OWLTRA OW-5 Ultrasonic Rodent Repellers

I was over run with mice, and I think I saw a couple rats as well. I couldn't be sure, because I read that rats and mice don't mix. But, I do think that a couple of rats got in there. This caused me to order the rat sized trap, because, what if Mama Rat showed up? It was like a horror show. In the past, I have tried snap traps. These will get you one or two, until the rest learn how to steal bait without getting caught. This time, I didn't start with snaps. I just jumped to glue traps. Glue traps work for the most part, if you buy ones with the strongest glue. But if any part of the mouse can catch a solid edge, then they can pull out of it. In addition to this draw back, they don't die right away, but linger for a couple of days. You have to bash them inside of a bag to avoid this grisly detail. And that is just as bad as having them sitting there suffering for days. I moved on to electric mouse traps. Yes, this is a successful solution. The trap I bought is only meant for indoors. I was very careful with it, not wanting to get zapped myself. The directions are well written and easy to understand, except it is not clear which way to push the slide button to turn it on. Slide the toggle toward the back door to turn it off, and towards the opening to turn it on. The green light signaling it is on only flashes once for about 5 seconds. If you don't see it, just repeat the steps. Turn it off, then back on. The back door is vented. I once saw a mouse attempt to open this door, but he couldn't. Don't waste your time thinking that you add the bait here. I think that's what it's for, because the bait tray is right there. But, I didn't use peanut butter, and my bait wouldn't fit through the opening. It was much easier to add bait through the top. I do not think human scent ever deterred those guys from going for the bait. Let's say you're all set up. This trap takes 4 C batteries. 1. You turn off the trap. 2. You take the battery door off. 3. You take out one or two of the batteries (I always took out two.) 4. You take the trap top off. It comes apart using two hands, but so easy! 5. You put the bait in the bin. 6. You put the top back on. This can be done with one hand. This trap is well made and the plastic parts are thick and sturdy. 7. You put the two batteries back in. Put the battery compartment door back on. 8. Turn on the trap and watch for the green light to flash. Bingo, you're ready to go. You can do all these steps very quickly. I use a green pellet poison bait, the kind you buy in a bag. They love this stuff. I have one pellet in the trap. For some reason, this trap worked better when the pellet was not in the middle but on the left of the bin. I don't know why. Maybe they could smell it better. I always put another pellet right in front of the open entry way. The height of my trap kept me from seeing the alert flashing light, so whenever I saw this green pellet was gone, then I looked for the flashing light, which meant that one of them had entered the trap and tripped the circuit. I caught 12 of them in a row, one by one. The first one I ever caught scared me really bad. The trap set off with a sizzling sound, and the terrible smell of burning fur. It scared me so bad that I brought a fire blanket out to keep near the trap. I didn't need it except for peace of mind. I don't always hear the sizzle, but you can. The mice don't make any noise, because they are dead. When you go to dispose of them, all you have to do is go through the steps above and take the top off. The body can be dumped into a bag without any mess. If you smelled burning fur, you might see that left over, but no body mess at all. I had one incident of the trap being tripped without a mouse in there. Then again I saw this once: A mouse came flying out of the entrance, hit the side of the phone sitting there, and fell off the bookcase all the way to the floor. He disappeared somewhere, not dead. He did learn to fly. So, I think there's something about the mechanism that scared them so bad that they jumped out, avoiding getting fried. That only happened twice. I dunno. I'm not sticking my fingers in there! The bodies are always near the bait bin. The bodies are bloated immediately, like kernals of corn popping. But, they are intact. The difference, I think, between the mouse-sized trap and the rat-sized trap, except for size, is the length of time the circuit remains on. Mice get one-half the amount that rats get. I can't remember how long the rats get zapped for, except I remember that it's twice as long as for mice, which is 90 seconds?. This could account for the burning fur. There were no flames or char marks or anything like that. Nor was the mouse stuck to the floor. So, although it is disconcerting, I think it is safe. It also could be that the batteries were new, and now they are worn down a bit, although still working well. Less sizzling, but effective. I was surprised this trap worked so well. I think I got them all, but I'm keeping the trap ready to work just in case. Always wash your hands well, although you never have to touch the rodent. I'd buy this again. It's us against them, and I am not living with mice in my kitchen and walls. This is my home, and I'm protecting it.