A molded plastic base has a rodent runway which extends from two inlet openings to a single rodent containment compartment. Pivotable ramps are positioned in the rodent runway adjacent cacti inlet opening. A plastic lid is slidingly engaged with the base, and is movable along the axis of the rodent runway. The lid has downwardly extending tabs which have inclined inside and outside surfaces, and barriers extending between each pair of tabs. The inclined surfaces of the tabs engage inclined protrusions which project upwardly from the ramps when the lid is slid open and closed, the engagement between the inclined surfaces causes the ramps to pivot out of the way of the barriers, facilitating smooth and uninterrupted opening and closing of the lid on the base.
A method and a device for automatically detecting and signaling the presence of prey caught in a trap. The trap has inlet ports equipped with a one-way inlet mechanism such that once a rodent has passed a central point the rodent is contained within the trap. After the rodent has passed the central point, the trap is reset to the start position in order to attract additional prey. The trap is provided with a device for signaling the presence of vermin in the trap. The mechanism may be operable via a push button operated by movement of the vermin. Alternatively, means for detecting the rodent may include the use of vertical or horizontally elongated elements that are actuated by the movement of the vermin. A further embodiment includes a photocell, or a sensor, to indicate the presence of rodents. The mechanism for signaling may include lights or sound devices that can be secured to the trap or remotely activated via wired or wireless means. The signaling device can be time delayed such that additional vermin can enter the trap before intervention by the operator and is also capable of monitoring several traps concurrently.
A rodent trap includes a box having one or more entrance tubes provided therein. The entrance tubes are in communication with a mouse hole in the side wall of the box. Within each tube is a tilt ramp that tilts in response to a weight of 4 grams at a distance of one and 5/16 inches from the pivot axis to the tilt ramp.
