Is anyone successfully suppressing mice using a grid of A24’s ? Are there any other multi-kill traps out there for mice (other than AT’s)?
Cheers, Alec
I sometimes find small rodents underneath my A24s. Presumably, A24s kill way more small rodents when the populations of rats and mustelids are quite low. Inside a predator proof fence, a high concentration of A24s would probably make a decent dent in their numbers, but combining them with conventional mousetraps in tunnels would be the best non-toxic way to control them.
Several years ago, I wrote to Goodnature about small rodents being able to enter A24s and eat the lures without touching the trigger. I suggested making a hexagonal or octagonal trigger, so that it would be a lot harder for small rodents to access the lures, but the reply was that they’d get back to me, which they never did.
If small rodents eat all of the lures in your A24s, they aren’t going to kill the predators that they’re supposed to, are they? I’d prefer to kill several dozen small rodents than find empty lure pods, and scavengers are going to keep visiting traps for free meals. When there isn’t a kill to scavenge, some predators are going to be interested in what the small rodents have been eating and poke their heads inside the A24.
1 Like
Hi Alec,
I used to get annoyed with mice bypassing the trigger and not getting dealt to so I started gluing bits of foam (I used water pipe insulation) to pack out the barrel and started catching a lot more mice. Generally too, I now place a block of Contrac Poison in the lure chamber rather than using a Goodnature lure. That serves a couple of purposes other than being a lure, firstly it should kill them if they still manage to bypass the needle without tripping the trap and secondly, it keeps on killing if the gas happens to run out.
I don’t operate enough A24s to constitute a grid but I use them in conjunction with traps and bait stations to control mice to low levels. My grid is pretty loose and I am sure it needs to be at least 25 metres to get a reasonable level of control. I reckon some mice don’t move much more than 10 metres but then again I have seen others travelling much further than that. I tend to target habitat and keep moving traps and bait stations around.
I have had issues with mice eating the lures ALPs and in one case the hard plastic cradle the ALP sit in. I presumed this was because of the trap degassing prematurely, rather than mice gymnasts. When I replaced a series of traps under warranty earlier this year for apparent degassing within a few months with little counter action to suggest kills, I noticed the replacement traps now have baffles around the trigger presumably to prevent bypassing. Am currently trying mayo in cut down lure bottles instead of ALPs.
Thanks for the tips. Narrowing the trap diameter so mice can’t by-pass trigger makes a lot of sense. If anyone has views on setting at 45 deg vs vertical I’m keen to hear.
Cheers, Alec