This factsheet was completed by People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA)  . Please direct any questions or comments to PETA directly at 757-622-7382 or info@peta.org.

Glue Traps

The use of glue traps dates back to at least 1832, when a sticky device was developed to capture birds. Since then, glue or adhesive traps have been used to trap a variety of animals, and they are now common methods of mouse and rat control.(1) Sticky glue traps cause the animals they catch an enormous amount of suffering and a traumatic death. Humane methods of rodent control are available.

What Is a Glue Trap?

A glue trap consists of a piece of cardboard, fiberboard, or plastic that is coated with a sticky adhesive. Sticky traps are designed for indoor use, since outside they can become clogged with leaves and other loose material. Glue trap makers generally state that trapped animals should be thrown away along with the trap. Thus, animals suffer alive in the trap for days.

Humane or Horrible?

A 1983 test that evaluated the effectiveness of glue traps found that trapped mice struggling to free themselves would pull out their own hair, exposing bare, raw areas of skin. The mice broke or even bit off their own legs, and the glue caused their eyes to become badly irritated and scarred. After three to five hours in the glue traps, the mice defecated and urinated heavily because of their severe stress and fear, and quickly became covered with their own excrement.(2) Animals whose faces become stuck in the glue slowly suffocate, and all trapped animals are subject to starvation and dehydration.

Because of the cruelty of glue traps, many veterinarians have issued affidavits opposing their use. In one such document, Dr. Robert M. Lynn stated, "In my estimation, there is much suffering by the entrapped animals. It is not a sudden or merciful death, but one brought on by starvation and thirst." Dr. Dianne Ferris added, "Because all mammals have similar nervous systems, they are capable of experiencing the same type of pain and suffering. Thus, rodents suffer as much as any other mammal and are capable of being traumatized and abused."

Laws protecting rodents from cruelty either conflict with other laws, are ignored, or don't exist at all. The Federal Insecticide, Fungicide and Rodenticide Act does not give the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency the authority to regulate pest control devices unless there is evidence of false or misleading statements regarding the product. Thus, rodents are not protected from inhumane forms of extermination. State laws regarding animal cruelty, as well as research protocols, often exclude rodents from protection, despite their ability to suffer as much as other mammals.

Solutions Without Suffering

The problem of rodent infestation is largely preventable by maintaining clean, sanitary conditions and plugging holes or cracks where mice or rats might enter a building. If traps are needed to remove mice or rats, humane box-type traps are available. These traps are a box-like plastic or cage-like metal with a spring-release trap door at one end that closes behind the animal once he or she enters the trap. The trap can then be taken outdoors where the animal can be released. When using these, be sure to check them every few hours, as frightened rodents, with their high rate of metabolism, quickly become thirsty and hungry.

Despite the stereotypes of "dirty" or "diseased" mice and rats, it is seldom warranted to kill bothersome rodents. The use of poisons can result in the painful deaths of cats, dogs, and other animals who either ingest the poison by mistake or eat the bodies of poisoned rodents. Natural repellents or nonlethal traps are the only truly humane methods of rodent control.

What You Can Do

Complain to stores that sell glue traps, explaining how inhumane the traps are. Use information from this factsheet to support your complaint, and recommend that they sell humane box traps instead.

If you encounter an animal stuck to a glue trap, pour a small amount of any kind of cooking or baby oil onto the stuck areas and gently work them free.

References

1. Fitzwater, William D., Trapping -- The Oldest Profession, pp. 103, 106.
2. Franz, S.C., and C.M. Padula, "A Laboratory Test Method for Evaluating the Efficacy of Glueboards for Trapping House Mice," Vertebrate Pest Control and Management Materials: Fourth Symposium, American Society for Testing and Materials, 1983, pp. 209-225.