I’ve used Hav-A-Hart mouse traps. Mouse was in our pantry. The trap sprung right away. - When I went & got the trap a minute later; the little mouse was trembling & sweaty & its eyes were huge as saucers. - I took it, trap & all, down to the woodpile & released it. I left it a pile of natural fibers & a good supply of eats for its storage. No more mice have ventured into the house. (Ha! All the stuff I left was quickly spirited away.) - Yesterday, I saw a little butterfly caught in an old cobweb on the porch. I freed it & it thought I was crazy; but butterflies’ opinions are a dime a dozen.
We use live traps in the house for two reasons: First is that if they have disease-bearing fleas the fleas will not leave them and look for something else if the mouse dies. Second is putting them outside means they have to run a gauntlet of barn cats, foxes, coyotes, and owls. It’s not like we’re really letting them go.