Reusable do-it-yourself mousetrap

So, being the owner of a private house (in which I live only in the summer) and a house in a summer cottage (in which I rarely visit), I ran into one problem: MICE! In the summer, this is not so scary, but, with the onset of cold weather, the problem becomes relevant - mice tend to heat and climb into homes. Of course, a great many mousetraps are sold in stores. And I bought and installed them. But after all, they have one common drawback - they catch one mouse! And if I do not appear in the house every month? How many mousetraps can I install? ... You can, of course, a lot! But then, be sure to accidentally climb into them yourself! After all, they are placed in "secluded places", or, it will make a cat, or a dog!

Therefore, I made a home-made mousetrap (and not one), which has the following properties: it can catch several mice, and it is absolutely safe for everyone who is not a rodent, and does not fit into a two-centimeter hole.)))

Today I made another such mousetrap and shot the process in the photo. I did it on six mice, so we will consider just such an option.

So we need:
1) Bar. (Any unnecessary one will do. Cross section from 40 to 100 mm, to infinity ... Well, to a reasonable extent. I do not advise you to do it from sleepers))))) Length - about 6 centimeters for each "muscle place" - in my case - about forty centimeters)
2) Old bicycle spokes. (Again, one for each mouse - in my case - 6)
3) Thin knitting wire (I took 0.8)
4) Strong thread.

To begin with, at the end of our bar we drill “blind” holes with a diameter of 20 mm and a depth of 8-10 cm. (The bar should be two centimeters wider). (These will be minks for mice). I did this with a adjustable pen drill on wood and a conventional drill. After that, we need to perform a cut along the entire bar, retreating about a centimeter from the edge where we drilled blind holes. The cut depth should reach the bottom edge of our holes. I performed it with the help of a circle on a tree and the 125th small "grinder" (angle grinder). It can be done with a circular saw (circular), or even with a hacksaw. But in this case, you will not be able to make a mousetrap more than 3 minks - the length of the hacksaw blade will not be enough. The next step - at a distance of about two to two and a half centimeters from our cut, we drill two holes, 2 mm in diameter, across the beam. They must pass across each mink, dividing it into equal parts. For clarity, I inserted a wire into the drilled holes: With the same drill, we drill a hole in the bar where the mink has already ended. We get such a product here: Next, we begin to manufacture the spring. It is made of knitting needles from a bicycle. As a template, I used a file handle with a diameter of 20 mm: Getting to the assembly. We put the springs into the hole drilled by us opposite each mink: After that, at the end of each spring we fix a loop of knitting wire: And we charge the mousetrap: Squeezing the spring so that the wire loop drops into our cut, we fix it by inserting something of a suitable diameter. I used the same file: After that, we simply tie the spring with a thread passed through our two holes. I use a gypsy needle to make it easier to thread: After that, remove the file and place the bait on the end of the mink. Better, smelling great. I used slices of bacon-fried skins from bacon. (This can be done at the beginning. Even more convenient - the threads do not interfere)

Similarly, we charge all the minks:
What we have: a wire loop, which is larger in diameter than the mink, completely hides in the cut and does not overlap the mink. A mouse, seeing a hole, naturally, will try to examine it. Moreover, it smells appetizing from it! Having passed the loop, she will rest against the threads blocking her passage ... and simply gnaw them !! (Do not hesitate, verified.) Further - it is clear. The released spring here will also tear the wire loop up ... That's it !!! Not a single one has yet reached the bait))))) At the same time, the tail of a mouse sticking out of a mink does not deter others! The rest of the minks are free! Upon arrival at the cottage, I sometimes shake, pressing the springs, 10 mice each! All you need is a new thread. The bait serves a long time.