Catcha 2 Piece Humane Smart Mouse Trap Live Catch and Release Rodents, Safe Around Children and Pets

The short version: I've tried three models of mouse trap recently and strongly recommend this one. They're easy to set, easy to clean, humane and generally just less of a hassle than the other live-catch brands I've used. They've also been much, much more effective than the other models. The longer version: When I first noticed the mouse problem in August, I bought two Tomcat brand live-catch mouse traps. Those worked decently, but were finicky to set, easy for my dogs to accidentally spring if they jostled the outside of the trap, difficult to bait in a way that the mice couldn't raid and difficult to clean -- in other words, they worked, but they were inconvenient. I had two of them and they caught a mouse about every 2-3 days (combined). When they got too dirty to clean, I threw them away and looked for something more convenient. We evacuated for two weeks for Hurricane Dorian in early September and when we came back, the mouse population seemed to have doubled. I bought two Southern Homewares Multi-Catch traps because the idea of being able to catch multiple mice without resetting between each catch made sense. More mice = get a trap that can catch more at once. I knew the mice were more active at night, when I'm sleeping and not able to reset a trap, so I had hoped that these would take care of most of the problem while I slept. Unfortunately, no. These caught about a mouse a week, which is pitiful considering how large the trap was (about the size of a large paperback book) and how much bait I put in them (a LOT). I don't know why I kept using them instead of switching back to the previous type that had been more effective, but I did. I used two of these for over a month and I think they caught six mice (combined) in that time. A few days ago, I had had enough and I ordered a pair of these Catcha Mouse Traps. I wish I had just ordered these from the beginning! They don't look like much, but this is exactly what I needed. In the day I've had them running, these Catcha traps have caught six mice -- by FAR the most effective of the brands I've tried. They're also the most convenient and user-friendly. They're clear so I can easily see if I've caught anything. They're easy to bait and the bait stays clean instead of getting soiled if the mouse pees/poops in the trap, so I'm not washing pee-soaked peanut butter out of a trap every time I catch something. I didn't think I would like the bait compartment at first glance, but after using it, I like it a lot more than I expected to. The release door opens easily and the mice don't seem to be in distress when I release them, which matters to me. The trigger mechanism is sturdy enough that my dogs aren't tripping it by poking their noses at the outside of the traps. Some of the mice I've caught today have been quite young and small -- I'm not sure that they would have been heavy enough to trigger the Tomcats, but they triggered the Catchas. The only real fault I can see is that this is absolutely the type of plastic that a mouse can chew threw with enough time. Mine haven't because I've only had this for a day and none of them have been in there long enough to start chewing, but I've had pet mice/rats intermittently since childhood and I've seen them mow through this type of plastic in the past. A few other reviews have mentioned it and I see the risk. The traps cheap enough and effective enough that that wouldn't be a deterrent for me at all -- if/when mine get chewed, I will happily buy more. Amendment: Make that SEVEN mice in 24 hours. I caught Mouse #6, released him, reset that trap, sat down to write this review (because six mice in 24 hours is worth writing a review for), and just checked to see that there's another mouse in the same trap fifteen minutes later. These things WORK. Edit to update: 9 mice in the first day. 2 mice earlier on the second day and it's going much slower now. I really wish I'd bought this brand first. Second edit: A week later, the total count stands at 9 mice on the first day, 2 in the morning of the second day, 1 in the morning of the third day, zero sign of any mice in a week since. I wasted three months on other traps and these Catcha traps completely solved my mouse problem in three days.

We live on a farm and we are surrounded by hay fields, brush and state land. WE HAVE MICE lol. Last year for some reason the mouse population in our area seemed to explode. It's normal to have a critter or two scampering around the house. We have cats and they will, from time to time, offer up a carcass to show their appreciation. Either they have given up and just made friends with the mice lately or they just don't give a dang anymore, but I finally hit my limit and started searching for humane mouse traps. We don't want to harm them, they are adorable little furballs. But we also would like to keep them from crapping all over everything. This brings me to the Catcha Humane Smart Mouse Trap. It just arrived last night. I opened the package and read the instructions that came with it (that's a first for me). I removed the bait door and put it back in without any issues. Flopped the trap door down, tripped it, no problems. Slapped some peanut butter where it tells you and set the trap in a place I KNOW mice like to hang out in our home. The stove. It's obvious for us to find their hangouts, they leave tiny gifts behind, or are those behind gifts...either way, it's obvious where they roam about. And then went to bed. I got up early, thanks to our ancient doggo and his need to wake me in the weeeee hours of the morning to wee. Checked the trap and YUP! Mouse! I would imagine it panicked when the trap was sprung, but it was unhurt and quite calm by the time I found it. I took the trap and mouse down to the barn, opened up the bait door and let him go. He scurried off into a pasture. Definitely a win! The only downside I saw with this, and it's not a design flaw by any means, just one of those oh well dang things, is the mouse pooped all over in there, as mice tend to do. And it was a bit difficult to get it cleaned out and ready for tonight. I have two of them, maybe next time I'll let the poo pellets dry up and see if they come out easier that way. I would have to say if you don't find success with this trap immediately, don't give up hope. Our quick success was no doubt due to the sheer amount of flipping mice we have here right now. Now if I can find a way to toss one of these under the car hood we'd be rockin'! Car is driven daily and two oil changes in a row needed a new air cleaner due to large mouse nests. This time it was complete with mice. Did I mention we have mice? Pick up these traps! They work :-D. UPDATE: We've been using these traps now for about a year and still like them. I generally set the traps out at night and check them in the morning. When we seem to have a larger population roaming about, I'll set them during the day and check them several times. I've not yet had one die while in the traps, but that doesn't mean it can't happen. I've found that applying the peanut butter on the removable door (on the 4 holes not the 6) is sufficient to draw the mice all the way into the trap and trigger the trap door. The only negative I have really is that the springs either aren't glued down or the glue that holds them in place isn't enough. When I release a mouse I generally shake the trap gently to get them out and the spring falls out too. Normally I'm able to find it and put it back in place, but I did lose the spring today. I'll try and replace it with a random pen spring or order a new set of traps. The things just work.

I rarely write reviews, but I had to for this product. I've been live-trapping "houseguests" in the places I've lived for over 40 years. During that time, I've used cage traps, box traps, tilt traps, and finally - THIS trap. This design far surpasses any other design - both for ease of use, and reduced stress on the animal. Here are some of highlights: 1. Ease of use. The bait area detaches and allows for different types of bait (peanut butter works for me!). Setting the trap is simply a matter of depressing the entrance door until it clicks. NOTE: the latch holds SECURELY while you place the trap and is not sensitive to vibration - which means you won't have to reset it repeatedly because you didn't use a feather-touch when placing. 2. Clean, safe and effective: despite the door being held firmly when set, it will trip as soon as mousie enters. The door holds securely (my idjit cat got to a trap before I did; all he was able to do was roll it around, not open it. Resulted in a dizzy - but safe - mouse. You also don't come in contact with the mouse at any time (if you are concerned about that). Release is just a matter of removing the bait end, so you can clean the trap* afterwards and never touch anything the mouse did. 3. HUMANE!! As I said earlier, I've been relocating rodents for a long time. Every other trap I've used results in an over-stressed animal which results in a trap full of urine and droppings, and the possibility of an animal that has gone into shock. THIS TRAP DOESN'T STRESS THE ANIMAL. All of the mice I've caught in these traps display behavior of relaxed pet mice. I believe this is due to the trap being tinted clear material. The animal doesn't realize it's trapped, and the dark tint prevents it from feeling it's in a open, vulnerable place. As a result, there is rarely any droppings - and I've never seen urine in the trap. *Other traps have required cleaning before reuse, as the urine seems to have been a "danger signal" to other mice. I have used these traps without cleaning between mice with total success. I cannot recommend these traps more highly. I have purchased more so I can cover multiple locations; I will never use another style of trap. If you are taking the time to live trap, do yourself - and your quarry - a big favor and buy these! DISCLAIMER: I got my first traps on "Deal of the Day" and paid full price for subsequent traps. I am in no way affiliated with the manufacturer, not has the manufacturer offered a discount or premium for this review. I'm grateful to the designer of these traps for coming up with an effective, safe, animal-friendly device.

EDIT: Docked one star due to reduced effectiveness. Unfortunately, I reacted too positively too prematurely. Mice figure out this trap too easily. After quickly catching a mouse it appears not only did the original mouse learn to avoid it, the other mice caught on as well. I don't know if the green enclosed trap gives it away, or that the bait is never accessible. I'd imagine a small space dead-end with the food being closed off in a very visible enclosure, and a peer disappearing into the trap, could be easily learned. But, I'm just guessing. Gist of it: this trap can't be used alone and would need to be varied with some other type. It would definitely not work as the primary trap, unless you have very few mice to deal with and they are small. Probably have to wash, relocate, re-bait often too. --- original review: Very impressed and a pleasant surprise. Was skeptical of the good reviews. But, this caught mouse almost immediately. Previously used many different methods where a mix of snap traps was most efficient as well as closest to being humane. This trap definitely more than gives those traps a run for their money. And that's not even taking into account that these are humane live capture, so I don't have to deal with killing and disposing of bodies. If only I had looked harder and found something like this back then. Wouldn't have to go through the nasty gore-fest. If I had to catch more this time, I'd probably need a different kind of trap mixed in to catch them all. I'm guessing some of those large metal ones would make a good mix. For people looking to catch it live: Though the mouse didn't seem too rattled by the trap (mouse even ducked back into the trap to hide), I did notice a lot of condensation inside the trap. And this was with a very small deer mouse in the trap for less than 5 minutes. This seems to imply that there may not be enough ventilation for the mouse to survive for long periods of time. Recommend checking the trap often, as I'd imagine they could suffocate if inside for too long.

Would absolutely recommend for any animal lover. This trap will let you sleep at night without guilt. I accidentally purchased the mouse trap without air holes on the top (was really worried about suffocation issues). But instead of returning, I decided to give it a try. I didn't pay attention when removing the end cap. I slathered peanut butter on what I thought was the inside wall of the cap (not the space between the two layers of the end cap, where it indicated to put the bait, because that wouldn't have fed the mouse, only let him smell the food ... which I thought was mean) ... but the surface facing the inside of the tube once the end cap would be back in place. But, as I slid the end cap back into place, the peanut butter squished everywhere and made a mess. After cleaning it up, I added a dab of peanut butter to the end of the ramp inside the tube. After putting the end cap back in place, I was confused as to why there was a small gap between the end cap and the tube. Then I realized I had it on backwards (smh). So, I then slid into place properly (no gap this time ... it's amazing how much better things work when you do them correctly ... by the way, it comes with instructions, which also help more when you READ them). The trap was really really easy to set up, just push in the door and it clicked into place. I put both traps in my car where I believed a non-approved tenant had set up home (probably was living inside my seat, ugh). I kept checking about every hour for the first two hours, then realized maybe I should be patient and just wait until morning. First thing in the morning, I checked the two traps. The first one was empty, untouched. The trap on my driver's side floorboard was fogged up, so I couldn't see inside. It was really cold that morning (about 23 degrees F), so I figured maybe the coldness fogged it up. After picking up the trap, I soon discovered I had caught the little furry critter who had been stealing my snacks out of my car for the past couple of weeks. He was there, moving around, checking out his new environment. And he was soooo cute!! I texted my 26 yo son asking if he wanted to adopt the little mousey. He reminded me it was a wild animal and probably wouldn't make a good pet. He also reminded me that it would be cruel to remove him from his free life that he was used to and cage him up. So, I went with plan A. I drove to a nearby park with tons of woods and let the little guy free. He didn't want to go at first (I think it was warm inside that tube), but he finally realized the other door was open and left. I recorded his departure (too bad I hadn't kept the recording on just a bit longer, because after he ran away, he actually circled back around a tree and looked at me, as if saying, "thank you, human." So stinking cute. LOVE how I felt after using this catch and release trap. Would totally recommend. If you have a bigger than 1 mouse problem (like, inside a house), I would recommend buying the traps with the breathing holes in them, just to give more than 24 hours of survival time before suffocation. My little mouse was absolutely fine, but it had only been about 7 hours of trapping.

I bought these traps in order to catch a mouse and release it. I definitely knew I'd never use a lethal trap; that's just not my style because I love all animals I put 2 traps out the night I received them from Amazon since mice are most active at night... smeared some peanut butter along the walls and on the trigger-step that causes the door to close, thereby capturing the mouse. I set up my camera so I could observe the mouse's actions and how well the traps worked. I went to bed around 10pm, and when I got up and checked them at 6am, well, one of the traps DID catch the mouse, but it suffocated and killed it. :( Watching the video was very difficult for an animal lover like me. The mouse began by being tentative to enter, or go too close to the trap, but after about 6 minutes it started licking the peanut butter and eventually went in, pressed the trigger-step and was caught. It moved around looking for a way out for about 30 minutes and then it's behavior began to change. It looked frantic, and began trying to chew the door, then the sides, and back parts of the plastic, then it returned to the front and was pushing it's nose towards the hole at the bottom (where it entered)... it's movements became less and less until it stopped moving. It appeared to have a seizure, or some form of reaction due to hypoxia from suffocation. It was dead in less than one hour! I felt/feel AWFUL.. These traps WILL catch mice, but please, if you're going to use them, drill small holes in the top so they don't die a horrible death like the one I caught did. It's going to take me a long time to get over this, and I'll never be able to get what I witnessed on the video out of my head. Maybe a smaller mouse would've survived, I don't know. I'm willing to admit that it does catch them, but it's INHUMANE. It would be more humane to use the kind that snaps their neck if they're going to die anyway.

Update: After using these a few months, I have to downgrade the rating, by 1 star. Why? Well, they ended up being tossed because of a few reasons. The floor of these traps is where all the mechanisms are, so when a scared rat / mouse pees and poops, that stuff jams up the works. Also, they're so light that the rat end up pushing the traps off the table, shelf, etc and the door is so fragile that the spring + fall causes the door to break. Finally, these things have no ventilation, and they're almost completely sealed when closed so the rodent inside ends up fogging it up and then drops dead from the heat, suffocation, stress. I ended up feeling compelled to check the trap 2x a day to ensure the rodent wasn't killed in the trap. Also, one of the doors ended up triggering on its own, the latch was barely holding on. Overall, good trap when new but they wear down too fast and the rodents still end up dead a decent amount of times. I've already caught two mice in my garage shelves on the first day! I used cat treats! I have a larger trap that looks like a cage that works really well in large open spaces but that trap wouldn't work in my shelves because it needs a 1 foot height clearance in order to close. The need to trap in the tight spaces is the reason I got the Catcha traps! If only there was a large version! these traps are simple to set up initially but it does have a few things that prevent it from ever being a 5 star product IMO. 1) The mice that I caught actually pooped in the trap! I suspect that they got nervous when they realized that they were trapped and they released the bowels! this might not sound like a big deal but after the second mouse was release and I tried to reset the trap, there was actually some poop under one of the plates that allow the trigger to work! in other words, the poop jammed up the trap! Before you ask, I did give the trap a good shake upside down and sideways after releasing each mouse! but some poop either stuck on or was already caught. The entire trap mechanism is in the floor but the floor isn't sealed of in any way. So... the poop from the mouse falls to the floor and after the trap or mouse moves around a bit, the poop ends up in the mechanism and jams it up. after the next mouse or two, if the jam makes the trap unusable, i'll probably spray it down with high pressure from my hose. I would not recommend using any brushes with mouse poop. 2) like most people, i don't want to release the mouse and have it run out of the trap and towards me. The way you release the mice from this trap is to pull the bait cover off, by hand. now, each time i did this, the cat treats spilled out and the mouse actually didn't run out and away. it stood there, probably drooling. so one issue I had with this method of releasing is the bait door is tiny with no grip from the outside so you have hold the trap down with one hand and pull up the door which in theory puts your fingers inches away from the rodent momentarily. the other issue i had with this release method is that my bait spills out all over when i want to release it. 3) the final issue i have with this trap is that it is actually too dark! if you want to trap rodents, you need to put the trap in a dark location to begin with. the tint of the plastic actually makes it hard to see if the trap worked. I had to use a flashlight each time i wanted to check the trap. Although, there was a small and probably unreliable indicator that gave me enough reason to use the flashlight to check the trap. I could barely see the very top of the trap was fogged up! the mouse was stuck in there, probably hyperventilating, and fogged up the top third of the trap. This also brings up another issue. While the trap is not air tight, there are actually no air holes either! the only air the mouse will get is from the cracks around the closed door and bait door. I can understand why there are no air holes in this trap. The design of the bait door and the lack of the air holes on the body of the trap actually make this trap more successful. the only place for the scent of your bait to go is through the body of the trap and out the trapdoor. the bait door has holes on one side only. Although, i guess they could have put some air holes on the trap door... I might end up doing that myself if i keep seeing fogged up traps. The trap is made of plastic and has no easy indicator when the mouse is caught but it still works and if you check the trap often, i'm sure it'll work over and over again. one thing that I really liked about these is that you do not need to put it on a flat surface! when the two mice were caught, the trap was actually propped up on top of some random stuff on my garage shelf! the trap was not vertical but it was probably at a 30 -45 degree angle. I doubt a perfect trap could be had for the price you'd pay for these two traps. I would highly recommend these traps for areas where you have tight spaces and / or are only catching mice. Other alternative traps that I've had all have had their own pros and cons. For example: Another inexpensive type that rocks up and down (shaped like an obtuse angle) are easily triggered if the mouse pushes down on the top half of it. this happens more than you might think because the mice often investigate before entering. these traps also need a flat surface. However, when you caught a mouse, the trap will rock up and down as the mouse tries to get out. I've heard the knocking sound from inside my cabinets before! Another alternative trap I have is the big metal cage that requires a 1 foot height clearance. it's durable and can catch small - large rats but it's all mesh so the rats will probably spend a lot more time trying to investigate and get the food from the wrong side of the mesh. The Catcha traps are too small for large rats and might (but probably not) work for medium sized rats. mice and small rats are perfect for this trap. Forget squirrels but maybe chipmunks. Small cats are safe too! The trap is not violent and i think that even a mouse with it's tail out the door when it was triggered wouldn't be seriously injured. So, you can't easily hurt yourself or other animals.

I knew I had a mouse in the house when I found a packet of cornbread mix and a bag of peanut butter candies that had been eaten into and discovered a small amount of droppings on the shelf next to it. My cat had been scratching and meowing at the pantry door for a few nights trying to tell me we had an invader, but I didn't listen to him. (I should have.) The following night, my cat was scratching at the pantry door like he was going to rip it off its hinges. So I opened the door and caught the little thief red-handed in my candy bowl! My cats chased him out and across the kitchen where he hid under the dishwasher. Great. I knew the mouse hadn't been coming in my house for long and immediately put out some glue boards I already had on hand. They worked great for insects, but not so much for the mouse even though the packaging said it was strong enough for mice too. Apparently not. He escaped my traps TWICE leaving behind patches of fur on the glue. It then occurred to me that if I did manage to catch him, I'd have to deal with a potentially dead mouse, or worse, a live one I would then have to dispose of! Not to mention those glue boards scared the crap out of him quite literally leaving me a giant mess to clean up. After that, I searched Amazon for alternatives. I have 2 cats so anything with poison was out of the question (and who wants to deal with the stink of a dead mouse in the walls? Not me!) I stumbled across this same kind of trap by a different brand, but the reviews were pretty mixed, so after a little more searching I found these by Catcha and decided to give it a shot. Every evening as soon as it would get dark, my curious cat would take up his post staring at the fridge all night, so I thought I'd try that location first (after all, he was right the first time). Setting the trap was super easy and I didn't have to worry about getting my fingers pinched like the traditional traps. I put in about a teaspoon of peanut butter as instructed and placed it in the gap behind my fridge (the section where the bait goes is divided in two, so if you only put peanut butter on one side, there will still be plenty of air holes for the mouse to breathe). I didn't catch him the first night. Nor the second. The third night, I moved the trap from behind the fridge to next to the dishwasher where I originally saw the mouse hide, then I went upstairs to get ready for bed (my cats followed me). A few minutes later, I heard SNAP! The result? See my photo. (The mouse was so scared, he was shaking, but otherwise unharmed. Hooray!) My husband took the trap, with mouse still inside, down past the next neighborhood way out in the woods and let him go. (He says the section that holds the bait slid off easily and the mouse was happy to run off into the trees. No problems there.) I'm hopeful that mouse won't come back since there's dozens of homes and apartment buildings in between for him to get lost in. I reset the trap and put it back next to the dishwasher, just in case he brought some friends over, but I'm pretty confident we only have the one. I'll leave it for a few weeks though, just in case.... Just a funny side note: After seeing the mouse caught in the trap, my cats now think this is a game and bat it around the floor until it triggers. I think they're hoping one will magically appear when the door shuts.