Build A Better Mousetrap V3

Catch more mice with version 3 of this famous mousetrap. This new design uses a 5 gallon bucket to hold multiple mice, and gives you the option to catch them live or add water to create a kill trap. As was the spirit of the original mousetrap, I prefer to catch them live and release them elsewhere.

History

The original Build A Better Mousetrap was an over-engineered, overpriced, hastily-built project, made from random parts from my parts bins. I designed and built a prototype one day, then built the actual project the next day. The mousetrap was effective and fun to use, but was lost in NY when I moved to CA.

Version 2 was a more streamlined design to bring the project back and simplify it. While the original version used a BASIC Stamp 2, the newer versions are designed around the Arduino Nano.

Improving the Design…Again

The original versions were designed to catch one mouse at a time. This version is designed to catch multiple mice. This is done by using a standard 5 gallon bucket to hold the mice, while keeping the main part of the trap similar to the previous style.

The mouse enters a clear box to get the “treat”, like before. But, main difference is that once the entry door closes, a trap-door opens under the clear box, dropping the mouse into the 5 gallon bucket, at which point the trap resets. In this manner, the trap should be able to catch a couple of dozen mice.

Of course, once there are a certain number of mice in the bucket, it may turn into a free-for-all arena. I don’t anticipate catching that many mice at once, but some people may have a larger mouse problem. It will be interesting to find someone who can test this trap for maximum captures.

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Resources

[DOWNLOAD]

Build A Better Mousetrap – Project

Build A Better Mousetrap V2 – Project

Discuss this project on Savage///Chats

Build A Better Mousetrap V3 by Chris Savage is licensed under CC BY 4.0