Twelve Indian states—including Andhra Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Goa, Madhya Pradesh, Mizoram, Sikkim, Telangana, and West Bengal—have joined Norway, the Netherlands, Germany, England, Iceland, Ireland, New Zealand, and two states and one territory in Australia in banning glue traps. And hundreds of companies and other entities have prohibited their sale or use. These bans will help animals—including mice, squirrels, and birds—who may endure slow, agonizing deaths after being caught in these inhumane devices.
What Is a Glue Trap?
A glue trap is a small board made of cardboard, fiberboard, or plastic that’s coated with a sticky adhesive. It can ensnare any small animal who wanders across or lands on its surface.
Glue Traps: Inhumane, Dangerous, and Ineffective
Animals trapped in the glue panic and struggle, which causes them to become even more helplessly stuck. Often, the glue tears off their fur, feathers, or skin. Some break bones or even chew off their own limbs in a desperate attempt to escape. The screaming of ensnared wildlife is extremely upsetting to people who don’t know how to “dispose” of these sentient beings. Left alone, the terrified, injured animals die, sometimes days later, of blood loss, shock, suffocation, or thirst. Or they die from being crushed in the garbage, which is where the instructions on the traps advise consumers to put them.
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention warns the public not to use glue traps because they increase people’s exposure to disease. Animals stuck in the glue continue to produce urine and feces, through which pathogens, including hantavirus, salmonella, and the bacteria that cause leptospirosis, are transmitted.
Glue traps are not a long-term solution for controlling “unwanted houseguests.” When rodents are killed, the survivors breed faster, which causes an increase in the population! And the devices fail to address the source of the problem: If holes aren’t plugged up and attractants aren’t removed, more animals will move in to take the place of those who have been killed.
Places That Have Taken Action Against Glue Traps
In addition to the countries that have already banned glue traps nationwide, others are catching on. France banned the use of glue traps to hunt birds; in Australia, the Australian Capital Territory, Tasmania, and Victoria banned the traps; and the U.K. has proposed a ban on them.
Well-known companies and institutions—including JPMorgan Chase & Co., American Eagle Outfitters, more than 100 airports nationwide, and even the New York City Police Department—have also sworn off vile, unsanitary, and ineffective traps, and massive corporations such as Rite Aid, Dollar General, Family Dollar, Dollar Tree, Dollar Tree Canada, Target, and Walgreens have stopped selling them. But others have not yet done so.
The following entities don’t use glue traps:
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- 1st American Storage (American Spectrum Realty)
- A-1 Self Storage
- A-AAAKey Mini Storage
- Adelphi Theatre
- Advanced Micro Devices
- Albuquerque International Sunport
- Aldwych Theatre
- Allegheny County Airport
- Ally Financial
- American Eagle Outfitters
- Ameriprise Financial
- Amsdell Companies
- Arizona Department of Administration
- Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum
- Athleta
- Atlantic City International Airport
- Auditorium Theatre
- AvalonBay Communities
- Baco Realty (Security Public Storage)
- Balboa Theatre
- Banana Republic
- Bank of America
- Bank of New York Mellon
- Bank of the West
- Bell Partners
- Billy Bishop Toronto City Airport
- Block Island State Airport
- BMO Harris Bank
- BOK Financial
- Bolton Field Airport
- Books-A-Million
- Boston Logan International Airport
- Boston Marine Industrial Park
- Bowman Field
- Bradley International Airport
- Branch Banking and Trust Company
- Buck or Two Plus!
- Buffalo-Niagara International Airport
- BWI Marshall Airport
- Cadillac Palace Theatre
- Camden Property Trust
- Carroll County Public Schools—Maryland
- CBS New York
- Centennial Hall
- Central Technical School—Ontario
- Cerner Corporation
- Charles B. Wheeler Downtown Airport
- Charles Schwab
- Charlotte Douglas International Airport
- Chicago O’Hare International Airport
- Chicago Midway International Airport
- Chicago Transit Authority
- CIBC Theatre
- Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport
- Circle Centre—Indianapolis
- CIT Group
- Citigroup
- Citizens Financial Group
- City National Civic of San Jose
- City National Grove of Anaheim
- City of Cartersville, Georgia
- City of Eugene, Oregon
- Claremont Graduate University—California
- Comerica Inc.
- Compass Group North America
- Compass Self Storage
- CubeSmart
- CVS
- Dade-Collier Training and Transition Airport
- Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport
- Dallas Executive Airport
- Dallas Love Field Airport
- Danielson Airport
- Delaware North Companies Parks and Resorts (Sequoia National Park)
- Denver International Airport
- Dillingham Airfield
- Doc’s Drugs, Ltd.
- Dolby Theatre
- Dominion Theatre
- Durham Performing Arts Center
- Eagle Creek Airpark
- Eastern Virginia Medical Center
- Ellington Airport
- Eppley Airfield
- Extra Space Storage
- ezStorage
- Family Dollar
- Fashion Institute of Technology—New York
- Federal Realty Investment Trust
- Fifth Third Bank
- First Horizon National Corporation
- First Niagara Financial Group
- Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood Airport
- Gap
- George Bush Intercontinental Airport
- Georgia Institute of Technology
- Gershwin Theatre
- Goldman Sachs
- Grand Haven Area Public Schools—Michigan
- Great Value Storage
- Greater Essex County District School Board—Ontario
- Groton-New London Airport
- Hana Airport
- Harrisburg Area Community College—Pennsylvania
- Hartford-Brainard Airport
- Hayward Unified School District—California
- Henderson Executive Airport
- Hendricks County Airport–Gordon Graham Field
- Hillsboro Airport
- Hilo International Airport
- Hodo Soy Beanery
- Hollywood Burbank Airport
- Hollywood Pantages Theatre
- Home Depot
- Honolulu International Airport
- HSBC Holdings
- Indianapolis Downtown Heliport
- Indianapolis International Airport
- Indianapolis Metropolitan Airport
- Indianapolis Regional Airport
- Intermix
- Internal Revenue Service
- iStorage
- James M. Nederlander Theatre
- Janie and Jack
- Jean Sport Aviation Center
- John C. Tune Airport
- John F. Kennedy International Airport
- John Glenn Columbus International Airport
- John Wayne Airport
- Johns Hopkins University—Maryland
- JPMorgan Chase & Co.
- Kahului Airport
- Kaiser Permanente
- Kalaeloa Airport
- Kalaupapa Airport
- Kansas City International Airport
- Kapalua Airport
- KeyCorp
- Kimpton Hotel & Restaurant Group
- Knox County Schools—Tennessee
- Kona International Airport
- LAACO (Storage West)
- LaGuardia Airport
- Lanai Airport
- Lehigh University—Pennsylvania
- Le Moyne College—New York
- Lena Horne Theatre
- Lewisville Independent School District—Texas
- Life Time Fitness
- Lihue Airport
- Lincoln Property Company
- Los Angeles County Museum of Art
- Los Angeles International Airport
- Louis Armstrong New Orleans International Airport
- Louisville International Airport
- Lunt-Fontanne Theatre
- Manchester Boston Regional Airport
- Marquis Theatre
- Martin State Airport
- Massachusetts Museum of Contemporary Art
- McCarron International Airport
- Memphis International Airport
- MetLife, Inc.
- Metropolitan Museum of Art
- Miami International Airport
- Miami-Opa Locka Executive Airport
- Miami Executive Airport
- Miami Homestead General Aviation Airport
- Mid-America Apartment Communities
- Millard Airport
- Millennium Partners Sports Club Management, LLC
- Milwaukee Mitchell International Airport
- Minskoff Theatre
- Minneapolis Institute of Art
- Molokai Airport
- Montefiore Medical Center—New York
- Morgan Stanley
- Morningstar Properties
- Move It Self Storage
- Museum of Fine Arts Boston
- Nashville International Airport
- National Gallery of Art
- National Restaurant Association
- Nederlander Organization
- Nederlander Theatre
- Neil Simon Theatre
- New York City Health and Hospitals Corporation
- New York City Police Department
- New York Community Bancorp, Inc
- Newark Liberty International Airport
- Newport State Airport
- Niagara Falls International Airport
- Norfolk International Airport
- North Central State Airport
- North Charleston Performing Arts Center
- North Las Vegas Airport
- North Palm Beach County General Aviation Airport
- North Perry Airport
- Northern Arizona University
- Oklahoma City Civic Center Music Hall
- Old Navy
- Ontario International Airport Authority
- Page Field
- Palace Theatre
- Palm Beach County Glades Airport
- Palm Beach County Park Airport
- Palm Beach International Airport
- People’s United Financial, Inc.
- Perkins Field
- Peter O. Knight Airport
- Phoenix Deer Valley Airport
- Phoenix Goodyear Airport
- Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport
- Pinnacle Family of Companies
- Pittsburgh International Airport
- Plant City Airport
- Platinum Storage Group
- PNC Bank
- Port Allen Airport
- Portland International Airport
- Portland-Troutdale Airport
- Presidente Supermarkets—Miami
- Prince George’s County Memorial Library System—Maryland
- Princeton Public Schools—New Jersey
- Public Storage
- Quonset Airport
- Raleigh-Durham International Airport
- Regions Financial Corporation
- Reno-Stead Airport
- Reno-Tahoe International Airport
- Richard Rodgers Theatre
- Rickenbacker International Airport
- Rio Management
- Rogue Regional Medical Center—Oregon
- Ryan Airfield
- Safeguard Self Storage
- San Diego Civic Theatre
- San Diego International Airport
- San Francisco International Airport
- San Jose Center for the Performing Arts
- San Jose International Airport
- Siemens Brazil
- Skyline Theater at The Long Center
- Southwest Florida International Airport
- Sovran Self Storage (Uncle Bob’s)
- Starbucks Canada
- State Street Corporation
- State University of New York at New Paltz
- Steven Tanger Center for the Performing Arts
- Stewart International Airport
- StorageMart
- Strategic Storage Trust
- Sun Loan Company
- SunTrust Banks, Inc.
- T.F. Green Airport
- Tampa Executive Airport
- Tampa International Airport
- Teavana
- Teays Valley Local School District—Ohio
- Ted Stevens Anchorage International Airport
- Temple Israel of Boston
- Teterboro Airport
- The Broadway Playhouse
- The National Theatre
- The Travelers Companies
- Toronto District School Board—Ontario
- Tractor Supply Company
- Trump Taj Mahal
- Tucson International Airport
- U-Haul International
- UnionBanCal Corporation
- United Services Automobile Association
- Universal Storage Group
- University at Albany, State University of New York
- University of California–San Francisco Medical Center
- University of Washington—Seattle
- Upolu Airport
- USA Drug (Stephen LaFrance Pharmacy)
- U.S. Bancorp
- U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
- U.S. General Services Administration, Northeast Region
- U.S. Postal Service
- Van Nuys Airport
- Vina Robles Amphitheatre
- Virginia Beach Property Management Company
- Virginia Museum of Fine Arts
- Waimea-Kohala Airport
- Walgreens
- Waterbury-Oxford Airport
- WCRE Group
- Wells Fargo
- Westat
- Westerly State Airport
- Westport Properties (US Storage Centers)
- William P. Hobby Airport
- William Warren Group (StorQuest)
- Windham Airport
- Winnipeg School Division—Manitoba
- W.P. Carey
The following companies stopped selling glue traps:
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- Atlantic Superstore
- The Bargain! Shop
- Big Lots
- Big W (part of Woolworths Limited)
- Bloor Street Market
- Box by No Frills
- Bulkley Valley Wholesale
- Buy-Low Foods
- C&K Market
- Casey’s General Stores, Inc.
- Choices Markets’
- Coborn’s Pharmacy
- CVS
- Doc’s Drugs, Ltd.
- Dollar Days International
- Dollar General
- Dollar Tree
- Dollar Tree Canada
- Dominion
- Drugstore.com
- Duane Reade
- Extra Foods
- Fagen Pharmacy
- Family Dollar
- FIELDS
- Fortinos
- Gelson’s Markets
- Giant Tiger
- Home Retail Group
- Independent City Market
- JONS International Marketplace
- Loblaws
- Loblaws City Market
- Louis & Clark Drug, Inc.
- Marsh Supermarkets
- Maxi
- Maxi & Cie
- Meinhart Fine Foods
- Morton Drug Company
- Morton Pharmacy
- Natural Ginesis
- Nature’s Fare
- Nesters Market
- No Frills
- Northern Tool + Equipment
- Nugget Markets
- Overwaitea Foods
- PriceSmart Foods
- Provigo
- Publishers Clearing House
- Pure Integrative Pharmacy
- Quality Foods
- QuikTrip
- Real Canadian Superstore
- Red Apple
- Rite Aid
- Rossy
- Save-On-Foods
- Save Easy
- Sheridan Nurseries
- Shop Easy
- Shoppers Drug Mart
- Shoppers Food and Pharmacy
- Solway Feeders—U.K.
- Target
- Tools & Garden Ltd
- TotalVac, Inc.
- Urban Fare
- USA Drug (Stephen LaFrance Pharmacy)
- U.S. Dollar Store
- Valu-mart
- Walgreens
- Walmart Canada
- Your Independent Grocer
- Zehrs
Don’t Be a Bystander—Take Action Against Glue Trap Cruelty
If you ever see that glue traps are being used to capture and kill animals, contact those responsible, ask them to remove all traps immediately and pledge not to use them again, and then contact PETA.
If an animal is stuck in a glue trap, pour a small amount of cooking oil or baby oil onto the stuck areas (avoiding the animal’s nose and mouth to prevent suffocation) and gently work the animal free. Injured or weak animals must be rushed to a nearby veterinarian or wildlife rehabilitator. Note that it’s illegal in the U.S. to use glue traps for wild-bird control, so if you see a bird caught in a glue trap, please immediately alert your state wildlife or local animal control officials.
Whenever you see glue traps being sold, send a polite letter to the store manager. Ask them to stop selling the traps and point out the many companies and entities that have already sworn off or pulled glue traps and opted for less cruel methods instead.
Take Action to End Glue Trap Sales
Thanks to caring consumers like you who have taken action, the list of entities that have prohibited using and selling glue traps is growing. Urge others to follow suit:
