Are You Smarter Than A Raccoon?

June 22, 2012 by Mike Szczys 63 Comments

[Ben] has a raccoon problem. It seems that it’s not uncommon for him to come face-to-face with a pesky raccoon in the middle of the night, in his living room. We think most people would solve the problem by preventing the raccoon from entering the home. But [Ben] just seems hell-bent on catching him. Most recently he’s added motion-sensing to a live trap which he installed…. in his living room.

So [Ben] has cat’s which that to roam at night. They have free range thanks to a cat door which the hungry pest has been exploiting. Apparently the masked robber has a taste for cat food and that’s what keeps him coming back. [Ben] has been using the cat dish as bait but up to this point the live trap hasn’t worked. You see the raccoon isn’t going inside to get the food, but reaches through the cage and pulls pieces out one at a time. The solution is to put up a solid surface around the cage, and hope that the motion sensor will get him this time. Although we’ve linked the most recent post above, you’ll want to page through his blog for the whole story.

Wouldn’t it be better to install some kind of automatic lock that only lets in the kitty?

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Automated Humane Pest Control

September 24, 2011 by Mike Nathan 36 Comments

rat_trap_2000

[Tobie] seems to have a bit of a rat problem.

While most people would be inclined to simply buy the oversized Victor spring-loaded rat traps and call it a day, [Tobie] is a bit more humane. To help remedy his problem while also ensuring that no rats are harmed in the process, he built the Rat Trap 2000.

Self-described as completely over the top, the Rat Trap 2000 lures the rodents into its containment area with apples and corn, securing them inside using a servo-actuated trap door. The door is triggered by an Arduino that monitors the holding pen for movement using an IR sensor. All of the action is captured on video using the web cam on his Eee-PC, as you can see in the very short video below.

This certainly isn’t the most cost-efficient way to control your vermin problems, but if you’ve got some spare parts laying around, why not? It’s far more humane than some of the other rodent control solutions we have seen, and it sure beats living with rats!

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Booby Box – It’s A Trap!

April 12, 2011 by Mike Szczys 15 Comments

Here’s a puzzle oddity that challenges you to open the box without falling into one of the booby-traps. It was built as a side-distraction from the more serious events happening at Insomni’hack 2011. [Sergio] and a colleague built the box to resemble a ticking bomb like in the blockbuster action movies we know you look forward to seeing each summer. A display on top of the device counts down for ninety seconds with an audible beep to mark the passage of time and boost your tension level. See it ticking away in the clip after the break.

Two wires meet at the edges of the box halves, completing a circuit that will set off an alarm when the contact is broken. There’s also a photocell on the bottom of the box which triggers the alarm if you lift it and expose this sensor to light. The combination necessary to open the box was provided to each competitor; it was not a numerical code, but a color code. Three potentiometers control the red, green, and blue anodes of an RGB LED, while being monitored by an Arduino at the same time. If you can dial in the appropriate color, the lid trap is disabled and the box can be opened. What does the winner get? Why an Arduino, of course!

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Wasp Sucker Clears The Air

July 1, 2010 by Mike Szczys 83 Comments

[Matthias Wandel] had something of a wasp problem so he built this trap to catch the pesky fliers. These look like Yellow jackets and they can build some huge nests (check out the picture of a 2-year old dwelling). We’ve experienced a large nest in the walls of an apartment and weren’t as clever at fixing the issue. [Matthias’] solution uses a 1/3 horsepower blower to snatch the wasps out of the air and retain them in the trap above. The trap sits on the blower with some insect netting as a filter, the hose acts as the inlet and is placed at the entrance to their lair. It took nine hours to fill this trap; we wonder where he chose to release them. Enemies of [Mr. Wandel] beware.

[Thanks Trebu]

Holy Robin Trap Batman!

June 30, 2010 by Jakob Griffith 24 Comments

[Matt Meerian] introduced us to his kludge of cardboard, tape, mirrors, and electronics in the form of a clever non lethal robin trap. Whenever a pesky robin would enter the box, a sensor is triggered, the solenoid drops a lid, and the bird is contained (and we assume taken far away after that).

Of course the plan backfired; we wont spoil what happened, but you can click the link above to find out.

Related: Arduino Mouse Trap

Carnivorous Robots

June 26, 2009 by Caleb Kraft 30 Comments

flypaperup

Artists [James Auger] and [Jimmy Loizeau] have put out this display of carnivorous robots. Pictured above is a clock that is powered by a microbial fuel cell. The clock is equipped with a scroll of sticky paper for catching the flies which it then scrapes into it’s cell for digestion. The other pieces include a mouse eating coffee table, a strange mechanism for stealing spider’s meals, and a lamp shade inspired by pitcher plants.