Rodent Control: Weighing Your Mouse Trap Options

Rodent control is mandatory for keeping your apartment sanitary and comfortable. Mice are the most common rodents to infest apartments. Knowing your options for eliminating mice will help you to keep your home rodent-free.

Are Mice Present?

Mice leave evidence of their presence. Typically, you’ll notice mouse droppings (feces) wherever they’ve been. Their droppings look like small, black pellets, about 1/4 inch long and pointed at one or both ends. Cereal and grain bags or boxes, with gnawed corners, are also common signs of mouse infestations.

Eliminating Mice

Several types of mouse traps are available. Which type you buy depends on how many mice you’re trying to catch and how squeamish you are about handling dead mice.

Some traps kill mice in an enclosed area, where you don’t have to see or touch them, prior to disposal. Other traps are more humane and catch the mouse alive. With humane traps, you can release the live mice into a field or other appropriate place for them to live.

Trap Types

Rodent traps are used for non-toxic mouse control. The most common types of mouse traps are:

• Snap Traps
• Glue Traps
• Multiple Catch Traps
• Electronic Traps

Snap traps and glue traps are the least expensive. All trap types, except glue traps, are reusable.

Snap Traps

Made of either wood or plastic, this trap style was invented 100 years ago. One of the most reliable devices, it uses a bar held under tension, which quickly comes down on the mouse’s neck, in a snapping motion.

A newer variation, the “clam-style,” looks like a clam shutting on the mouse, instead of a bar hitting it. While snap traps are very reliable, they can cause injuries to the mouse, which may be disturbing for to you to look at.

Glue Traps

Glue traps are inexpensive, simple to use, and make disposing of mice easy. Once mice are stuck to the glue you just throw them away.

Glue traps come in two configurations, a flat board or a thick layer of glue in a plastic tray. The former are used more often, since the mice don’t have to step up onto the trap to get caught.

Multiple Catch Traps

These traps are capable of automatically capturing mice, one after another.  Depending on the model, they can hold up to 30 mice. Multiple catch traps don’t kill mice, so you can use them for catch and release rodent elimination methods.

Electronic Traps

Electronic traps, a relatively new invention, kill mice by electrocution. A high voltage shock offers a quick, humane death for the mice. This type of trap is particularly easy to use, especially if you’re squeamish. It runs on batteries, and according to the manufacturers, you can kill over 100 mice on one set of batteries.

To use an electronic trap, simply insert bait and turn it on. A colored light flashes (usually green) to alert you of a captured mouse. You can dump captured mice directly into the trash, without touching them.

In buildings where infestations are common, consider buying reusable traps, capable of catching multiple mice, to keep your apartment mouse-free.

_______________________________________

Lisa Bernstein: As a long-time apartment dweller and seasoned condominium trustee, I have dealt with numerous landlord-tenant, property management, and day-to-day apartment complex issues. My extensive, direct experience has led to invaluable insights into apartment life from both the tenant and management perspectives.