METHODOLOGY

A. Materials and Equipment

In making the Wood and Wire Multiple Mousetrap, the

researcher used the following materials and equipment: wood plank

with a length of 12 inches, width of 6 inches and thickness of 2

inches as the main component of the mousetrap; fencing wire was

used as the spring of the trap; steel cord is the part of the

trap that would strangle the rat; yarn was used to held down the

spring; staple wires were used to secure the hold of the spring

inserted on the back of the trap; a small piece of bread serves

as the bait. Pliers and hammer were used to bend the fencing

wire; jigsaw was used to cut the fencing wire; clamp was used to

keep the fencing wire steady when it is being bent; working

gloves were used throughout the making of the mousetrap to secure

the safety and a hand gloves for the removal of the dead rats

during the tests.

B. General Procedure

• Gathering the Materials

The wood plank was gathered from one of the researcher’s

home, it was cut until it measures the length of 12 inches and

width of 6 inches. After the cutting of the wood into its desired

size, it was cleaned. The fencing wire, steel cord, yarn and
staple wires were bought from local stores. The rest of the

materials were already available on the researcher’s home.

• Carving out the holes

The researcher brought the wood plank to the wood carving

shop. There were 5 holes drilled on the front of the wood plank

that will serve as the mouse hole. Two of holes are 1 inch wide 2

inches deep while the other two are 1 ½ inch wide 2 inches deep

and the last one is 2 ½ inches wide 2 inches deep. All 5 holes

are 1 inch away from each other. There are also 5 holes on the

back. Each hole is drilled with 2.5 millimeters drilling bit. The

small holes on the back are aligned to the mouse holes on the

front. At the top of the mouse holes there are another 20 small

holes. Each mouse hole has 4 holes on top. The first two holes

are half an inch away from other, those are for the steel chord

while the other two are closer to each other two and it is for

the yarn.

• Framework

The researcher added a framework to show where the holes are

located and what does the whole trap look like. It is also added

to make the general procedure easier to understand.

Figure 1.
Figure 1. Shows the front of the wood plank with 5 mouse holes

(different sizes).

Figure 2.

Figure 2. Shows the back of the wood plank with 5 small holes for

the fencing wires.

Figure 3.

Figure 3. Shows what the top of the mouse holes looks like. There

are 20 holes in total; each mouse hole has 4 small holes on top

(2 for the steel cord and 2 for the yarn).

• Assembling the Mousetrap

In assembling the mousetrap, the researcher cut the fencing

wire into 5 pieces using a jigsaw. Each fencing wire is 10 inches

long. The fencing wire was inserted on the small hole at the back

of the wood plank that would serve as the spring. The researcher

inserted 5 fencing wires on 5 small holes in the back. Each of

the inserted fencing wires was also penetrated with staple wires

for it not to get loose. Then, using a plier, a steel chord was

cut into 5 pieces. Each steel chord is 4 inches long. The steel

chord was put through the first two small holes at the top of the

mouse hole. After that, a 15 cm yarn was also put through the

other two small holes at the top and at the bottom of the wood

plank. The steel cord and the yarn were tied on the fencing wire

(spring). The steel chord is the part of the trap that will

strangle the rat while the yarn will block the path of the rat to

the bait and will held down the spring. That process is just

repeated on the remaining mouse holes.

C. Testing Procedure

The researcher first set the mouse trap at the designated

location for each trial; Trial 1 A (commercial mousetrap) and

Trial 1 B (Wood and Wire Multiple mousetrap) at the house. Trial

2 A (commercial mousetrap) and Trial 2 B (Wood and Wire Multiple

mousetrap) at the rice field. All trials started at 8 pm but not

at the same day. The researcher checked the trap after 14 hours,

which was at 10 in the morning to determine how many rats are

caught. The checking was repeated for another two times with the

same starting time and interval.

D. Data Gathering

To gather data in all the trials, the researcher counted the

number of rat/s caught in the trap after 14 hours (8 pm - 10 am).

For the second checking, the trap was set again at 8 pm on the

same day of the first counting/checking and after 14 hours (at 10

am) the data needed was gathered. The same process was done for

the third counting/checking. The data gathered from this was

recorded using the template below to serve as reference for the

Data Analysis.
E. Data Analysis

The data gathered were analyzed using T-test to know if there

is significant difference between the commercial and the Wood

and Wire Multiple Mousetrap. The data gathered from the two

mousetraps at each location were then compared.

F. Risk and Safety

The Wood and Wire multiple mousetrap must be kept out away

from the reach of children. To avoid any harm during the making

of the product, the researcher used working gloves. In removing

the caught rat/s, the researcher used hand gloves. Also, the

researcher was supervised by an adult throughout the activity

especially in making the trap to avoid any harm and injuries.

G. Disposal

After the making of the product was finished, the remaining

materials that are still usable were kept while the useless

materials were thrown away properly to avoid causing harm and

injuries to other persons. Dead rats were buried in one of the

researcher’s backyard to serve as

fertilizer.
 RESULTS AND DISCUSSSION

Table 1 shows the number of rat/s caught in the House after 3

trials. Both mousetraps were placed at the designated location.

On the first trial, the commercial product caught one (1) rat

while Wood and Wire mousetrap caught four (3). On the second

trial, the commercial product caught one (1) rat while Wood and

Wire mousetrap caught five (5) and on the third and last trial

the commercial product caught one (1) while the Wood and Wire

mousetrap caught three (4).

Table 1. Number of Rat/s Caught in the House

 Table 1.1 shows the result of the T-Test for the number of

rat/s caught in the House after 14 hours. The computed value of t

(0.003266688) is lower than the critical value (2.131846786)

which means that the hypothesis for the first test is accepted.

Therefore, there is no significant difference between the Wood

and Wire: multiple mousetrap and the commercial product in terms

of effectiveness in catching rats in the house.

Table 1.1 Summary of T-Test for the Number of rat/s caught in the

House

Table 2 shows the number of rat/s caught in the Rice field after

three (3) trials. Both mousetraps were placed in the designated

location. On the first trial, the commercial product caught one

(1) rat while Wood and Wire caught four (3). On the second trial,

the commercial product caught one (1) rat while the Wood and Wire

caught four (4) and on the third and last trial the commercial

product did not caught any rat while the Wood and Wire caught

three (4).
Table 2. Number of Rat/s caught in the Rice field

Table 2.1 shows the result of the T-Test for the number of rat/s

caught in the Rice Field after 14 hours. The computed value of t

(0.001562795) is lower than the computed critical value

(2.131846786) which means that the hypothesis for the second test

is accepted. Therefore, there is no significant difference

between the Wood and Wire multiple mousetrap and the commercial

product in terms of effectiveness in catching rats in the rice

fields.

Table 2.1 Summary T-Test for the Number of rat/s caught in the

Rice Field