I really don't understand how the trap would work, based on your description. I've read the posting several times over several days. How can one insert a can through a wire? Maybe a picture might help.

I heard an older gentleman on the CBC describe his. He smears peanut butter on the inside of a bucket near the top. He fills the bucket with water (up to the pb line), then adds a flat piece of wood from the ground, to the top of the bucket.
The mice run up the ramp, get busy licking the pb, then slip and fall into the bucket. Hope that works.