Why Rat Sticky Traps Are Inhumane
Most people have heard of glue traps. They're common, they're well-known, and they're inexpensive - but certainly cannot be considered a method of humane pest control. If more people understood how they worked and the suffering these traps cause, they may not be so quick to use them. These traps are essentially a piece of cardboard or plastic coated with a sticky adhesive. Once a rat steps onto the adhesive, it is stuck. Rat sticky traps are ultimately an inhumane and ineffective way to attempt to get rid of rats in the house.
Sticky traps (or glue traps) are cruel and cause great suffering. Here's why:
- Rats aren't always caught "cleanly". Legs may be twisted into unnatural or painful positions as the rat struggles to escape... or the rat's face may get caught in the glue, leading it to slowly suffocate in pain and fear.
- Trapped rats may take desperate measures to free themselves.
Rats have been known to gnaw off their own limbs in order to escape the trap.
- Rats caught in the trap suffer a slow, agonizing death. Many instructions for these types of traps tell the user to simply throw the trap away into the garbage, along with the rat still stuck to it, dead or alive! Imagine the fear, stress, hunger and thirst the animal experiences as it slowly dies. It is utterly inhumane. Even if the trapped rat is found an hour or two after being caught and is quickly killed, that's still an hour or two of terror and pain and stress.
- The trap is indiscriminate. Though they are meant to
capture rats (or mice), any other small animal that wanders across
it can be trapped as well. That includes birds, snakes, pet rodents
like gerbils or hamsters, or even a curious tiny kitten could get
itself into trouble with rat sticky traps.
If you run across an animal that is caught in one of these traps, pour a small amount of cooking oil or baby oil where the animal's body meets the trap. Use a Q-tip to gently work the oil into the glue to free the animal. This should be done outdoors, as the animal might instantly run away once freed.
It should be noted, too, that the traps are ineffective as well as being inhumane. Rats are naturally cautious creatures. They will avoid areas where there used to be a trap particularly if they saw another rat caught in the trap. Simply attempting to kill off the rats without addressing the root of the problem will do nothing in the end - the rats will simply return.
It should also be noted that rat urine and feces will collect on the glue trap as well, posing a risk to human health, as rats can transmit numerous diseases to people.
If you are tempted to try rat sticky traps, please don't - there are much more humane rodent control products available, ones that do not cause tremendous suffering or lingering deaths. The removal of rodents from the home is just the first step in long-term rodent control. Once they are gone, homeowners should immediately seal up all entry points and take regular preventive pest control measures to stop the problem from happening again. Prevention is the ultimate humane pest control method available.