Glue traps - your thoughts?

[HenryC]

We had a mouse problem to take care of at home, and my brother had the fantastic idea of buying these traps called "glue traps". For those of you who don't know, they're plastic sheets with a thin layer of super glue on the top, usually with a scent added to attract them. The animal walks on it and gets stuck. Sounds simple enough?

Well, it's more complicated than that. We had no idea how disgustingly cruel these things are.

The poor mouse had half its face stuck on the glue, patches of its skin was ripped off during its struggle. One of his hind legs was broken, and he was squeaking pitifully. It was also attempting to chew its own limb off. As far as animal cruelty goes, this is one of the most saddest things I've ever seen. I got angry when I read the trap instructions though - it told me to simply dispose of animal with trap into the trash.

Yeah, to throw it into the garbage bin alive, where it'd stave to death. I mean, wtf, who would do that? We only wanted to get rid of the mouse, not torture it like this. It would've been better off getting a snap trap, at least they're quick. Well, usually. I had to put the thing into a plastic and squash the mouse with a brick to put it out of its misery. I felt pretty guilty about it, but it was better than the alternative.

I did some searching on these traps, turns out they're arguably the worst animal trap on the market. Just causes unnecessary suffering, and that's something I dislike. I know that vermin need to be eliminated, but it should be done humanely. I think using glue traps was going a little too far, so we're never going to use them again. And I wouldn't recommend them because personally, there are better ways to deal with rodents.

Do you guys have any experiences with these traps? Should they be used? Why/why not?

 

[akshatp]

GLue traps suck.. Sometimes the rodent will get only one leg stuck in it and subsequently run somewhere with the trap stuck to itself and then die... only you dont know where it is and the dead carcass will then proceed to stink...

Oh yea, its pretty inhumane too. Get the snap traps, much better and less pain for the "victim"

 

[0roo0roo]

yea i used one once. removing it was too difficult. i had to bludgeon it in the head to put it out of its misery before disposal.
its just much better to use the snap trap. clean break, instant death.

 

[Tiamat]

im not a fan of the glue traps at all. Frankly, i just use the snap traps if i see mice around.

 

[zerocool84]

To kill mice, I like to use this instead

Text

 

[theflyingpig]

Glue traps give rodents a chance to die a glorious death.

 

[jagec]

If you really want to be 100% humane, your only real option is the non-lethal trap. Of course, then you have a live mouse to get rid of. Interesting non-lethal ideas.

You can use a cat, which works well, or you can perform controlled experiments with mazes to entertain your children. Perhaps instead of inventing a better mousetrap, you can invent a better mouse by using increasingly complex mazes with potentially lethal results, thus driving mouse evolution from the comfort of your own home.

It's funny that lab animals have all of these restrictions and ethics committees and paperwork governing their treatment, whereas homeowners can do whatever they like.




Down at the farm we used to get really big rats. We had rat traps (the first time I saw a mouse trap I laughed), but the darn things were big enough that it wouldn't break their necks or suffocate them. So either they would squeeze their way out from under the trap, or they would drag the trap away and we'd never see it again. So my dad started tying the traps down, which solved the problem some of the time. Finally he drove nails into the trap from the bottom. They looked pretty wicked at this point, but they certainly killed rats.

 

[Whoozyerdaddy]

It's a fucking mouse... you wanted it gone... it's gone... get over it.

 

[0roo0roo]

Originally posted by: jagec
If you really want to be 100% humane, your only real option is the non-lethal trap. Of course, then you have a live mouse to get rid of. Interesting non-lethal ideas.

You can use a cat, which works well, or you can perform controlled experiments with mazes to entertain your children. Perhaps instead of inventing a better mousetrap, you can invent a better mouse by using increasingly complex mazes with potentially lethal results, thus driving mouse evolution from the comfort of your own home.

It's funny that lab animals have all of these restrictions and ethics committees and paperwork governing their treatment, whereas homeowners can do whatever they like.




Down at the farm we used to get really big rats. We had rat traps (the first time I saw a mouse trap I laughed), but the darn things were big enough that it wouldn't break their necks or suffocate them. So either they would squeeze their way out from under the trap, or they would drag the trap away and we'd never see it again. So my dad started tying the traps down, which solved the problem some of the time. Finally he drove nails into the trap from the bottom. They looked pretty wicked at this point, but they certainly killed rats.

well cats can sometimes play with prey a while before they do the final dispatch, quite sadistic they are. a claw here...a claw there..squirm little mouse squirm!

 

[Mo0o]

What the hell did you think was going to happen.

 

[HenryC]

Originally posted by: Whoozyerdaddy
It's a fucking mouse... you wanted it gone... it's gone... get over it.

Of course it's a fucking mouse, they fuck all year long. But that doesn't answer my question.

 

[eplebnista]

I have no qualms using glue traps for mice or insects/spiders<--mostly what I use them for. The kind I have is the unscented larger size made of white cardstock that can be folded into a box and has a sticker-like tab for holding it in place on a baseboard.

 

[HenryC]

Originally posted by: eplebnista
I have no qualms using glue traps for mice or insects/spiders<--mostly what I use them for. The kind I have is the unscented larger size made of white cardstock that can be folded into a box and has a sticker-like tab for holding it in place on a baseboard.

How about when people throw a stuck live mammal into the bin, fully tangled up in it?

 

[Jeff7]

I prefer the old style Victor snap-traps, with the metal trigger.

Metal trigger + dried fruit with a tough skin secured to it = mouse latches its teeth in the tough skin and gives it a good tug. Snap, right on the neck, every time.

If I could negotiate with the mice, or rather deliver an ultimatum, I would. But I can't. And they reproduce at an incredible rate, so there will always be more. So, it's the snap traps when I've got a mouse problem.
No glue traps for me.

 

[moshquerade]

Originally posted by: akshatp
GLue traps suck.. Sometimes the rodent will get only one leg stuck in it and subsequently run somewhere with the trap stuck to itself and then die... only you dont know where it is and the dead carcass will then proceed to stink...

Oh yea, its pretty inhumane too. Get the snap traps, much better and less pain for the "victim"

another vote for a snap trap. they've tried to make a better mouse trap, but the snap trap rules.

 

[Genx87]

I have the same feeling about glue traps. Terrible device that only prolongs the suffering.

 

[Capt Caveman]

I use live traps. Snap traps don't always kill instantly. The used one a long time ago and discovered a mouse leg in it while seeing a trail of blood running across my counters and then down thru the stove.

 

[Anubis]

they work, ive used them in the past, and at some point will use again

 

[Wheezer]

Originally posted by: Anubis
they work, ive used them in the past, and at some point will use again

QFT.....the wife has a hell of a time getting loose.

 

[Jeraden]

About a month or 2 ago I realized I had a mouse problem in the basement. I thought it was just a single mouse that I could hear scurrying around in the ceiling tiles. So I went to target and got some of those snap traps.

I had limited success, I realized I had a lot more than just one mouse. I had about a 25% success rate using the snap traps. A lot of times they'd eat the peanut butter, but somehow never actuall trigger the trap. I kept trying to set it "just right" so the littlest pressure would set it off (and snapped my fingers a couple times in the process), but when I go back to check the next day, PB was gone and it was never triggered. Also a few times it would be snapped, but no mouse was in it. So I was getting frustrated.

I ended up getting this one from amazon:
http://www.amazon.com/Victor-M...&qid=1231943444&sr=8-1

It seems to work really well. I have not yet had a case where the bait was taken without a dead mouse being inside. I can't vouch for its humane-ness, but it does seem to kill the mice fairly quickly. Surprised just two AA batteries has enough juice to fry a mouse, but apparently it does! Just open it up, dump the dead mouse out, turn it off, wipe the metal plates off of any PB/gunk, and reset it. I caught several more mice with this one, and now I'm mouse free!

 

[lokiju]

Originally posted by: Mo0o
What the hell did you think was going to happen.

:laugh:

This

 

[Chryso]

I like the poison.

 

[Pepsei]

wow, that amazon trap is funny, the pic with the mouse in front of it.

just like the famous bill's bbq logo, with two happy pigs cooking one of their own. http://www.billsbarbecuetogo.com/

 

[imported_Imp]

We use to, and will continue to, use glue traps, but they really are inhumane.

Over my 20 years living in a 100 year old house with yearly mouse infestations, I've seen some pretty screwed up shit. Once, two mice got stuck in one trap that was placed inside the stove. Only one survived, and the other began to eat the other.

The worst thing is when my dad, being the cheap bastard that he is, decided to reuse traps. That's right, he'd catch one, pry the corpse off of it, then put it back with fur still attached. Obviously, they no longer worked as well, and this is when the mice would start getting partly trapped, then run off with the trap. They eventually got loose after a long struggle with a lot of squealing.

Also, I stepped in those traps as a kid by accident. That glue is a bitch to get off.

 

[alchemize]

Useless.

I re-use the same good old fashioned trap. The one I currently use is covered in dried mouse blood and bits of brain and flesh, yet I've probably nabbed 20 with them and they keep coming back, even with the lingering scent of death.

Sometimes as an added treat it only nabs them by the tail or the leg and I get to feed them live to my killer cats (of which I think one was recently lost to coyotes).

:music: The Circle of Life :music: