Building a Better Mousetrap

When Jen and I moved out of our apartment in the city, one of the things we were most excited about was a life free of roaches and mice. We lived in a pre-war building, so the little buggers occasionally came with the territory.

I hate mice almost as much as Jen hates roaches. So when we spotted one scurrying under the baseboard in the living room the other night, I panicked. My immediate reaction was to get in the car and go buy some traps. But it was 11:30 at night, and the roads were icy. Not the best driving conditions. So I figured we would just deal with it in the morning.

But Jen, having ADD, was already online looking up how to build a homemade mousetrap. She was on a mission, as is often the case, so come hell or high water, we were catching that mouse. I'd be lying if I said I wasn't annoyed. It was late, I wanted to go to bed, and I knew if we made our own mousetrap the mouse would just laugh in our faces.

But there I was, at midnight, in my freezing basement, sawing a plank of wood in half. This is the kind of thing that happens when you share your life with an ADDer. You find yourself with a saw in your hand in the middle of the night.

I brought all the materials Jen needed upstairs--a bucket, a rod, a plank of wood, and a soda bottle--and she went to work building this monstrosity. I watched in horror as she spread our $5 organic peanut butter on the soda bottle. But I've learned not to question her. I thought to myself: the sooner this is done, the sooner we can go to bed. 

She set up the trap (see image at right) in the corner of the living room where we spotted the mouse. I was not surprised at all the next morning to find no mouse at the bottom. So we went to two different stores and bought $20 worth of mousetraps and set them all out. We moved the homemade trap into the basement to get it out of the way.

The next morning, we checked all the traps. No mice. We knew from experience that sometimes it takes a few days, so we were not concerned.

But later on, Jen was walking the dogs and one of them made a beeline for the homemade trap we had put aside. Jen ran over to grab the leash, and lo and behold, she saw a mouse at the bottom of the bucket. 

$20 on traps, and Jen's homemade contraption caught the mouse. I know ADDers are usually very resourceful and innovative, but she literally built a better mousetrap. So the next time she ropes me into what feels like a harebrained scheme, I'm going to remember the mouse, and go right along with it.

If you enjoyed this post, subscribe to So I Married an ADDer.

 

If you're curious, here's how to build the winning mousetrap for yourself. You'll need a bucket, a rod or dowel, a plank of wood or hard plastic, a soda can or small plastic bottle, and peanut butter.

1. Fill the bucket halfway with soapy water.
2. Slice off the ends of the soda can or bottle and insert the rod through it.
3. Place the rod across the top of the bucket, with the soda can touching the rim.
4. Position the plank as a ramp leading up to the edge of the soda can.
5. Smear peanut butter on the top side of the can.

The mouse will go up the ramp to get the peanut butter, lose his balance on the can, fall into the bucket, and cash in his chips, so to speak.

Comments

[Gina Pera]

LOLOLOLOL!!!!

Well done -- both of you!

Gina

[Charity]

Ok...so this made me LAUGH. Jen and I could be best friends...in fact, I NEED a best friend like that...oh wait, I've already got a friend like that...my gay makeup artist friend who manages the Paul & Joe Boutique over here...he just lost his cell phone for the 6'th time! I mean, he just lost his new cell phone and will have to go out and but a new one, for the 6'th time!

And...I'm already subscribed to you...and I must say, you don't write as much as you should! I'm always waiting for a new post to pop up in my google reader! Dagnabit, you didn't even say Merry Christmas!

[Erin]

Thanks, ladies! Charity, my apologies--we had a family emergency over the holidays and I wasn't online to say Merry Christmas. So Merry Christmas! And I hope everyone is enjoying 2009 so far.

[heyshippy]

One time..I built a makeshift
air conditioner out of an old ice chest, a dryer vent hose and fan......then there was the time I took apart our "spare" vacuum cleaner and turned it into an electric leaf blower! I LOVE ADD!!!!!

[Jayson]

Nice!! Classic story. Glad to hear the ADDer pulled it off. It seems like something that could work, but it also looks like it might frighten any mouse. Either way, save the $20 bucks next time :)