Lethal mouse traps are designed to kill a mouse immediately upon contact with the trap, either by means of a spring-loaded break-back device or by means of high voltage electrocution. Lethal traps use a non-poisonous trap bait to lure-in the pest mouse.
In accordance with the Animal Welfare Act 2006 (UK) all animal traps should be inspected every 24-hours and any trapped animals removed and humanely dispatched if not already dead.
Trapping pest rodents is an ideal solution where the use of poisons is not possible. This could be due to food / stored product hygiene laws, or the risk of secondary poisoning or when there is a risk of a poisoned rodent dying in an inaccessible building void and causing a bad odour as it decomposes.
Trapping also allows the pest controller to accurately monitor the numbers of rodents being removed from the property, rather than guessing with the use of rodenticides
With the advent of the new 35 day rule governing the length of time that rodenticide (poison) can be left down and the banning of permanent baiting, the use of rat and mouse traps as part of an overall programme of rodent control is set to become increasingly important
