Engineer Builds World’s Most Expensive Mousetrap, Mouse Survives

Jim Clark, inventor of the PocketWizard remote controls for flashguns, is a softy and a geek. When he discovered there was a mouse in the house, he did what any of us would do — he set a trap. Only Jim’s trap, instead of being a lethal, spring-loaded death device, was instead photographic. To begin with, at least.

David Hobby over at the Strobist has the full rundown, written in typically dry, funny style. The bite-sized version follows. Jim set bait on the kitchen counter (peanut butter is, apparently, very popular amongst gourmet rodents) and lined up his camera. In the dark room, a strobes were hooked up to a sound-detecting trigger via two PocketWizard Flexes. As you can see, it worked (also, dead on with the exposure. Way to go, Jim).

Next: Catch the mouse. Jim’s plan was to let the mouse live, so he concocted a rather cunning trap. A board was balanced on the counter-edge with some delicious peanut butter to tempt the rodent. When the little feller scampered out to take a bite, the board tipped, dropping the mouse (and his snack) into a bucket on the kitchen floor.

Of course, a camera was rigged to capture the falling mouse, although this time it was a conductive strip on the piece of board that triggered the camera — not the sound detector. Again, success, as you can see in the action sequence below.

And the mouse? Safely tucked up until Spring. Jim bought the critter a cage and plans to keep him as a pet until the weather warms up. A touching tale, and in stark contrast to my own mousy story.

Last week my lazy, hippy flatmate (soon to be ex-flatmate) decided to catch a rat that was living somewhere in the walls. He set a sticky-board, a card sheet with a very strong, syrupy glue spread on it. These boards catch the mouse, but usually the animal panics and tries to gnaw off its own leg to escape. I was alone in the house that night when I heard excited squeals from the kitchen (and it wasn’t my flatmate thinking about tofu and lentils).

I found the tiny mouse chewing at a limb, and decided I had to end it quickly. One plastic bag and clanging frying pan later and the job was done. Like Jim, I took photos. Unlike Jim’s, mine will remain private, used only to show my flatmate how cruel his “hippy” trap had been.

Building a Better Mousetrap [Strobist. Thanks, David!]

Product page [PocketWizard]