You Just Cannot Build a Better Mousetrap

You Just Cannot Build a Better Mousetrap

CBS Sunday Morning Takes a Look at Our Timeless Design

It’s hard to believe, but the mousetrap has been patented more than any other American invention. More than 4,000 times to be exact. And each year, 15 new mousetraps designs are approved for patent.

But after CBS Sunday Morning ran a recent story that featured our iconic Victor® mousetrap design, we’re left with just one question: Why even bother?

Ralph Waldo Emerson

Well, for one, Ralph Waldo Emerson set a high precedent with his famous challenge for innovative design when he popularized the notion “If a man can… make a better mousetrap than his neighbor … the world will make a beaten path to his door.”

Tom Parr has a great interest in people that take Emerson’s advice seriously. Tom’s the owner of the Trap History Museum in Galloway, Ohio, home to every animal trap ever imagined, including 1,500 mousetraps. He started his collection in the 80’s when he set out to find every kind of animal trap imaginable.

From traps with names like the Smasher, the Electrocuter to this 1870 design for catching four mice at a time, some might say the history of catching a mouse has been a bit over complicated.

That’s why we loved hearing Tom’s praise for the Victor® snap trap design when CBS Sunday Morning asked which his favorite was.

“It’s so simple,” Parr said. “I mean, they tried to change it. They rebuild it. But it still goes right back to the same thing: a wood base with a spring-loaded arm that comes down and annihilates the mouse.”

That’s what we’ve been saying all along!

So, what exactly makes Victor® snap trap so iconic? We’ve got seven simple reasons.

Victorian Mousetraps
  • It’s made in the good ‘ol USA. Victor® is proud that every step of its product development happens stateside, from manufacturing to marketing. Our mousetraps are as American as apple pie.
  • It’s a minimalist concept. We like to keep it simple with only the essentials: a wood base, a wire trap and a swab of peanut butter for bait.
  • It’s time tested. Victor® snap traps have been around for more than one hundred years, maintaining the same classic design. What other invention has that kind of track record?
  • It won’t cramp your style. The story goes that in 1898 a group of ladies approached the inventor John Mast of Lititz, Pennsylvania about creating a mousetrap that wouldn’t get stuck in their long skirts. The result is the same design we use at Victor® today.
  • It’s made from sustainable materials: The 3.5 inch strip of wood might not seem like much, but the wood used on every Victor® snap trap comes from a responsible source. We select wood harvested from pine forests that are maintained to protect the biodiversity, balance and vitality of the natural habitat.
  • It supports our troops overseas. Since the Gulf War, Victor® has regularly sent traps overseas to soldiers in need of a little reinforcement against rodent invaders. We'll to any deployment around the world at any time.
  • It proves Emerson wrong! We like to think he would have thought twice before making his plea to build a better mousetrap– if only he’d had a Victor® trap!

To check out the full segment on CBS This Morning, click here.

And be sure to browse Victor’s® mouse control and rat control products. From the legendary Victor® mouse snap trap to electronic traps, you can decide which type of trap is best for you!

If You Like the Classic, Check Out These

  1. Victor® Safe-Set™ Mouse Trap
    Victor® Safe-Set™ Mouse Trap
    As low as $6.49 Regular Price $6.49
  2. Victor® Quick-Kill® Mouse Trap
    Victor® Quick-Kill® Mouse Trap
    As low as $6.49 Regular Price $6.49
  3. Victor® Power-Kill™ Mouse Traps
    Victor® Power-Kill™ Mouse Traps
    As low as $5.99 Regular Price $5.99
  4. Victor® Easy Set® Mouse Trap
    Victor® Wide Pedal Mouse Trap
    As low as $42.26 Regular Price $49.68
  5. Victor® Multi-Kill™ Electronic Mouse Trap
    Victor® Multi-Kill™ Electronic Mouse Trap
    As low as $104.99 Regular Price $130.49
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