Best mouse traps 2024: Say goodbye to your little friends

While any infestation in general is deeply unpleasant, a rodent infestation is among the worst kind to find yourself lumbered with. With rats, you’ll know you have them as they tend to be aggressive and have little fear of humans, but when it comes to mice, these timid little potential carriers of HPS, Leptospirosis, lymphocytic choriomeningitis, plague, and typhus can be shy and retiring, so you may not even know you have mice until you find droppings or chewed packaging and food.

The good news is that finding evidence of one mouse does not necessarily mean you have an actual infestation on your hands. But, if you don’t take immediate action to rid yourself of the pest you do have, an infestation is likely to follow.

Fortunately, while mice are generally considered to be quite intelligent, they are not that smart when it comes to avoiding traps, which means that if you act quickly and invest in a quality trap, your pest problem could well be ended before it truly begins. But which trap is right for you? Let us explain.

Best mouse traps: At a glance

• Best mouse trap around kids and pets: Pest-Stop Mouse Bait Station | £2.95
• Best mouse trap for the squeamish: Rentokil Clean Kill Mouse Traps | £12
• Best mouse trap for catch and release: IIWEY Humane Mouse Trap | £9.99

How to choose the best mouse trap for your home

Why have I got mice?

Your home is providing the two things that mice love best: food and shelter. In the case of the latter, during colder months rodents seek shelter and your lovely warm house is ideal, especially if you leave crumbs from food lying around and/or leave food out in easy to access areas. And don’t forget that ‘easy to access’ means something different to a mouse: for instance, this can also include cupboards if there are gaps behind your cupboards and underneath your floorboards.

READ NEXT: Keep an eye on your home with the best home security camera

Are lethal mouse traps messy?

Yes, they can be, and especially so if you insist on using old-school basic snap traps. If you want to go down the lethal trap route, then we’d advise using one of the more advanced modern options which are guaranteed to kill a mouse outright rather than causing a cruel injury – they guarantee a more humane kill. Which one is the best for you depends on a number of factors, including where your mouse or mice are active, whether there might be a risk to children or pets, and how confident you are handling either the remains of a mouse or, indeed, a live mouse.

Then there’s the question of bait. Mice are suckers for sweet or fatty food and the stickier the better, to go with things like peanut butter, soft cheese, or wet cat food for good results.

So what are my mouse trap options?

There are far smarter options that can offer a 100% clean kill rate, either using a sprung bar system, rodenticide poison bait, an electric shock or even catch and release traps which keep the mouse alive and allow you to set it free away from your home. Most offer a more humane means of extermination and also – as an added bonus to those unkeen on handling mice in any state – a ‘no touch’ (and sometimes even ‘no see’) means of disposal.

We’ve selected some of the best examples of each below, so choose your trap and get that mouse out of your house!

READ NEXT: Our pick of the top mops

The best mouse traps to buy in 2024

1. Rentokil Clean Kill Mouse Traps – 2 pack: Best mouse trap for the squeamish

Price: £12 | Buy now from HomebaseRentokil is a company that’s been dealing with pests since 1925, so it puts its name to a product and guarantees a clean kill, you know you can trust it.

The Clean Kill traps are discreet, easy to use and poison-free. Simply bait them with your choice of lure and, following the instructions on the trap itself, pull the kill bar up into position. Once ready, place the trap against the wall where activity has been detected and wait.

Once you can see that the kill bar has sprung, you’ll know you’ve caught and killed your mouse, so now to get rid of it; which is where this Rentokil option continues to assist those with more than a touch of musophobia (fear of mice). Thanks to the design of the front tube, the mouse can be easily dropped into a bag or bin without having to even see it, let alone touch it.

Key specs – Pest control method: Kill bar; Pest control type: Lethal; Usage: Indoor/outdoor

Buy now from Homebase

2. BOMPOW Snap Mouse Traps – 4 pack: Best cheap mouse trap

Price: £7.99 | Buy now from AmazonIf you’ve got a problem with considerably more than just a few mice, then you’re going to need more traps. That can get a little expensive, but if you just want the job done and you don’t mind cleaning up a little mess, then Bompow have just the thing for you.

A set of four, the Bompow Snap Traps were initially developed to stop mice stealing the snacks of its own staff, but after proving such a success they brought them to the mass market.

They’re designed to be both highly effective and safe to use: a bar-setting button at the back of the trap stops any need to put your fingers at risk at the front, while a bottom release bait cup simply screws in once loaded, keeping the chances of finger-based injury further at bay.

Built of durable ABS plastic, the Bompow has powerful, sensitive sprung jaws, so as soon as a mouse takes the bait the trap will spring, snapping your problem pest’s neck instantly. Once the job is done, you can simply carry the trap to the bin and release the jaws to drop the mouse straight in. Then just clean and reuse.

Key specs – Pest control method: Snap trap; Pest control type: Lethal; Usage: Indoor/outdoor

3. IIWEY Humane Mouse Trap: Best mouse trap for catch & release

Price: £9.99 | Buy now from AmazonIf you don’t like the idea of literal or figurative mice blood on your hands, Iiwey’s humane, non-lethal catch and release traps are a good option.

Here the trick is to bait the trap with something as simple as, say, peanuts, positioning one inside the middle of the trap and one just outside the door to lure the mouse over and into the trap. Once the trap is sprung the metal-reinforced door snaps down faster than any mere mouse can move and – voila! – your mouse is stuck safely inside, ready for you to release it into the great outdoors.

This humane trap option from Iiwey is ruggedly built, features a long 32cm cage to allow your mouse plenty of movement, and uses a pressure plate to trigger door closure, ensuring the mouse is deep enough inside the trap to avoid clipping its tail. Easy to clean afterwards with just water, it is ready to be used again instantly.

Key specs – Pest control method: Catch & Release; Pest control type: Non-lethal; Usage: Indoor/outdoor

4. Pest-Stop Mouse Bait Station: Best mouse trap around children and pets

Price: £2.95 | Buy now from Screwfix

When it comes households with young, curious children and pets, snap trap are not suitable. After all, little fingers – and paws – can easily wander where they shouldn’t.
This is where the Pest-Stop Mouse Bait Station comes in.

Bait stations tend to be the weapon of choice with pest elimination professionals as they’re secure, discreet and very effective. Okay, we’re in the realms of rodenticide here, but if you must use poison bait, then a bait station is the best way to deploy it.

It couldn’t be simpler to use. Unlock the trap with the supplied key, secure your rodenticide bait inside, lock securely and position your station where necessary. The mouse will scent the irresistible bait, enter the station, eat a lethal dose and then return to its nest where it will die, usually one or two days later.

It may not be quick, and it may not be the nicest way for a mouse to go, but it will eliminate your issue without putting children and/or pets in harm’s way.

Key specs – Pest control method: Poison bait; Pest control type: Lethal; Usage: Indoor/outdoor

Buy now from Screwfix

5. Victor Electronic Mouse Trap: Best mouse trap for a humane kill

Price: £33 | Buy now from AmazonIf all thought of snapping necks and death through poisoning is all too much, and the thought of having to go near a live mouse for catch and release is unbearable, then there is another – albeit pricier – method to rid your home of mice: electronic.

Introducing the Victor Electronic Mouse Trap, a self-contained unit with an efficiency rate that is positively shocking. Stating a 100% kill guarantee, the Victor is battery powered (4x AA) to deliver an electric shock that kills mice cleanly within seconds once it senses that a mouse has entered the tunnel. What’s more, a green indicator light will activate afterwards to inform you a kill has been made.

Easy to bait via a removable kill chamber, this also means that disposal of the remains is a ‘no see, no touch’ experience too, making it ideal for those on the delicate side when it comes to pests.

A built-in safety switch deactivates the trap when opened to keep you safe from nasty shocks, and the kill chamber is easy to clean and ready to use again immediately. The batteries last for 100 uses.

Key specs – Pest control method: Electronic; Pest control type: Lethal; Usage: Indoor