A mousetrap is a specialized type of animal trap designed primarily to catch and, usually, kill mice. Mousetraps are usually set in an indoor location where there is a suspected infestation of rodents. Larger traps are designed to catch other species of animals, such as rats, squirrels, and other small rodents.
A spring mousetrap by Victor
A mouth-type mousetrap.
Mousetrap made of plastic with house mouse
19th-century ad for a spring-loaded bar mousetrap of William Hooker's design
Animal trapping, or simply trapping or ginning, is the use of a device to remotely catch an animal. Animals may be trapped for a variety of purposes, including food, the fur trade, hunting, pest control, and wildlife management.
Trap nets used to trap birds (tacuinum sanitatis casanatensis); 14th century.
Sketches of life in the Hudson's Bay Company territory, 1880
Size comparison between two common types of spring traps: rat trap (above), and the smaller mouse trap (below).
Trapped raccoon