Best item missing from all BOB lists I've seen -- mousetraps

Just watched an urban survival video from Cody Lundin (that barefooted hippie is great! )


But they were going through a grocery store, picking out a basic simple selection of prep goods: trash bags, zip lock bags, bleach etc. etc..

but then he said, "Mousetrap" and talked about how it was a great way to catch dinner.


Don't forget your Mousetraps in your BOBs, or even your BugIn supplies.

Mouse traps? Sounds interesting. What can you catch besides mice? I'll eat about anything but am leery about eating mice because of diseases.

reply to post by Skid Mark


Actually they talked about that

They said, just cook it thoroughly, and don't worry about diseases like hantavirus, the fire should make it safe too eat.

It really is a nifty idea.

I hear about snares (hard to setup/work), and fish gear all the time, and makes sense.

But mousetraps are definitely going to be part of my gear.

If you get rat traps (big mousetraps), might even be able to get other critters out in the wild.

Mouse traps? you got to be kidding?

i wouldn't waste precious resources on cooking a mouse in a survival scenario. I'd have the gill net over the river, snares out on local runs and a nice meal, not some scrawny mouse.

Would make great bait for a static fish trap though.

Nooooo no no nooooo beaver traps my boy, thats where its at!




www.youtube.com...

Sorry, but I listed on my B.O.B. thread last year - www.abovetopsecret.com...
I think it was item #12. Cody Lundin is definitely a good source on survival information though.
Peace, ATA

Even if you don;t care to eat the mice the mice will still try to eat your dinner for you. They also will help deter snakes from entering your shelter and you can use them as trap triggers. Even more ingenious uses can make booby trap triggers using light bulbs, batteries and propellant powders, hmm.

reply to post by Retikx


looks pretty cool! guess there is a lot of meat on a beaver, but that trap looks bulky/heavy, but I guess that doesn't matter if it's a source of food.

reply to post by Asktheanimals


Sorry, didn't see your list (and I did do a search for it ("edit: searched "BOB mousetrap" ) too)...
I've seen many many though, here and other boards and haven't seen it listed before.

Anyway, hope somebody that hasn't heard of it sees it, because I think it's definitely a worthy addition ( or a beaver trap )

edit:
from your thread:
12- Mousetraps (2) - yes, for mice! They will chew through packs and clothing,
eat you out of house and home then pee in everything they don't eat! They also carry deadly Hantavirus.


As an add on to your thread: You can eat them too!

reply to post by thoughtform


Heh, I've sworn off mice - too dry if overdone, just yucky if not. Chipmunks have lots more meat and taste way better! I haven't tried rat yet.........I'd have to be pretty damn hungry

This reminds me that I should do a thread on unmentionable edibles - bugs, slugs, mice etc. It may not be long before we have to eat things like that.

reply to post by Asktheanimals


When Cody mentioned, there was no doubt of the mousetraps intent, a source of food.

When I heard him say it, and I processed what he said, I was floored, it really is a great 'portable', easy to use, long term, method of acquiring emergency rations.

There are rodents everywhere, rural and urban.

There is no doubt that a mouse/rat/beaver trap , will be very useful when you are on the move, and not near a fishing well.

They could trap squirrels too.

Compact and lightweight, and some other uses of the metal parts on them could be possible.

Could also use it to trap snakes. Figure out a way the snake would have no choice but go across the trigger to get to the bait or something along those lines.

Good idea

reply to post by IgnoranceIsntBlisss


Yes! Didn't even think about squirrels, they are everywhere too.

Snakes are good thought too, I'm definitely going to pre-drill some holes into the traps, so they can be tied/secured.
Seems like it will make a decent snare, for slightly bigger critters.

I would go for rat traps instead of mouse traps.

Set up right with shotgun shells or flare shells they would make good tripwires for a survival site.
www.metacafe.com...

i will not get into some of the traps i know of because they are real bad but they use rat traps as a trigger

I have two surefire mousetrap methods.

1. In Summer camp I noticed a dead drowned mouse in the water pitcher in the clay/pottery room two days in a row. They had left the pitcher with water in it overnight. I tested it later as an adult (mice were eating the henfeed) and yep, mice drown easy as pie.

2. The henfeed was kept in 5 gallon "pickle buckets". Pickle buckets are the containers that fast food places get their sliced dill pickles in. Well, when the feed got down to an inch or two, the mice would go in to eat but could not jump out.

With method #2 you have a bucket that's useful for many things besides mouse-catching. The bucket with grain or old seed you won't be using is the bait. Then you have LIVE mouse for dinner! Or, if you are plagued by mice and don't need mouse food, the same pickle buckets with water in the bottom (6 inches or so) will drown them. Your choice.

I think I'd rather just hang my pack from a line then worry about setting mousetraps, and I'd much rather clean and smoke a fish rather than get some meager meat from a filthy mouse.