap and catch it. It is no big deal. This is a "Nature and Bird Watching" board. Killing off wildlife in the garden is a bit extreme maybe?

Your cat is killing off more wildlife than any trap ever could! :rolleyes: