When there is a rat or mouse infestation in your building, you want them gone as quickly as possible to prevent structural damage or the spread of diseases. The two common solutions to rodent issues are snap traps and glue traps. Both can effectively address the problem when they are set up in the right place, but choosing between one or the other ultimately depends on personal preferences.
So what is the difference between a glue trap and a snap trap? Glue traps are cheaper and take less time to set up, but they are widely considered to be an inhumane method of dealing with rodents. Snap traps are an equally inexpensive but effective method for killing mice swiftly. However, these take a lot of effort and skill to use correctly.
Glue Traps vs Snap Traps: What’s The Difference?
Choosing between glue traps and snap traps to help resolve infestation issues boils down to how you want to deal with the pests in your home. Here are the major differences between the two trap types:
Glue Traps: Cheap and Easy To Use
Glue traps or sticky traps are adhesive glue boards made with cardboard or plastic. Once a rat or mouse walks on a glue trap, they become stuck to it and are unable to move. Glue traps are considered the easiest pest control product to use as they do not require any skills for set-up.
How To Use It
To use a glue trap, simply place it along a runway or an area with a frequent rodent activity so that the rodents can run blindly into them. You can also consider placing a lure in the center of the trap to attract more rodents. Glue traps don’t work well outside or in locations with dust, dirt, water, or extreme temperatures. Once a rodent is successfully captured, manufacturers recommend disposing of the glue trap with the dead rodent attached to it for no-touch disposal.
Is It Humane?
Glue traps are considered to be one of the most inhumane, cruel, and dangerous forms of pest control available. The rodents trapped on the sticky adhesive die a slow death by dehydration, suffocation, starvation, or stress. In its panic, an injured rodent would struggle and get more stuck to the trap. The glue used in the traps are also caustic, creating a painful burn to the skin, eyes, and mucous membranes of rodents.
Other Considerations
Cost: Glue traps are the most affordable and widely available type of pest control product. They are sometimes used to trap insects as well.
Safety and risks: Glue traps can stick to a small child or a household pet in the house, even though they aren’t the intended target. In this case, use cooking oil to take off the trap. Cooking oil can loosen up skin from the adhesive. Adults handling sticky traps should also take precautions against rodent urine, which contains diseases.
Environmental factors: As a pesticide-free option, glue traps are preferable if you’re concerned about fingers or paws getting snapped in a mechanical trap. However, sticky traps can only be used once.
Snap Traps: Quick and Reusable
Traditionally, snap traps have been popular for killing mice and rats swiftly. If you’re trying to bring down the population of house mice and deer mice in your area, snap traps can work especially well. When used correctly, the quick trigger system of a snap tap can help manage large infestations. There are three types of snap traps:
- Bar trap: Bait is placed on a pressure-sensitive switch to attract rodents. When a rat or mouse moves the bait, a spring-loaded bar is activated and exterminates the rodent.
- Clam trap: Instead of a bar, a spring-loaded “clam” jaw will be activated once the bait is removed.
- Hidden-kill trap: A hidden-kill trap has a similar mechanism to a bar or clam trap, but the baited switch is hidden inside a chamber. This allows humans to handle the dead rodent without seeing it.
How To Use It
Place the snap trap in an area that sees plenty of rodent activity and place the bait on the pressure-sensitive switch. Once the trap is sprung, remove and dispose of the dead rodent before resetting and adding fresh bait. Setting up a snap trap can take a lot of time and skill for placement, inspection, and activity monitoring.
Is It Humane?
Snap traps are created with the hope that the tap will find the right spot to kill the target animal. However, manufacturers sometimes fail to consider how fast and limber rodents can be. When a rat or a mouse activates the trap, they bolt and the snapper usually connects with a part of the body that isn’t vital: nose, foot, tail, leg, or soft underbelly. As there is only a slim chance the trap hits the skull or the spine, a snap trap is not always able to kill a rodent completely.
Other Considerations
Cost: Compared to glue straps, snap traps tend to cost slightly more but are still inexpensive overall.
Safety and risks: A snap trap should not be placed where a child, dogs, cats, or other household pets could tamper with them. Snap traps can be very painful on human hands when handled incorrectly. If an animal is caught in a snap trap, it would need to be brought to a vet.
Environmental factors: Snap traps are ideal if you want to avoid using pesticides or rodenticides. They are also reusable.
Other Types of Mouse Traps To Consider
Pest control technology has long evolved from the classic mousetrap to newer options designed to meet different needs. Depending on the method you’re more comfortable with, you can try no-kill traps which capture live mice and rats so you can release them far away from your home. On the other hand, you might prefer a kill trap that exterminates rodents swiftly and efficiently, so they won’t suffer for long.
You can also choose between open traps or closed traps if you’re more squeamish about having physical contact with rodents. A closed trap would have walls or shells that hide rats and mice from view. While glue traps and snap traps are both effective products, you should also consider:
- Bait stations: Bait stations are not traps. Rather, they are tamper-proof devices which hold a block of poison-filled bait. When rats or mice nibble on the bait in the station, they leave and die in their nests after 1 – 2 days.
- Electric traps: An electric trap lures rodents into a chamber then delivers a quick, fatal electric shock. Electric traps are considered the most humane form of kill traps. Electric traps are more expensive and run on batteries.
- Live traps: Similar to traps designed for larger mammals, live traps are cages with trigger-activated doors. Once a rodent enters the trap, the doors automatically shut until you release the captured rodent outside.
Consult with Midway Pest Management KS
Unsure of how to set up traps? Let Midway Pest Management in Kansas, USA handle all your pest and rodent issues.
As a professional pest control service, each expert Midways Pest Management employee can provide you the highest standard of pest control for your commercial or residential needs. With our world-class customer service and proactive approach, you’re sure to be satisfied. Call us today for more information on our services.
Read more: Best Bait for Mouse Traps