Whether mice, rats or martens: Often the animals are not particularly popular. Marten not infrequently cause damage in the engine compartments of cars, biting the cooling hoses and electric cables and also leaving unsightly scratch marks on the insulating materials. Unfortunately, martens and mice like to nest in attics and then cause far more damage. Broken insulations, urine and feces or stains are the result. No wonder then that many want to get rid of their „subtenants“ as quickly as possible. The following article reveals which animal traps exist and what advantages and disadvantages they have.

The life traps

Basically, it has to be considered that martens are among the protected species in Germany. For this reason, they must not be hunted or killed. Should the marten with a livetrapcaught and then re-exposed, a forester or hunter must always be asked for permission. Life traps are available in a variety of sizes and variants, while manslaughter traps are absolutely forbidden. The benefits of a live trap are that the animal can be released from the trap into freedom without any problems. Thus, the damage is fought, the animal is not tormented or killed. However, if the life trap is made of metal, care should be taken to add leaves or an old one carpetis covered. In particular, stone martens do not like running on such bars, which would not enter the trap without carpet or foliage.

The punch trap – animal cruelty?

Those who want to catch mice, are spoiled for choice between different mouse traps. Often fall traps are offered here. However, these clearly pursue the goal of catching the mouse dead. Blow traps are always provided with an attractive bait for mice, which should attract the mouse. If the mouse approaches the trap, a kick mechanism is automatically triggered. This kills the mouse immediately. Meanwhile, this type of mouse trap is very outdated. In addition to the fact that the animal is killed, the trap has the major disadvantage that it is hardly helpful, especially in case of strong mouse infestation in the apartment, as there are always fall-disgusting mice, which accordingly do not even go near the trap , In addition, the individual trap must be placed particularly well and used efficiently. Without the combination with a bait box or mouse poison, it makes little sense. Mouse traps are not suitable for eliminating the mouse infestation. Also, it is very questionable from an ethical point of view, since the animal, although removed from the apartment, but should not be killed immediately.

The friendly variant

In contrast to the trap, the Trip Trap trap offers significantly more advantages and is a particularly animal-friendly variant. On the market it can already be bought for less than 10 euros. Normally, it is about 22 cm long and weighs only 80 grams. It is an extremely easy trap. It is made of plastic, so that the cleaning of the trap is very simple. However, it is not necessary to do without cleaning, since many mice in the trap facilitate. Clear water and an old rag are all that’s needed to clean the Trip Trap trap. The trap works in such a way that the trap door is folded back and then hooked up with a strap. The bow snaps even at the slightest touch. On the other side of the trap, a bait can be attached because it opens a flap there. In this way, the animal can be released again into freedom and will not be killed.