Pest control: Eggheads work to help RoboBees dodge that fly-swatter

Re: Wot about the mice ?

Wrap it in a couple layers of copper mesh, perhaps?

Re: Wot about the mice ?

You want a better mousetrap? I'd tell you, but I'm a solitary type of person and don't want the world beating a path to my door.

I just remembered, El Reg don't know where I live. So...

You'll need a desk or table, a ruler, some cheese, and a round, metal waste bin in good condition.

Place cheese on end of ruler. Balance ruler + cheese on edge of desk (with cheese on the end that's in mid-air) then move the ruler back a bit from the balance point. Put waste bin under ruler.

Mouse wanders along, gets on the desk/table. Sees/smells the cheese. Walks along the ruler to get it. Weight of mouse causes ruler to tip, dumping mouse, ruler and cheese in waste bin. If the bin is in good condition the mouse can't climb up the sides, and being circular the mouse can't chew through it. Some people suggest a few inches of water in the bin to make it harder for the mouse to get a purchase if it tries to climb out.

It ought to work with a round plastic bucket, especially with water at the bottom, but you may not feel it safe enough from a mouse-tooth attack.

Re: Wot about the mice ?

Humane traps are anything but, research has shown that captured mice released outside the home who did not simply make a bee-line back died pretty nasty deaths, they died of cold, of hunger of being predated alive because they were homeless, no holes to disappear down.

It is thus more human to use a modern trap which dispatches them sharpish. Take it from someone who has dispatched a mountain of mice in my research and made myself get VERY good at it so the mice did not suffer at all: I am very happy with modern traps. Not only do they have little buckets you can put a mixture of nutella and peanut butter in that they can't resist but it is surrounded by a thin plastic platform which is the trigger. With old metal traps you would catch the mouse by the nose too often.

Also these plastic traps, the only metal is the spring, are so light when they go off they leap into the air. This means the mouse is flung about extra breaking the neck and if the initial shock doesn't kill them that will.

We caught three last autumn, so far this which is colder, we have not caught nor seen a single one. That is despite the installation of a self built pagoda style bird table in the front garden which results despite raised lip metal trays in some seeds etc falling down.

So think if the mouse, not your conscience, and dispatch it humanely rather than leaving it to a pretty miserable death.

BTW the same thing happens to house spiders evicted to the great outdoors. Gardens get split into spider territory after spider territory so the ones who are not predated by other spiders get eaten by birds because they have nowhere to go. When I learned that I refused to remove spiders from the house. I haven't put one in years. We are not in any way overrun by spiders.

Re: Wot about the mice ?

Given time, they'll gnaw through the soda bottle, but this has worked well in my shop...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9MWGhn2u52Q

"a simple COAT HANGER HUMANE MOUSETRAP"

Danger - Video has typical YouTube music by Roto-Rooter. It'll bore its way into your brain.

Re: Robot bees?

But regulated by whom? Our respective governments with their long histories of respect for peoples' privacy?

Re: Robot bees?

Sod that. When I can start doing #DeathTo David Davies?

Re: Beware the rise of the killer bees

The correct phrase is "Your honey or your life"

I'm sure those are a myth.

Always presuming that the soldier has the mental ability to understand what "Front towards enemy" means. Have met a few that might fail that one.