The use of glue traps by Pest Management professionals to control mice and rats is a widely used practice in numerous civil, industrial, and livestock settings. In fact, glue traps represent an effective tool, ideal in sensitive areas such as kitchens, warehouses and production environments, where it is essential to contain infestations and reduce the risk of contamination.

However, their use raises important critical issues, related both to the high level of suffering to which the captured rodent is subjected and to the risk of accidental capture of non-target species, especially when the traps are used without adequate protection or in outdoor environments.

In recent years, these issues have led to a strong awareness of the negative consequences of improper use of glue traps, prompting several countries to limit or even ban their use in rodent control.

Although the European Union has not yet enacted any regulations or provisions on this matter, in Italy numerous municipal administrations have approved regulations prohibiting the use, possession, and sale of glue traps.

However, we believe that a complete ban on the use of these devices is inappropriate: if used responsibly, controlledly, and in well-defined contexts, glue plates can be a resource available to pest control professionals to solve specific problems that would otherwise be difficult to manage. The use of glue traps should therefore be subject to the occurrence of certain conditions and the adoption of specific mitigation measures.

In this still uncertain regulatory landscape, our technical team has developed a document based on operational experience in the field and an analysis of the main critical issues encountered in the use of glue traps. The aim is to make a positive contribution to the ongoing debate by presenting a proposal for guidelines for the responsible use of glue plates by professionals.

1. Temporariness: glue traps should not be used as a permanent control system or monitoring technique. These can constitute a temporary solution, to be adopted when other techniques do not prove effective for solving a specific and documented problem, which cannot otherwise be solved.

2. Actual necessity: the use of this technique must be justified by a real necessity. This condition should be documented through detailed monitoring reports, which report the techniques already adopted, the results obtained, the operating methods and the expected timelines, demonstrating how the use of glue traps allows for the desired results to be achieved.

3. Localised application: on the basis of the monitoring reports, the specific zones must be identified, that is, the zones of limited extension with respect to the overall area covered by the intervention, in which the use of this technique is indispensable. Instead, alternative solutions and techniques will have to be adopted for all the remaining areas covered by the intervention.

4. Exclusion of outdoor areas: glue traps should be used only in indoor areas, where the presence of non-target species (reptiles, birds, bats or other small mammals) has not been reported.

5. Frequency of checks: Frequent checks, at least daily, must be carried out to reduce the suffering of captured animals. Controls may be delegated to the company’s internal staff, in the presence of appropriate emergency procedures (see next point).

6. Emergency procedures: The end customer or operator of the intervention site should be provided with guidance on how to remove any non-target animals captured, with an indication of the methods and products to be used.

7. Periodic check: the need to continue with the use of glue traps must be continuously evaluated during the intervention, preferably on a weekly basis. Any verification shall be properly documented through timely reports and traps shall be removed as soon as the conditions justifying their use are no longer met.

8. Protected use: A key measure to mitigate the impact on non-target species is to provide for the use of glue traps only if they are adequately protected. In particular, the traps must be used inside special locations, so as to limit access to species larger than a mouse or rat; or placed in locations accessible only to the rodents being treated.