I have a mouse in my apartment, and he’s a clever one. Clever enough, in fact, that he’s managed to avoid the very tempting baited snap traps I’ve placed around the areas of the kitchen where I’ve seen him appear.
Since those snap traps haven’t been working, I recently swapped them out for glue boards. In my experience, these do a better job of catching mice and blocking off potential points of entry.
At the moment, the method of pest control I use to keep uninvited, potentially diseased rodents out of my home is a personal, private choice I have the freedom to make. A new bill from Rep. Ted Lieu (D–Calif.) would make me a federal criminal.
Earlier this week, Lieu unveiled the “Glue Trap Prohibition Act of 2024,” which would amend federal pesticide regulations to ban the sale and use of glue traps.
The penalties for violating the specific subchapter that Lieu is inserting his glue trap ban into include fines of up to $5,000 per offense for commercial violators and $1,000 fines for individuals. That subchapter also allows criminal penalties—including up to a year’s imprisonment for commercial violators and 30 days imprisonment for private persons who violate the law.
Should Lieu’s bill become law, the three glue boards I have in my kitchen would open me up to $3,000 in fines and maybe a month in federal lockup.
The congressman justifies his glue trap ban on humanitarian and health grounds.
Hellbound and Down 