Arduino PIR Mouse Trap

After playing about with an Arduino starter kit for a while, I happened to see a mouse scurrying about in the kitchen. Obviously I decided it was time to reinvent the mouse trap. At the time my workshop consisted of a saw, drill and an old computer desk to use as a workbench. You might agree that this is evident in the craftsmanship of the mouse trap.

First version

Built from scraps of wood graciously left in the garage by the previous owner of the house (along with a large amount of household rubbish). The PIR sensor detects the presence of a mouse, which is noted by the Arduino, which in turn moves the servo back to release the door. The first version would trigger but I needed to add side supports to stop the door from getting stuck on the way down. I used a heated knife to trigger the trap during testing.

Finished project

To finish off the project I moved to an Arduino Nano and glued the whole mess together. To my surprise the trap had triggered by the next day, which I expected to be a false alarm. I opened the trap with a container ready, but nothing came out when I shook it. I had a look in the trap, at which point the little feller jumped out and scurried away, scaring me half to death. Lesson learned I reset the trap, which was triggered again a few days later. This time he was successfully moved to the container for resettlement.

Sucessful catch.