A man from Fangcun District captured 7,000 mice within a year, the Guangzhou Daily said Tuesday.

Thirty-year-old pest exterminator extraordinaire Liang Jinsong is the leader of a successful three-man mouse-capturing team. The three have been busy every night recently, invited by companies and restaurants to capture mice. They charge three yuan (US$0.36) for each mouse caught in addition to the basic salary of 50 yuan per person per night.

Liang invented a set of mouse-capturing tools including an electric device and toothed bamboo pliers. He said his device was more effective than those sold in the market, which could only catch one mouse each time. “My device can hit as many mice as it touches. Then it can sound automatically so that we can capture the mice that have fainted.”

The toothed bamboo pliers prevented mice from escaping. “No mouse can run away as long as their tails are squeezed,” he said.

Liang suggested citizens eradicate mice by sealing up the ceiling, which would starve them to death. He suggested that restaurants join hands to get rid of mice in the whole neighborhood, because they reproduce and spread quickly.

Liang and his teammates started catching rats alive at 5, as people in their village had the tradition of eating rats.

(Shenzhen Daily May 25, 2005)