The first time I saw a blurry object out of the corner of my eye streak through the kitchen of our new brownstone, I figured I better cool it on the chocolate martinis.
However, the hollowed-out loaf of bread on the counter was the obvious tip-off that what we were dealing with was a big rodent problem. I don't mean large mice, but rather that their numbers were frighteningly plentiful. Over the past year, we have tried everything—from the old-fashioned spring-steel wire snap traps to poison to finally roach hotels for rodents.
I personally favor any method that takes the mouse out, because coping with anything short of that is frankly unimaginable to me. My neighbor, who shares a common wall with us—and therefore a common mouse problem—advised us against poison because she said dead mice in your walls smell really bad after awhile. But then she traps squirrels in her backyard and drowns them with her bare hands. I think she grew up on a ranch.
So far, though, we haven't caught a single thing. All that we seem to do is chase the mice over to the neighbors' side of the wall, and then they chase the mice back over to our side. It's a kind of Borrowers saga involving rodents.
Hope springs eternal, though, because I just learned about a new mousetrap whose inventors claim makes it easier to catch mice.
I found out about it because the maker of the trap, Keim GmbH & Co., entered the design in this year's "Design News Golden Mousetrap Awards." After our initial amusement over the fact that this company took the name of our contest literally and entered what it claims really is a better mousetrap, I realized I could employ the design for more personal means.
Granted, the documentation the company supplied was sketchy and they did not return phone calls—so it's not clear how this plastic variation of a spring-loaded trap (see image right) is superior to other mousetraps. But it does seem like it could at least make it easier to dispose of the mouse assuming you can catch it to begin with.
I think we'll try chocolate and peanut butter first. But if any of you have a better mousetrap idea, let me know. If you help me catch a mouse, we'll feature your solution in an upcoming issue and award you with an honorary Golden Mousetrap Award.
On another note, I'm happy to announce that we have extended the deadline for you to submit your
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Keim GmbH claims that its plastic, spring-loaded “snap” mousetrap makes it easier to catch mice.
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nominations for the Design News Golden Mousetrap Readers Choice Awards. Help us honor the companies that supply the best technical products and services by filling out our nomination form online at www.designnews.com/mousetrap by January 15, 2006. Plus, you'll automatically be entered into a drawing for a $500 gift certificate. And that can buy a lot of mousetraps!
kfield@reedbusiness.com
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