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Cremation Mouse Trap | |||||||||||||||||
I think a mousetrap that would zapp, then cremate a mouse would be a useful invention for areas where acrid smoke isn't a problem. Currently, I use one of those tin-cat mousetraps, but they'll catch multiple mice without dumping them and too often I don't attend it and the little guys die a horrible death of starvation or even cannibalism. Just to be clear, in one of my sheds, I really don't even set-out a trap until I've seen a mouse and that means there are probably many already living there. I propose this trap be electric, plugged in. It would have to be UL and CE compliant and proved fire-proof. It could catch, cremate, catch again, without any human attention. What it would do would be to kill the mouse humanely (zapped for instance) then simply cremate--at a very high temperature, the remains. The high temperature would be necessary to dispose of bones, teeth, etc. This isn't for in-home use. I have barns and stored cars and I don't want mice destroying them. I know that you can't burn without smoke, so the area would have to be ventilated. Getting rid of mice also means you won't have snakes. I don't hate snakes, but I don't really want to be around them. I know everyone is always trying to come up with a better mousetrap, but I think I have an idea that really could help.
hrench, Aug 14 2009
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It might be a fire hazard unless it were very carefully designed.
Interesting idea. A mouse trap that catches, kills and disposes of the bodies would be a very useful device. It would also be good for rats (larger model of course). I was wondering how to design a device to do it efficiently. It would take quite a bit of electricity to generate enough heat to cremate a mouse. You could use natural gas instead of just electricity, but that would make for a much more complicated set up. I don't know if incineration would be the best disposal method, but I can't think of anything that would be clearly better. Maybe a device that grinds them up and turns them into mulch, but they might still rot and stink. Maybe they could be ground up and then dehydrated. Anyway, burning the bodies could work. It might be a good idea to grind up and dehydrate the bodies before burning them, as they would burn more quickly and cleanly.
As for killing them, the easiest method may be to just drop them into a high-speed grinder. It may sound gruesome, but it would be as quick as a snap trap and probably no more painful. It would also simplify the device by combining two steps into one.
Okay, so here's a design. You have a big box with bait on top to attract the mouse. When the mouse approaches the bait, a trap door drops underneath it, dropping the mouse into a holding area. The grinder starts up, and as soon as it is up to speed, another door in the floor of the holding area drops open, dropping the mouse into the grinder. The grinder instantly reduces the mouse to sausage and drops it onto an electric element that's shaped like a grill. A fan blows fresh air down through the grill to help the remains dry and then burn quickly. The ashes eventually blow through the grill and are blown out of the machine through a duct to outside the building.
It might be possible to design an even more ruthlessly efficient device, but at least this would be a starting point.
with a properly insulated 'chamber' (what a scary word) I'm pretty sure that I could get the 800-1000 deg F needed using just two or three hundred watts of electricity. Think kevlar toaster oven. Yes, sand it would have to be designed carefully to prevent a fire and I know that if anything, mice are prone to not dying the way you planned, so every failure possibility would have to be designed-out.
Dwane, I think the grinder idea, though quick, still sounds well, pretty distasteful. Also, like you said, just grinding them up won't dispose of them. You'll still need to burn them. So why bother with the grinder. I've designed grinders before and they require power and expensive parts.
I personally like this idea, but it's just too gruesome for me to ever start trying to design it. Lucky for the mice.