From sad experience, I have learned the following:
If you ever feel compelled to use a glue trap to catch mice or rats, and something gets caught on it that you didn't intend, such as a little bird -- can happen quite easily in a crawlspace or shed ...
Use vegetable oil to dissolve the glue and release the captive.
Sunday, June 7, 2009
Glue traps
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11 comments:
Oh gosh...poor little thing...
Why even a squirrel might get caught on one of those!
That happened to poor Gentle Ginger
nice to see ya back on blogspot
Kat, Facebook captured me in April and held me in its hypnotic grip but I am trying to pace myself a little better these days.
LGS- you are so funny! the perfect comeback :-)
And how about the actual mice and rats?
Hmm, yes, let them break their own legs and starve to death? These traps are stupid and shouldn't be used in the first place. If you want to catch rats, use something more humane - like a cage trap. Or if you want to kill them, use a snap trap.
Chuck, unfortunately, mice and rats can cause a lot of suffering via the diseases they transmit. (The Black Plague comes to mind.)
Live traps simply move the problem to someone else's house, since the rodents have adapted to live with humans.
By personal experience, I have also learned that snap traps are not always effective either. Many rodents have learned how to eat the bait without springing the trap.
I have resolved not to use glue traps to deal with the rodents in my shed but I cannot issue a blanket condemnation of others whose specific situation calls for the use of glue traps, such as in an area of heavy infestation.
I see where you're coming from but the Black Plague isn't even a problem in developed countries.
Are rats really a problem? Or are they just a way of telling human society we create too much waste, leave rubbish about and have disrupted the ecological balances which would keep their numbers in check?
What ever people think about rats, is this anyway to treat another living being? What does it say about our society that we have become so desensitised about inflicting suffering on the rest of the living world, that in your everyday grocery store we can buy such cruel items?
From what I have experienced firsthand and seen/heard/read, most people who use glue traps are lazy, selfish, callous and indifferent to pointless suffering they cause. The sooner these traps are banned, the better. There are ALWAYS alternatives, and anything is better than torture. I mean, come on, the instructions on these traps encourage people to throw them away alive into the trash! People actually do this! Is there any excuse for it, rather than putting the animal out of its misery quickly? You'd be hard pressed to find one.
May I weigh into the debate and say that glue traps aren't really a necessity for heavy infestations. Multi-catch traps are very useful here, but that doesn't necessarily mean catch and release. You can opt to kill them in a humane manner. There is also nothing wrong with catch and release providing you live near a wildlife reserve or large park.
The assumption that you move the problem elsewhere is exactly what it is - an assumption. There isn't a 100% guarantee that they will go to someone else's house. If you have mice, there are bound to be many more living outside (which the vast majority do), and they aren't usually a problem.
Snap traps are excellent provided they are set in the right place, with the right bait.
Moot point in saying that can cause disease as you're going to get rid of them anyway. The problem is the method, rather the morality of it.
Glue traps are unsanitary and ridiculously inhumane. What benefit does a slow and painful death to the animal give you? Nothing. It's better to go the quick kill, there's no excuse to prolong it. It's the same with killing any other animal really!
Chuck and Jeff, far be it from me to discourage your adherence to a higher standard of humane behavior than most of us.
Like those Jainists of India.
Like that fellow who told us to turn the other cheek and give away our cloak.
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