MouseTrap
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Jake Easton's Better Mousetrap leaves no country for old mice (video)
If Cormac McCarthy was an inventor of gadgets instead of words then this better (measured in awesome) mousetrap might have been the result. Instead, honors go to Jack Easton, a man known to kill ordinary mice using compressed air. No, really. The device above feature a pneumatic cylinder that brings down the death hammer with a strike force of 102 pounds after it senses a nearby pest. Poor fake mouse: delivered a fortune that was not his own. See all the fun after the break.
Victor Multi-Kill trap electrocutes mice, hates liberals
Daaaamn... this Victor Multi-Kill Electronic Mouse Trap is serious business. Normally we prefer more humane, wired domes to cage our furry house guests as they grab for the rich dark-chocolate morsels that tempt the palate of elite city-mice. We then release them into wee puddle-boats with tiny parasols to enjoy a feast of truffles glazed in a bit of saffron sauce. But all the gadgety goodness of this Multi-Kill trap makes us want to electrocute our pests into smoldering puffs of lifeless mouse just as Victor promises. The high-voltage shock is said to kill the mouse in 3 seconds followed by a swivel of the "Shock N' Drop" chamber to dump up to 10 carcasses into the collection drawer. "Population annihilation in just one night -- 100% kill rate guaranteed." Oh boy. Video after the break.
Rentokil's RADAR super-mousetrap texts you when the pests are dead
We've seen some relatively mouse-friendly attempts at a better mousetrap, but Rentokil's RADAR trap drops all the touchy-feely stuff and brings the pain action-movie-style: with infrared beams, a trick floor, and poison-gas dispensers. Mice who foolishly wander into the Rodent Activated Detection And Riddance unit, where infrared beams and pressure sensors in the bottom of the box trigger the release of a "measured dose" of carbon dioxide, which Rentokil says is a "quick and humane" way of dealing with little Mickey. Once the deed is done, the trap fires off a text message to let you know that the rodent resistance is being dealt with, and prepares to strike again. No word on price -- Rentokil apparently only custom-installs the RADAR traps -- but availability is listed as "now."[Via Tech Digest]
Belkin's washable mouse and Mouse Trap
In the fight against dirty mice, one can never be too vigilant -- as anyone who has ever spent time carefully cleaning and drying their beloved input device will tell you -- but now there is an easier way. Like the IOGEAR anti-germ mouse we told you about, Belkin is getting into the cleanliness game with its washable mouse, a water-resistant, USB device that you can unplug and wash in your sink (or anywhere else you've got water), which should come as welcome relief to neat freaks everywhere. Of course, once you've got that thing cleaned up, you'll need something to carry it around in, so Belkin made the Mouse Trap, a mouse pad which zips up, allowing you to take your squeaky-clean peripherals on business trips. The washable mouse hits the streets in August, while the Mouse Trap is available now.Read -- Belkin washable mouseRead -- Belkin Mouse Trap
Bucket Mousetrap: less mouse destruction, more awesome
Is it a better mousetrap? Probably not. But it's pretty dang cool, and any hack that calls for a solenoid and a bucket as its main ingredients is alright in our book. The mousetrap is triggered by infrared emitter / detector pairs, with the enclosure holding the electronics standing right over the bait. When the mouse (or other hapless victim) interrupts one of the IR pairs, the electromagnet releases the bucket and the mouse is trapped. We're pretty convinced this is an optimal situation for the mouse, since he gets fed, doesn't get his neck snapped, and ends up at a rave when it's all over -- peep the video after the break to see what we mean.[Via Make]