OUCH! We too have had our fingers stuck in mouse traps and even worse rat traps with painful results. The Mini T-Rex Mouse Traps have the same catching power as a traditional wooden mouse traps but without the risk of getting your fingers "snapped". You should place these traps exactly like you have placed your wooden traps and you will have success.
It appears the mouse is likely nesting in the mattress itself or boxspring/base. Placing a snap trap in a shoebox to help disguise the trap should work fairly well in this case. You would place the box along the wall or an area that it would travel across. Also may try not setting the trap for a few days and just baiting and after 3 days or so, then setting it. This will hopefully make the mouse use to the box and unsuspecting when it is actually set.
For inside the home we recommend using mouse traps or glue boards. The Mini T Rex Mouse Snap Trap is placed along baseboards or in a corner for best results. You can use nuts, nesting material like a small piece of cotton, or small amount of nutella in the trap for bait. Using a Mouse glue board such as Catchmaster Mouse and Insect Glue Board is an alternative and very common method. Place glue board near baseboards, corners, along walls, or in spaces where pests are likely to travel. Used either flat or folded into a covered trap, Catchmaster glue boards have no insecticides or rodenticides, and the 72MB has a peanut butter scent that acts as an attractant to mice. (This is a synthetic scent that contains no peanut allergens.) Glue will remain most effective in moderate temperatures, but not in direct sunlight or freezing temperatures.
We would not recommend that you clean the Mini T-Rex Mouse Trap. You should simply discard any trapped mice and reset. The scent of eradication will not deter them from the traps. We suggest using Provoke Mouse Attractant to lure them to the traps. Cleaning the traps could discourage them from going near the traps.
The Mini T-Rex Mouse Trap is a reuseable snap trap that is intended to kill the mice. We do sell live mouse traps, which you can browse here. The Catchmaster 612 Multi-Catch Trap is a very popular multi-catch live trap.
The Mini T-Rex Mouse Trap will catch voles and potentially shrews. This will likely not catch moles. Please be advised that we are only able to ship within the U.S.
The Mini T-Rex Mouse Trap is a reusable snap trap with patented interlocking teeth that makes mouse escape virtually impossible, ensuring a successful and deadly capture.
If you are using rat traps and the bait is being consumed but the traps are not being tripped then you probably have mice in there. You should switch out your traps to mouse traps, such as the Mini T-Rex Mouse Trap or you could add some glue boards. You can use rat sized glue boards to catch mice and rats though you cannot use mouse sized glue boards to catch rats. You may want to take a look at our How To Get Rid of Mice guide for more tips.
The Mini T-Rex Mouse Traps are plastic.
The Mini T-Rex Mouse Trap is a state-of-the-art mechanical trap that offers superior mouse capture. Patented interlocking teeth make mouse escape virtually impossible. With Mini T-Rex you'll get the perfect combination of trigger sensitivity and trap velocity - speed and responsiveness that ensure a successful and deadly capture. Easy to set and safer to use than traditional snap traps, the Mini T-Rex can be placed directly into a Protecta Mouse Bait station or in mouse runways or tied to pipes or beams that mice may use as highways. A bait cup in the center of the trigger pedal makes it easy to add baits including new Provoke Mouse Attractant.
Manufacturers recommendation: Do NOT use peanut butter in traps as the oil in peanut butter can damage the trap.
As stated on our site, "Manufacturers recommendation: Do NOT use peanut butter in Mini T-Rex Mouse Trap as the oil in peanut butter can damage the trap." It is possible the traps are not tripping because they may have been damaged by the oil from the peanut butter.
When using Snap Traps for rodent control, it can take some adjustments to get the best results as rodents are neophobic and have terrible eyesite, they navigate by sense of touch and sense of smell typically along the same runways. When a new object (snaptrap/glueboard) has been placed in their path, they can and most likely will avoid it since they cannot see it. Once they are used to the object being in the runway, they will become more comfortable and curious to the station. While Peanut Butter is commonly used to lure rodents, most manufacturers DO NOT recommend this as the oil from the food can damage the trap. We do have Rodent Lure Gel Bait that can be used.
Snap traps should be placed where you see the most signs of rodent activity. Placing snap traps at a right angle with the mouth of the trap against the wall or place a pair of traps parallel to the wall, with the triggers positioned to intercept rodents traveling from either direction. Please view our How to Place Rodent Snap Traps Video for a demonstration.
Here are some helpful articles on Snap Traps and Baiting for Rodents:
Snap Traps 101 Guide
How to Properly Bait for Rodents Article
Myths about Rodents Article
