Every year, millions of animals — from mice and rats to birds, lizards, and even pet cats — meet one of the most drawn-out, agonizing deaths imaginable, all because of a product you can pick up at any corner hardware store for a few dollars: the glue trap.

Congress, New York City, and New York State lawmakers are now moving to change that. We’re proud to support these efforts and we need your help to get these bills across the finish line.

What Is a Glue Trap?

A glue trap — also called a glue board or sticky trap — is a flat sheet coated in a thick, non-drying adhesive, typically set along walls or in corners to catch rodents. The idea is straightforward: an animal walks across it, gets stuck, and can’t escape.

What happens next is not straightforward at all. It is slow. It is terrifying. And it is entirely preventable.

The Reality: Hours or Days of Suffering

When an animal is caught on a glue trap, there is no quick death. The animal struggles violently to free itself — and in doing so, often tears off fur, feathers, or skin. Animals have been found with broken limbs from the effort of trying to escape. Some chew off their own legs.

If no one checks the trap quickly, the animal dies slowly from starvation, dehydration, and exhaustion — a process that can take several days. The glue itself burns exposed skin, eyes, and mucous membranes. Animals caught on glue traps frequently suffocate when their faces become pressed against the adhesive. Others die of stress-induced cardiac arrest.

Mice and rats — the animals most commonly targeted by these products — are highly intelligent, social creatures who experience fear and physical pain. Subjecting any sentient animal to this kind of prolonged suffering, for any reason, is unconscionable.

They Don’t Even Work

Here’s the part the pest control industry doesn’t advertise: glue traps are also remarkably ineffective.

A University of Nebraska study found that snap traps captured 54 mice out of 96 traps — a capture rate of 56% — while glue traps caught just 4 mice, a capture rate of only 8.3%. Why? Because glue traps are highly sensitive to environmental conditions. Dust, humidity, and temperature changes all degrade the adhesive, often before it catches anything at all.

Meanwhile, removing one mouse or rat from a building does nothing to prevent the next one from walking in. And as long as entry points remain open, food is accessible, and there is shelter, more animals will come. Glue traps are a band-aid approach to a structural problem — and an unnecessarily cruel one at that.

The CDC itself recommends against the use of glue traps, warning that trapped animals produce urine, feces, and blood that can expose humans to disease — meaning glue traps don’t just fail animals. They can fail people, too.

The Real Solution: Exclusion and Sanitation

The most effective and humane approach to managing rodent populations doesn’t involve killing animals at all. Pest management professionals call it integrated pest management (IPM), and it focuses on making your space inhospitable to rodents in the first place. Here’s what that looks like in practice:

Seal entry points. Rodents can squeeze through gaps smaller than a dime. Inspect your walls, floors, and foundation for cracks, gaps around pipes, and holes near vents. Seal them with steel wool, caulk, or hardware cloth. No entry, no rodents.

Eliminate food sources. Store all food — including pet food — in sealed, hard-sided containers. Don’t leave food out overnight. Clean up crumbs and spills promptly.

Containerize trash properly. Use bins with tight-fitting lids and keep them away from building entrances. In dense urban environments like New York City, unsecured trash is one of the biggest drivers of rodent activity.

Reduce clutter. Rodents thrive in clutter, which provides hiding spots and nesting material. Declutter storage areas, especially in basements and attics.

Use humane traps. If you need to catch an animal, live traps are a far more humane option. Release animals at least a mile from your home to prevent their return.

These steps require more effort upfront than placing a sticky trap, but they are the only approaches that actually work long-term.

Glue Traps Don’t Just Harm “Pest” Animals

One of the most overlooked harms of glue traps is their impact on non-target animals — wildlife and companion animals that are never meant to be caught.

Birds of all kinds, including protected species, have been found trapped on glue boards placed near windows, on rooftops, and along ledges. Lizards, frogs, and snakes are captured regularly. Squirrels, chipmunks, and other small mammals are frequent victims. Pet cats and small dogs have been found stuck to glue traps left in apartments and basements.

Because the adhesive is entirely indiscriminate, glue traps pose a real threat to urban wildlife, including species protected under federal and state law. A bird caught on a glue trap often sustains severe injuries even if it is eventually freed — feathers stripped, wings damaged, skin torn. Many don’t survive.

There is simply no way to design a glue trap that only catches the animal you’re targeting.

New York Is Moving to Ban Them — and We Need Your Support

Lawmakers in both New York City and Albany have heard enough. Two strong pieces of legislation are now working their way through the legislative process, and your support is critical to seeing them pass.

New York City: Int. No. 531-2026

Introduced on February 12, 2026, by Council Member Harvey Epstein and co-sponsored by Council Members Farías, Louis, Marte, Hanif, Brooks-Powers, and Wilson, Int. No. 531 would prohibit the sale, offer for sale, or distribution of glue traps anywhere in New York City. Violations would carry civil penalties of up to $500 per violation. The bill is currently before the Committee on Consumer and Worker Protection.

New York State: A.10193 / S.3046

At the state level, two companion bills would ban glue traps in government owned and leased buildings. In the Assembly, Assembly Member Paula Kay introduced A.10193, and in the Senate, Senator Jabari Brisport introduced S.3046, co-sponsored by Senators Hoylman-Sigal and Martinez. Together, these bills would prohibit the use of glue traps in any government owned and leased buildings statewide.

New York would join a growing number of jurisdictions taking this stand. West Hollywood became the first U.S. city to ban glue traps when its City Council voted unanimously in April 2023, followed by Ojai in March 2024. A federal bill — the Glue Trap Prohibition Act of 2024 (H.R. 7018) — was introduced in Congress by Rep. Ted Lieu, and glue traps are already banned in England, Iceland, Ireland, and New Zealand. Momentum is building, and New York has an opportunity to lead.

What You Can Do Right Now

Animals caught in glue traps can’t speak for themselves. But you can.

Sign our petition to ban glue traps in nationwide. Every signature sends a message to our Congressional lawmakers that Americans want this cruelty off our shelves — and out of our city entirely.

👉 Sign the petition to ban glue traps in the United States 

If you live in New York, you can:

• Take action on the NYC glue trap ban — contact your City Council Member and urge them to support Int. No. 531-2026.
• Take action on the NYS glue trap ban — contact your State Assembly Member and urge them to co-sponsor A.10193/S.3046.
• Share this post with your networks. The more people know what glue traps actually do, the harder they are to defend.

Glue traps are sold as a simple solution to a common problem. But there is nothing simple about the suffering they cause — and there is no justification for it when better, more effective, and more humane alternatives exist.