Glue Traps

Due to the presence of children or pets, who could potentially be harmed, many people do not want to set snap traps. Poisons are too toxic to use safely inside your house. Unfortunately, the glue trap is often viewed as an acceptable alternative for eliminating unwanted pests from a home.

Follow up:

Glue traps or glue boards are trays that have been coated with an extremely sticky adhesive. The glue is composed of mineral oils, resins and synthetic rubber. Often, the glue is treated with food flavorings, which serve as the bait to attract the pest. Glue traps do not discriminate. Any animal that touches one of these traps is immediately stuck. Rarely, large animals may be able to rip the trap off, but not without losing large patches of fur and skin. Small animals have no chance at all of escaping. Some glue trap models can be more than 2 feet across and are sold to trap snakes, however, pets often fall victim instead.

Glue traps are one of the cruelest methods of wildlife and pest control. Once caught, the animal will struggle as they attempt to free themselves from the trap. The more they struggle, the more glue will adhere to the animal. It may take as long as 3-5 days for an animal to die once it is caught in a glue trap. This time can be much longer for a reptile. Animals will suffer pain and stress when caught on a glue trap. Their frantic struggling will lead to exhaustion. Many animals will slowly suffocate if glue lodges in their nasal passages. Struggling by the animal can lead to ripped fur, feathers and skin. Additionally, the struggling animal can break bones and possibly cause other internal injuries. Some panicked animals have been known to chew off their own foot trying to get loose. Death most often comes as a result of exhaustion, dehydration and starvation.

Manufactures claim glue traps are non-toxic. However, there remains areas of concern when using glue traps. First, the trapped animal will continue to pass urine and feces which may carry diseases harmful to humans. Second, handling a glue trap while the animal is still alive will expose you to the risk of being bitten. Third, pets can get caught on a glue trap causing the animal unnecessary pain, stress, injury and possibly death.
Not only are glue traps cruel, but they are an ineffective method of controlling unwanted wildlife. They do not change the environmental factors which attracted the animals in the first place. They do not stop subsequent animals from entering your house.

If you find an animal stuck on a glue trap, please, treat this as a wildlife emergency. It is very difficult and can take hours to remove an animal from a glue trap, even for trained vets and rehabilitators. It is advisable for untrained people not to attempt to remove the animal due to the risk of further injury to the animal as well as possible injury to the person, who may not know how to effectively restrain the animal during the removal process. Instead, the animal should be safely contained and placed in a box with pre-drilled air holes. Keep all pets and animals away and keep the container closed to reduce further stress on the animal. Transport the animal to a local rehabilitator or wildlife clinic as soon as possible. When possible, follow up with the owner of the glue trap and share this information about glue traps and more humane options for wildlife removal.
Havahart traps are an alternative to glue traps. These allow for humane trapping and relocation of animals. They can be difficult to properly set and you need to make sure you have baited the trap to catch the offending animal. Another problem with trapping animals is that nursing mothers are often trapped and separated from the babies. This results in orphans that may end up starving to death. Traps need to be placed in areas that are sheltered from heat, cold and rain. Additionally, traps need to be checked every few hours to prevent an animal from being trapped for extended periods risking injury, dehydration and death.

When in doubt, it is best to contact a local wildlife removal company who utilize humane trapping and releasing for assistance in removing unwanted wildlife.