Should you wind up with a mouse in the home, you would possibly wish to think about using a reside lure somewhat than a glue one. When you catch the critter, you possibly can take it to an area park or wooded space and set it free.
Photograph through Getty Photos
A brand new Metropolis Council invoice may, if enacted, stop New Yorkers from utilizing glue traps to maintain mice and different critters out of their houses.
Newly elected Council Member Harvey Epstein, who represents elements of Decrease Manhattan, introduced on Feb. 12 a invoice that, if became legislation, would ban the sale of glue traps — a method of pest management, usually made from small boards coated with an adhesive that mice, rats, and different critters get caught upon earlier than slowly dying.
Whereas some New Yorkers imagine glue traps are a extra humane pest management methodology than spring traps or poison, many animal specialists and different New Yorkers argue that glue traps are simply as “cruel” and inhumane.
“Animals stuck to glue traps will rip off their own skin and fur trying to escape,” WildCare, a wildlife rehab group in California, explains on its web site. “They will even chew off their own limbs in a desperate attempt to get away. They inflict terrible injuries on themselves, even fracturing limbs, trying to get free. Trapped animals suffer for days as they slowly suffocate and starve.”
Nevertheless, banning glue traps does greater than present mercy to animals deemed pests. In accordance with the Facilities for Illness Management and Prevention (CDC), glue traps may even result in people getting sick.
“These traps can scare the rodents, causing them to urinate, which can increase your chance of getting sick,” the CDC’s web site warns.
Whereas some New Yorkers imagine glue traps are a extra humane pest management methodology than spring traps or poison, many animal specialists and different New Yorkers argue that glue traps are simply as “cruel” and inhumane.Photograph through Getty Photos
Individuals who are available contact with contaminated rodent droppings, urine, or saliva can get one thing referred to as “hantavirus disease,” which is a uncommon however critical sickness that primarily impacts the respiratory system. Though most circumstances of hantavirus have occurred in states west of the Mississippi River, there have been a number of reported circumstances in New York, in keeping with the state’s Division of Well being.
The elevated danger of human publicity to rodent-borne illnesses is a serious a part of Epstein’s push for the invoice. The traps also can hurt pets, he mentioned, and don’t work in addition to different technique of ridding houses and companies of vermin.
“These products are not only dangerous to humans, they also often harm unintended targets like birds, cats and dogs and are less effective than other pest control methods,” the council member defined.
Scrap glue traps for safer strategies, Epstein says
Animal advocates suggest prevention strategies — comparable to containerizing rubbish and plugging holes in partitions — to attain a rodent-free residence or workplace.
Glue traps will be costly, requiring repeated purchases that may shortly add as much as a excessive price. A six-pack of glue traps will be as a lot as $15 at many main retailers.
“There are other safer, more humane, and more cost-effective options available,” the council member mentioned. “Cities and businesses around the United States are recognizing glue traps’ risks and ending their sale accordingly. New York City should do the same.”
Photograph by William Alatriste through Flickr
Main animal welfare organizations applauded the invoice’s introduction.
“It’s a big day for little animals in New York City thanks to Council Member Harvey Epstein’s proposed glue trap ban, which has the potential to spare countless mice, rats, birds, and other animals from slow, excruciating, and terrifying deaths,” mentioned Tracy Reiman, president of PETA. “Glue traps are merciless, ineffective, and shortly changing into a factor of the previous. PETA encourages New Yorkers to induce their councilmembers to help this lifesaving invoice.
Reiman added that big-box outlets comparable to Goal, CVS and Greenback Tree, have made the selection to finish the sale of glue traps.
Voters for Animal Rights president Allie Taylor described the invoice to New York News as “compassionate governance” on the a part of Epstein.
“We are grateful to Council Member Epstein for his leadership and commitment to compassionate governance,” she mentioned. “Glue traps cause prolonged suffering and indiscriminately harm wildlife, companion animals, and other unintended victims. Prohibiting their sale is a practical step toward reducing unnecessary cruelty and advancing more humane approaches to addressing rodent issues.”
A attainable statewide ban on glue traps
Along with town council’s transfer to ban the traps, comparable laws is being thought-about within the NYS Legislature, aiming for statewide prohibition. New York News wrote about statewide laws in 2024. Earlier than getting elected to the Metropolis Council, Epstein labored on an analogous glue lure ban within the State Meeting.
Immediately, Meeting Member Paula Kay, who represents most of Sullivan County, is taking over the battle of the ban within the state. Her invoice, A10193, would prohibit the “importation, manufacture, sale, distribution and use of glue traps, glue boards, and other adhesive-based rodent traps,” in keeping with its legislative abstract.
The invoice is presently within the Meeting Committee.
