Getting rid of rodents like squirrels, mice, or groundhogs is a lot like digging a hole on the beach. No matter how much you remove, it’ll always fill back in. So, while [Super Valid Designs] could keep trapping and “removing” the mice in his chicken coop, more will always work their way back in. His theory is that removing them live from the chicken coop and placing them some distance away will be more effective, and with this semi-automated ski lift that traps them and carts them off, it might end up being less work too.
The build comes to us in roughly two parts. The first is the gondolas, which not only cart the mice down the hill to freedom but also double as the mousetrap themselves. They are placed in the chicken coop, and a trap door on the ceiling with bait causes the mice to fall inside. 3D printed with acrylic windows, they are a luxurious way for a mouse to travel. At the bottom, another trap door opens onto a pile of brush, releasing the mice. The second part is the lift, built hastily out of wood and other parts lying around. After much hiking up and down the hill, [Super Valid Designs] eventually got it working properly and reliably toting the mice and automatically releasing them at the bottom of the hill.
It’s a bit too early to tell if this method is more effective than more traditional methods of dealing with mice. But it was at least a fun way to deal with the problem while he also works on more effective methods of preventing the mice from getting into his buildings in the first place. There are some simpler catch-and-release mousetraps out there as well if a ski lift is out of the question for whatever reason.
Whatever this slop is, I only read the first half of the first paragraph and most certainly I’m not going to watch the video. Let the content creators eat themselves like rats in a bucket they are.
Less work? no. Definately not.
Better at creating googletube click revenue?
Probably.
What’s funny (or maybe not so funny) is these days I can tell which projects are yt videos before I actually see that it’s a video. It’s a certain style of project that’s fundamentally designed to be entertainment. I’m kinda sad that diy culture has become so saturated with it. It’s not a good reference or inspiration for your own projects because the incentives are so wildly different.
I can respect this. Not gonna watch the video, but I can respect the effort and concept. I have found a few ridiculous solutions in my time.
I haven’t tried to monetize them, but I have generally had gainful employment that paid far more than any monetization would be. If I were a half generation younger, that might not be the case, which makes me a bit sad. But I’ll keep doing my thing, be happy a few hundred people watched a video of mine, or a few thousand read an instructable, and move on with life without getting nasty. Life is too short.
(Election season is upon us, and, to be kind, some of my neighbors are in a cognitive dissonance that has them vibrating at x-ray frequencies…. I am now in Halloween mode, which involves preparing for trick or treaters, maintining my parade and hayride equipment, and enjoying one of the few genuinely excellent “pumpkin” beers. Hipp-o-lantern)
Nothing that couldn’t be fixed with a woodchipper
Yawn,
Responding to tripe is so tiring.
If you catch mice, you need to kill them. Transporting them a little ways away and dropping them on a brush pile doesn’t really stop them. They just come back inside. If you drop them far enough away that that can’t find their way back (ie several miles) you’re just helping spread disease.
Precisely. If you have a rodent infestation, even killing the ones you catch may still not solve the problem. So releasing them back few feet away, pointless.
If I was cynical, which I am, I’d say the whole exercise is to clickbait some Youtube likes rather than genuinely attempt to tackle a rodent problem.
Facts Only
* Super Valid Designs built a semi-automated rodent removal system.
* The system is located at a chicken coop.
* The device consists of two primary parts: gondolas and a lift.
* Gondolas are 3D printed with acrylic windows.
* Gondolas function as traps with ceiling trap doors and bait.
* The lift is constructed from wood and miscellaneous parts.
* The lift transports trapped rodents down a hill.
* Trapped rodents are released via a trap door onto a pile of brush.
* The project is associated with a YouTube video.
* Alternative catch-and-release mousetraps exist.
Executive Summary
A semi-automated rodent removal system has been developed to relocate mice from a chicken coop. The mechanism utilizes 3D-printed gondolas that act as traps, transporting the animals via a wooden ski lift down a hill to a brush pile for release. The project is framed as an experimental approach to rodent management, though it is not yet determined if this method is more effective than traditional trapping.
Perspectives on the project vary significantly. Some view the effort as a creative and respectful application of DIY engineering. Others argue that the system is fundamentally ineffective, noting that relocating rodents a short distance typically fails to solve infestations and that long-distance relocation may spread disease. Additionally, there is a critique that the project prioritizes entertainment and social media monetization over practical utility, reflecting a shift in DIY culture toward content creation rather than problem-solving.
Full Take
The strongest version of this narrative is that a creator used a real-world nuisance—a rodent infestation—as a catalyst for an ambitious, whimsical engineering project, successfully blending 3D printing and mechanical assembly for entertainment and personal experimentation.
The tension here lies in the collision between "utility-driven DIY" and "content-driven DIY." The critique centers on a perceived shift in incentives: where the goal was once to solve a problem efficiently, it is now often to create a visually stimulating process for an audience. This is a pattern of "performative productivity," where the complexity of the solution is inversely proportional to its actual effectiveness. The argument that this is "clickbait" suggests that the rodent problem is merely a prop for a revenue-generating video, rather than a legitimate target for engineering.
Rooted in this is a generational friction regarding monetization. The transition from gainful employment as the primary driver of hobbyism to the "creator economy" creates a divide in how value is assigned to effort. One side sees a wasteful distraction; the other sees a modern livelihood.
Patterns detected: none
If this were a coordinated influence campaign, the playbook would involve using "whimsical" or "innocent" content to build a parasocial bond with an audience before pivoting those users toward a specific product or ideology. The actual content is a disorganized collection of opinions on a hobbyist project and does not match this structural alignment.
Bridge Questions:
1. At what point does the "entertainment value" of a project negate its "educational value"?
2. Is the effectiveness of a tool the only valid metric for a DIY project, or is the process of creation a primary goal in itself?
3. How does the pressure to monetize creativity change the way we approach problem-solving?
