You've heard of speed traps -- but pee traps?

On Tuesday night, five individuals were caught urinating in public and slapped with public urination citations in the parking lot behind The Gingerbread Man, 130 Hiester St.

"Officers sit down there and wait for them to urinate," State College Police Department Sgt. Mark Argiro said.

One of the most concentrated areas for people to relieve themselves in public, the area between The Gingerbread Man and The Diplomat, 329 E. Beaver Ave., is a hotbed of activity, Argiro said.

As it turns out, it's also become a hotspot for police to issue citations.

The public urination charges were handed out between about 11:30 p.m. Tuesday and 1:30 a.m. yesterday, when police nailed five people -- two of whom were caught peeing at the same time.

Perhaps Tuesday night's crowds, which Gingerbread Man Bar Manager Geno Maley said are large enough to compare to a weekend night, are the reason for the excess in public urinations.

"It's by far our most crowded weeknight," Maley said. He added that sometimes there are lines for the bathrooms, which contain two stalls for the women and two urinals and one stall for the men.

Argiro said the number of citations Tuesday night wasn't unusual.

Apparently, that number of citations is commonplace for the area behind the Diplomat on popular bar nights -- the reason police have targeted the area.

Maley said he has caught people urinating between cars parked in the lot behind The Gingerbread Man. A camera that captures the parking lot was installed because of problems with vehicle damage in the past, but it does not seem to scare people enough to squelch the squatters, Maley said.

"I've definitely shooed enough people away," he said.

Argiro said he was baffled by the fact that so many people would try to pee in a well-lighted area that was also protected by camera surveillance.