In case of rodent infestations, mousetraps and spring-type rat traps are usually used, which require recharging after operation. Without the ability or desire to check the trap every few hours, you can make an automatic trap and catch several rodents in a row.
Materials:
- deep bucket or barrel;
- thick steel wire;
- aluminum beer or soda cans;
- cocktail straw;
- regular or double-sided tape;
- a pair of boards or slats;
- corn.
Assembling the trap
Making a universal trap for rats and mice starts with assembling a rotating drum. It is made from aluminum cans glued together. The number and volume of cans is selected depending on the available container for collecting rodents. When using a plastic bucket for this, two 0.33 liter cans are enough. When using barrels, it is better to glue 0.5 liter cans in a row. The tube obtained from them should be 10-15 cm shorter than the diameter of the container. It is most convenient to glue the jars with hot glue, but you can simply wrap them with tape. It is important that the bottoms of the cans are located along the edges of the resulting drum.
Holes are punched in the center of the bottoms. A piece of drinking straw is inserted into them.
Holes are also drilled in the center of the rim of the container. A pin or wire is threaded through the bucket. It is inserted into a straw, passes through the jars and is discharged into the second hole of the bucket. It should be so that the cans rotate easily on the wire axis.
Next, bait is placed in the middle of the tube made of cans. You need to apply the tape with the sticky side to the grain. After this, it is wound with the non-adhesive side onto the tube. When overlapping, the tape sticks. It would be more reliable to use double-sided tape.
A bucket with a drum is installed in a room where rodents live. It contains about 15-20 cm of water. Boards rest on the bucket on both sides. They are placed opposite the drum axis.
Rodents, having climbed the boards, will fall into the container when trying to get the grain from the rotating drum. Since there is water in it, they will not be able to push off from the bottom and jump out, so they will be forced to float on the surface.
The trap allows you to catch an unlimited number of pests. They will go on the drum until all the grain is removed from the tape. After a night or several hours, the trapped rodents are removed and new bait is applied.
