Mouse Traps

We offer a variety of mouse traps, including traditional snap traps, live capture traps, and electronic traps. Each option is designed to effectively deal with mice, whether you prefer quick elimination or a humane, catch-and-release method.

The best trap depends on your preference. Snap traps provide quick results, while live capture traps allow you to release mice humanely. Electronic traps offer a hands-free solution that’s both efficient and mess-free. For more information, you may find this article helpful.

More than most people buy. Space snap traps every 50cm to 1 metre through the areas where you have found droppings, rather than putting one or two in the middle of a room. Set as many as you can on the first night: mice grow warier of traps over time, so the first night is the easiest catch you will get. A single room usually needs three or four; a loft or a whole ground floor needs a multipack.

Place traps along walls, behind furniture, and near areas where you've seen signs of mouse activity, such as droppings or gnaw marks. Mice typically travel along walls, so placing traps perpendicular to the wall with the bait facing it will increase effectiveness. Our guide to setting up a mouse trap walks through it step by step.

Start by working out which of these you have.

Bait disappearing, trap not sprung. You are using too much. A pea-sized amount, pressed firmly into the trigger pedal or smeared just underneath it, so the mouse has to work at it rather than lick it off the surface. A generous smear lets it feed from the edge without ever putting weight on the pedal. This is the single commonest cause.

Bait untouched. Too few traps, or spaced too far apart. Wrong placement - traps go tight to the wall, at right angles to it, trigger end nearest the skirting, where you have found droppings, not out in open floor. Your scent on the trap, so wear gloves when setting. Or the mice are wary of the traps, which happens once they have met one before: leave traps baited but unset for two or three nights, then set them all on the same night. It is the step most people skip.

If placement and baiting are both right and a week still gives nothing, question the target rather than the method. Old droppings look much like fresh ones, so the activity may have moved on or already stopped - trap where you are finding fresh droppings, not where you first heard something. And scratching overhead isn't always mice; squirrels and birds in a loft sound very similar and won't go near a mouse trap.

Catching steadily is a good sign, but if new mice keep arriving after a week, something is replenishing them. Usually one of three things: an unsealed entry point letting new mice in from outside, a nest nearby that is still producing, or too few traps to keep up with the numbers. Work round the outside and close the gaps with proofing while you keep trapping, and add more traps rather than moving the ones you have.

A set trap is a mechanical hazard, so placement matters. Keep traps out of reach of children and pets, or house the trap inside a lockable mouse bait station, which lets the mouse in but keeps fingers and paws out. Always read and follow the instructions supplied with the trap.

Yes, many of our mouse traps, including snap traps, live capture traps, and electronic traps, are reusable. Just be sure to clean them after each use following the manufacturer's instructions.

No new droppings where you were finding them, no fresh gnawing and no night-time scratching, for two to three weeks. Even once activity stops, leave one or two traps set to monitor - if anything comes back, the trap tells you before the droppings do. Our guide to monitoring for rodents covers what to look for.

Snap and electronic traps kill without any active substance, and live-catch traps don't kill at all. Proofing products such as wire wool, door sweeps and air brick covers work purely as a physical barrier, and our attractant gels are lures rather than rodenticides. To avoid poison altogether, start with proofing to close the entry points, then trapping to clear whatever is already inside.

Once you’ve eliminated the rodents, prevention is key. Use rodent proofing products to seal entry points in your home, store food in airtight containers, and regularly clean up food debris. We also offer rodent repellents that create a barrier to help prevent future infestations.