Trapping efficiency of Ugglan traps and Longworth traps for house mice in south-eastern Australia

Abstract

Small mammal studies require traps that efficiently capture the target species, are cheap, and preferably have no adverse effects on the animals. We compared the trapping efficiency of Ugglan multiple-capture live-traps with Longworth single-capture live-traps in field studies of house mice (Mus domesticus) in the Victorian Mallee of south-eastern Australia. More captures and recaptures were made with Longworth traps and fewer mice died while in these traps. There was no difference in mean body mass of captured mice between Ugglan and Longworth traps but relatively more males were trapped with Ugglan traps. The trapping mechanism that requires the mouse to activate a trap door, and open mesh wire along the sides of the Ugglan trap may be the main reasons for low trappability. In addition, the open sides could have contributed to the lower survival observed for mice in Ugglan traps. Although Ugglan traps have the potential for multiple captures, are cheaper, and their trapping mechanism is less prone to failure than Longworth traps, they were not as efficient in trapping house mice at low and medium densities.