reference will now be made in detail to the presently preferred embodiments of the invention , examples of which are illustrated in the accompanying drawings , wherein like reference numerals refer to like elements throughout . in a first embodiment of operating the inventive concept , an animal trap ( such as a spring loaded mouse trap ) can be inserted by an operator into an animal trap remover . the animal trap remover ( with the trap inside ) can then be placed in a location whereupon the animal ( e . g . a mouse ) will spring the trap . once the trap has been sprung , the operator can then lift the animal trap remover ( with the trap inside ) using a handle attached to the trap remover , walk over to a trash disposal , and discard the trap into the disposal ( by turning the trap remover such that the trap will fall out due to gravity ) without touching the trap ( or even getting to close to it ) while retaining the trap remover for another use . alternatively , the trap remover can be disposable and can be disposed of with the trap by throwing the remover with the trap inside directly into the waste disposal . in a second embodiment of operating the inventive concept , an animal trap remover can be used to easily grab onto , lift , and remove a trap that already has a dead animal in it . the animal trap remover can typically enable a person to do this without physically touching the trap . in this embodiment , the trap is set as conventionally done , and once the trap is sprung , then the trap remover is used to hold , lift , and carry the trap to a disposal , and discard the trap into the disposal ( by turning the trap remover such that the trap will fall out due to gravity ). alternatively , the trap remover can be disposable and can be disposed of with the trap by throwing the remover with the trap inside directly into the waste disposal . an animal trap remover has a handle and a trap holder which holds the animal trap . the end of the trap holder is wedge - shaped so that it can be pushed under the end of the trap that is opposite the dead animal in order to pick up the trap . the trap can be disposed of by letting the trap slip out - of the trap holder into the garbage . referring now to fig1 - 4 , an animal trap remover 1 may be made to hold and pick up a variety of different types of animal traps , and its dimensions will depend upon the size of the particular trap it is to be used to with . it is especially useful for holding and picking up spring - loaded traps , where an animal disturbing bait held by the trap releases a spring that causes a bar to clamp down upon the animal , killing it . such traps are used for rodents , such as mice and rats . it may also be used to pick up other types of animal traps . a typical spring - loaded mouse trap is about 1⅞ inches wide and about 4 inches long and a typical rat trap is about 3¼ inches wide and about 6⅞ inches long and animal trap remover 1 may be made in two sizes to accommodate both mouse and rat traps . for a spring - loaded mouse trap , base 5 may be about 3 to about 5 inches long and about 2 inches in between guides 9 ( or sides 10 if guides 9 are not present ), and flanges 11 may be about ¼ to about ½ inch above the top of base 5 . for a spring - loaded rat trap , base 5 may be about 5½ inches to about 8½ inches long and about 3⅜ inches in between guides 9 ( or sides 10 if guides 9 are not present ), and flanges 11 may be about ½ inch to about 1 inch above the top of base 5 . in the drawings , animal trap remover 1 has a trap holder 2 , which is attached to bridge 3 , which is in turn attached to handle 4 . holder 2 has a base 5 that supports animal trap 6 . end 7 of base 5 has wedged - shaped bevel 8 so that base 5 . will easily slide under an animal trap . base 5 is provided with two optional guides 9 , one on either side , to keep animal trap 6 aligned and prevent it from falling out of holder 2 . sides 10 are high enough to accommodate animal trap 6 . inwardly - extending horizontal flanges 11 at the top of sides 10 further secure animal trap 6 in holder 2 . spring - loaded animal trap 6 has flat board 12 to which is mounted spring 13 and spring trip lock 14 . spring 13 is released by spring trip lock 14 when mouse 15 contacts bait 16 . an opening 17 between flanges 11 allows room for spring trip lock 14 of animal trap 6 , so that spring trip lock 14 fits between flanges 11 ; flanges 11 fit between board 12 and spring 13 . at the back of trap holder 2 are two optional tabs 18 that can optionally be attached to bridge 3 and / or the base 5 and / or the flanges 11 , and can help to align trap 6 on base 5 . an optional front rail ( see fig5 ) can be located on a front end of the base 5 . bridge 3 has two joined surfaces 19 and 20 that cross the length of animal trap remover 1 so that holder 2 can be securely attached to surface 19 and handle 4 to surface 20 . handle 4 has front portion 21 that extends at an angle from bridge 3 so that back portion 22 is above the bottom of base 5 , thereby enabling a person to grasp back portion 22 without touching the floor or the ground on which base 5 rests . back portion 22 is provided with two raised slots 23 , which may be used to attach cardboard information panel 24 , which provides information about animal trap remover 1 . animal trap remover 1 may be constructed of plastic , metals , cardboard , paper mulch or other materials , but it is preferably made of plastic as that material is inexpensive and animal trap remover 1 can be made as a single piece by injection molding . the preferred plastics are polyethylene terephthalate ( pet ), high density polyethylene ( hdpe ), polyvinyl chloride ( pvc ), low density polyethylene ( ldpe ), polypropylene ( pp ), polystyrene ( ps ), but other plastics may also be used . to use animal trap remover 1 , a baited animal trap is inserted into holder 2 , the trap is set , and the trap remover and trap are placed in a location frequented by the animal to be trapped . when the animal springs the trap and is caught , animal trap remover 1 is picked up by back portion 22 of handle 4 , along with the trap and the dead animal , and the trap and dead animal are dropped into the garbage or otherwise disposed of . the animal trap remover may also be reused by tilting or turning holder 2 upside down to cause the trap to fall into the garbage . alternatively , a trap may be baited and set and picked up using animal trap remover 1 after an animal has been trapped by pushing bevel 8 of base 5 against the end of the trap that is opposite the trapped animal , thereby forcing the trap into holder 2 . fig5 is . an isometric view of a further embodiment of an animal trap remover utilizing straight hollow guides . a pair of hollow guides 30 are used to receive the trap . a pair of vertical tabs 31 are used to align the trap inside the holder . an optional front rail 32 is located on a front end 33 of the base and can be used in the embodiment of the invention wherein the trap is inserted into the trap remover before the animal springs the trap ( first embodiment above ). the many features and advantages of the invention are apparent from the detailed specification and , thus , it is intended by the appended claims to cover all such features and advantages of the invention that fall within the true spirit and scope of the invention . further , since numerous modifications and changes will readily occur to those skilled in the art , it is not desired to limit the invention to the exact construction and operation illustrated and described , and accordingly all suitable modifications and equivalents may be resorted to , falling with the scope of the invention .
an animal trap remover holds and picks up a trap that contains a dead animal . the trap remover has a trap holder with a handle on it . the trap holder has a flat base that slides underneath the trap , two opposing sides that extend upward from the flat base , and flanges at the top of the two sides , with an opening between them . the handle is higher than the flat base .