DawgTalkers.net Forums DawgTalk Tailgate Forum Uses for empty 5 gallon buckets

Anyone ever make a mousetrap out of one? I'm going to - hopefully later tonight, after the Christmas I'm going to in about an hour.

5 gallon bucket - steel rod ( 1/4" thick or so) empty pop or beer can, and peanut butter.

Drill a hole about 2 to 3 inches down on the sides of the bucket - 2 holes, across from each other. Slide the rod into one hole, stick a can on the rod, slide it through the other side of the bucket. Put peanut butter all around the can, towards the middle. (the can will be in the middle of the bucket) Put a couple inches of anti freeze in the bottom of the bucket (unless you have young kids, or pets - if you do, use water)

Then, use a 2X4 - or a 2 or 3" wide piece of plywood, to make a ramp up to the top of the bucket. Mice will go up the ramp, climb onto the metal rod, go out to the can to get a treat - can spins, dumping it/them into the bottom of the bucket.

Yeah, yeah - easier to just set a trap, I know. I just like tinkering and making different things - this is my next project - for int he barn - not the house of course. My wife wouldn't tolerate it in the house - actually, I wouldn't want it in the house either.

Anyone ever try this, or seen it?

One of the guys that I work with does this... says it works great for his garage...

I've seen a little simpler version where you just put the treat in the bottom of the bucket and a ramp leading to the top. They can smell the treat, they'll go up the ramp and jump down to get it and then they can't get back out. Of course then you'd have to dispose of the live critters. I believe the humane version is to carry them away from your house and release them.

The "Arch Version": when you're shooting that gun during a Browns game just aim it into the bucket and kill two birds, and the mice, with one stone.

Dead mice and rats are best in the long run.


Once in the bucket, dropping a good sized brick would work.

For a retaining wall on a river bank.

-Set water treated telephone poles into 5 gallon buckets with a frontend loader and a chain. Use a level to make sure its strait. Fill the bucket with dry cement and water. Repeat the process until you have your length.

-Line them up. Fill in the spaces between the poles with the 5 gallon buckets with shorter untreated poles. Tie them together with a strong rope (docking rope?).

-Lower the tied in poles with the frontend loader. Pack the river side with dirt. Pack it in. Then on the bank side, fill with large rock on the bottom, then gravel size rocks, then medium on top. Large rock will be too ankle twisting, and gravel size rock will wash away on top, so stick with medium size on top. Putting the gravel size rock in after the big rock to keep the big rock in place.

I got this idea after asking a road crew member, going over the Meander Resevoir during a traffic jam while they where fixing the bridge, how they settle the beams into the muddy water and wondered if they drilled it somehow. He said they lowered them in with a huge concrete circle with the beams in place; and with the weight of the steal and concrete; on top of everything bolted into place; it stays there.

That reminds me of when my son was in band in high school. The marching band did that kind of thing - had about 15 people with 1, 2, or 3 buckets - it was cool!

I have 3 of them. One is for dog poop pickup. I just walk back and forth in my back yard and flip it in with a hand spade. Easy if the poop's solid, vomit-worthy if its not. The 2nd I use to store bird seed in the garage and the 3rd is for hauling water to our bird baths. For mice, I just use peanut butter on a mousetrap.

I give 'em swimming lesssons; nobody passed yet. I'll keep trying.