Setup

Set up your Mascall Mill

You’ll need a standard 5-gallon bucket and some peanut butter. No tools.

1

Put the axle in the walkway

Push the axle’s long end into the octagonal hole in the end of the walkway, flat side down, until it stops. The mill should spin freely with a flick of your finger.
2

Clamp it to the bucket

Thread the thumbscrew into the sliding jaw and slide the jaw onto the toothed bar. Hook the walkway’s fixed jaw inside the bucket so the bar rests across the rim, push the sliding jaw against the outside of the bucket, and tighten the thumbscrew against the wall below the rim. Hand-tight is plenty.
3

Add the ramp

Slide the lower ramp piece’s side fins up along the outside of the upper piece’s rails until the planks meet, then push the upper piece’s tongue into the socket on the sliding jaw. The foot of the ramp should rest on the floor.
4

Bait it

Press peanut butter into the bait holes on each vane, next to the back disc. A pea-sized dab on each vane is enough. It has to be where the mouse can only reach it from the mill.
5

Water or dry

For a lethal trap, put 3–4 inches of water in the bucket. For live catch, leave it dry and clip the guard ring around the rest of the rim.
6

Put it where mice travel

Mice run along walls. Set the bucket against a wall with the ramp along it, near droppings or chew marks. A garage, shed, barn, pantry or basement is ideal.

Tips

A dab of peanut butter at the top of the ramp gets a nervous mouse started.
Check the bucket every day. For live catch, release mice at least a mile from home.
Keep a bucket with water in it away from small children and pets.
If a mouse seems to be eating the bait without falling, check that the mill spins freely and that the bait is next to the disc, not near the walkway.

Stuck? Email adam@hozameen.com and a real person will help.