smear the peanut butter on a small scrap of cloth and secure this to the trap. if you JUST smear the PB on the trap they lick it off.

I don't know about more sensitive traps, but actually this is a good thing. Once they know you serve dinner, they will keep coming.

Unfortunately, I find that once once one gets snapped, the others won't go near the traps. These are very suspicious, wary animals. If that happens to you, you might switch to the sticky traps. I've found some at Savon that work really well. The sticky stuff isn't in trays, it's on some kind of flat paper.

Good luck.

Thankyou for the advice. I used chocolate this time (can't keep serving the guests the same thing each night). I wrapped just a little bit of paper towel around it and secured it by wrapping with thread....Took somewhere under three hours to catch one. Now all they need to do is invent something to keep humans from gagging when we find them!

Use a raisin for bait. It works. Our electrician gave me this tip when we had peanut butter stealing mice. With a raisin, they can't just gently lick up all the food. They have to give it a tug and then...

The mouse traps I use have a metal piece that is curved on the (where the peanut butter goes). I jam peanut butter into that curved area so they have to work a little harder to get it. Rarely is the case where they get a free meal without paying the ultimate price.

Bacon is a good thing......
Something about the salty smokey smell kills the stink of a dead mouse!! LOL!
I am inured!! Won't even think about how many bit the dust in my basement a year ago!