What Are Mouse Glue Traps?
Mouse glue traps are typically small sheets of paper with a strong adhesive substance on the top of them. Homeowners can place them along their walls or in common areas where mice travel. When a mouse or other rodent steps on it, the adhesive holds them in place indefinitely. Glue traps are relatively inexpensive compared to the more humane mouse traps. The glue does not contain any chemicals that may harm your children or pets.
Why Shouldn't You Use Mouse Glue Traps?
Though they may seem practical, mouse glue traps are probably one of the most inhumane ways to catch a mouse. Once the mouse is stuck to the strip, it will remain alive until one of the following happens:
1. The mouse panics and dies of a heart attack.
2. The mouse's nose gets stuck in the glue and it suffocates.
3. The mouse starves to death - It could take days for the mouse to die naturally if left on the glue trap unattended.
4. The mouse dies trying to break free - Mice have been known to break their necks, tear off their skin or even chew their own legs off trying to make their escape, resulting in a painful death. In the meantime, the trauma that this could cause to the mouse will cause it to urinate and deficate on themselves and the trap. Not only is this cruel in and of itself, but it is extremely unsanitary as it could lead to the spread of the hantavirus.
Furthermore, small children and pets can get stuck to the trap, causing potential injury to them as well as potential damage to the trap itself.
Are There Other Ways to Catch a Mouse?
There are several alternatives to using mouse glue traps. Snap traps work by triggering a mechanism designed to break the mouse's neck. Though they pose the risk of causing physical injury when tampered with by children and pets, they are inexpensive, can be reused in most cases and quickly trap and kill mice without inhumane drawn-out suffering. If safety is an issue with regard to children or pets, you can even purchase covered snap traps.
If killing the mouse is not what you have in mind, humane live traps will cost you a bit more but allow you to simply release the mouse back into the wild once it's been caught.
How Do You Prevent a Mouse From Entering Your Home?
Of course, no mouse traps will be needed if you can prevent mice from entering your home. Sealing your house's entry points from rodent infestation can prevent rodents from bringing debris and disease and fecal matter into your home. This is especially important as weather turns colder throughout fall and rodents look for warmer residences.
Catseye prefers to use snap traps for humane reasons unless otherwise directed by a client. Ideally, the best solution is to install an exclusion system to prevent mice from ever entering your home again.
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