Kness Tip-Trap Live Mouse Trap 109-0-002-2Pk

I knew I had a mouse in the basement and wanted to use a humane way to catch it. I used the trap with just a little peanut butter as some reviewers have advised, and for a couple of weeks absolutely nothing happened (even as the fresh evidence of the mouse continued to mount all around it) to the point that I was ready to dismiss it as ineffective; then one day I happened to glance at the trap and saw it had "sprung". No movement from inside, but it felt a bit heavier than it should have if empty, so I steeled myself for the possibility of finding a starved-to-death mouse carcass inside...or having a live mouse jump out at me...okay, actually I had my son open the trap, well away from the house...apparently the mouse was alive and well, and is now living somewhere else. Happy ending.

One minor criticism--it would have been helpful if there had been a way to see inside the trap and know for sure if it contained a mouse, and what the mouse's condition might be. I don't think I'd have been nervous about opening the trap if I'd had some way of knowing what to expect, and it doesn't seem as though it would be difficult to make a transparent window in the side of the trap for that purpose.

UPDATE: I had cause to set out this trap again recently, and this time I knew exactly where the mice were coming out to feed. First mouse caught overnight; second mouse caught overnight the second night; third night, the mouse activated the trap but managed to get away. Nothing is substantially different about my impression of the trap, except that I can see it makes a huge difference where it's placed. I think the design is excellent, with the exception of it not being translucent, compared to other similar style traps.

Within 24 hours of receiving this I had captured and released 5 mice that had been raiding my dishwasher after having chewed through the plastic cover on the air gap. Sadly, a sixth mouse was tragically killed in the next wash cycle. It appeared to be a suicide, perhaps caused by loneliness and despair.

My only complaint about the device is that, from year to year, it disappears. My suspicion is that when I get a new crew of mice, as I do when the weather turns each fall, the first thing they do is spirit away the old trap.

Really, it is a better mousetrap. Try it a see for yourself.

I bought a couple of these traps to compare to the Mice Cube that I bought at the same time. I had used a sticky trap to catch a mouse, and my kids (animal lovers) were mortified. I had to switch to humane traps, and this and the Mice Cube looked to be my best bet. The first of these traps that I opened had a broken plastic pin that kept it from opening. It's on its way back to Amazon for a replacement. I set the second trap with a dime sized spot of peanut butter in its bait tray, and placed it along a wall between two rooms that I've seen a mouse in. At the same time I placed two Mice Cubes in the same area. In the morning I noticed the door on the Kness Tip-Trap was closed. I could not feel anything moving inside, so I thought someone had bumped it. I carried it outside to an open field down the street, removed the rear cap, and a healthy brown mouse scampered out into the field. Success! I set it a second time and put the trap in the garage. 24 hours later I saw it tripped again, and using the same procedure I released a baby mouse into the field. Nothing touched my Mice Cubes that were in the same areas.

This tells me a couple of things. First, this trap is sensitive enough to trip even when a baby mouse enters it. Second, it's far more effective than the Mice Cubes, even using the same bait. I just ordered two more of these traps, and I will continue to use them next to the Mice Cubes until I'm convinced we've rid ourselves of our furry little friends. I will report back if my opinion changes, but I've had great success with these so far.

PRO TIP: Get a small bit of tape and tape down ONE side of the 'back door' so you can open it to smoosh a little bait in there. That way when you 'fling' your captured varmet out into the wild you don't lose that end cap and go home without it.
TIP #2: For this you need some pancake syrup and some ground parmasan cheese. See you shouldn't put anything at all heavy in the bait holder, or else the trap will tip without a mouse and not work. Put a small drop of syrup on your fingertip and rub it onto the bait ring. That was to make it a little sticky. Then sprinkle a dash of parmasan cheese on there. It really smells great, and there is literaly almost no weight at all. It works for me!
Despite my own clumbsiness, I really recomend this inexpensive little device. It really works as advertised.

I've been using this trap for several years now and it is by far the most effective of the ones I tried. I highly recommend it. With this trap I usually catch a suspect mouse within 24 hours of setting up the trap. Last week I caught three mice in three days. Came here to buy a few more traps after that!

I agree with the top comment's recommendations: 1) put just a tiny bit of peanut butter in the trap, 2) put it up against a wall, 3) put it about 6 inches away a spot they are likely to hide in or walk past, 4) when cleaning it out just use water, no harsh chemicals; you want to keep as much of the "another mouse was here recently... this must be a safe place" smell as possible. I've also noticed success mostly when the house was quiet, either at night or during the work day. The latch is pretty secure, so you can safely set it, catch something overnight, and then have it still be in the trap by morning. Over time the trap can loosen up, so keep tabs on how secure it is and replace when necessary; my oldest trap lasted about 3-4 years before it needed to be replaced, but it caught a lot of mice in that time.

I first bought this trap ten years ago and it is still dependably catching live mice. I'm not sure how you could set it up wrong but apparently some people do. It does have to be set on a smooth hard surface or the trap door will catch and allow the mouse to escape. There was exactly one time when the mouse kicked it's way out from inside, every other time they were inside waiting for transport to the barn a mile-and-a-half away. At that distance they won't return. This trap won't disappoint if you take the half-minute to learn how to use it. Great buy! And no I wasn't paid or impelled to write this review, just very happy with a very reliable, durable product that actually works!-)