Best Mouse Trap – Buyer’s Guide

When you hear the sounds of little footsteps scurrying through your home and see small black pellets on your floor, it’s time to invest in a good mousetrap. Field and house mice seek shelter in homes when the weather gets cold or rainy. The 10 best mouse traps on the market will rid your home of those annoying creatures once and for all.

Best Mouse Trap Reviews of 2024

Product	Size, in	Pack	Type	Use
Victor Electronic Rat Trap (Editor’s Choice)	5 x 4.3 x 9	4	Electronic	Indoor	Check Price
Rat Zapper RZC001 Classic Rat Trap	12 x 4.3 x 4.5	4	Electronic	Indoor	Check Price
Automatic Humane Non-Toxic Rat and Mouse Trap	8.5 x 6 x 3	1	Automaticall	Outdoor Indoor	Check Price
Victor Tin Cat Humane Live Mouse Trap Clear Lid	10.4 x 6.3 x 1.9	12	Humane mechanical	Indoor	Check Price
JT Eaton 409BULK Jawz Plastic Mouse Trap	9.2 x 9.1 x 4.8	24	Traditional mechanical	Outdoor Indoor	Check Price
Tomcat Press'N Set Mouse Trap	7.9 x 5 x 2.1	4	Traditional mechanical	Outdoor Indoor	Check Price
Ultrasonic Pest Repeller Repels Away Rodents	2.5 x 1.2 x 4.3	1	Ultrasonic electromagnetic	Indoor	Check Price
Anzonto Electronic Rat Trap	8.6 x 5.1 x 4.1	1	Electronic	Indoor	Check Price
Hoont Powerful Electronic Rodent Trap	11 x 4.5 x 5	1	Electronic	Indoor	Check Price
Victor Multi-Kill Electronic Mouse Trap M2524	8.5 x 4 x 5	1	Electronic	Indoor	Check Price

1. Victor Electronic Rat Trap – Best for Large Infestations

One of the best options for those dealing with a large infestation is this set of traps from Victor, which gives you four traps that will work on up to 50 mice and other small animals. It uses a high voltage current that shocks and kills animals quickly and more humanely than old-fashioned mouse traps do.

Though the traps have a special design that keeps mice and rats trapped inside, larger animals can become trapped in the opening.

Designed for indoor use, we highly recommend this set for larger homes and residences with a large rat or mouse population. This set lets you trap and kill small pests without ever physically touching those creatures.

2. Rat Zapper RZC001 Classic Rat Trap – Best for Use Around Kids and Pets

Available in sets that come with two, three or four traps, this set from Rat Zapper lets you kill rodents without getting your hands dirty. As it lacks common chemicals and poisons, these traps are safe to use in any home.

The lights on the top of the trap turn red to let you know when it’s time to replace the battery, and this light also lets you know when you have something caught inside.

Your light may occasionally change colors for no reason. It might stay green after an animal runs inside or turn red when the trap is empty and the batteries are fresh.

We recommend the Rat Zapper Classic Rat Trap for those who have AAA batteries on hand and those who want to keep infestations at bay to protect their kids and pets.

3. Automatic Humane Non-Toxic Rat and Mouse Trap – Best for Outdoor Use

This mouse and rat trap offers a quickly and humanely way to kill the pests living around your home. You can set this up to run indoors or outdoors. When used outside, other animals will carry away the bodies to make clean up easier.

One issue with this trap is that rodents will watch how it works and learn how to avoid it. Some smarter pests may even learn how to get the bait out without setting off the trap.

Thanks to an auto reset feature, this trap can save you some time. Once it kills a rodent, which is done with a quick snap of its neck, it will automatically reset itself. The included CO2 canister will kill more than 20 rodents before you need to replace the canister.

This trap gets a good recommendation because it comes with two CO2 canisters and because it’s safe for the environment. You can use it in any indoor or outdoor space for up to six months.

4. Victor Tin Cat Humane Live Mouse Trap Clear Lid – Best Trap for Freeing Rodents

With this humane trap, you can decide between disposing of the rodents you catch or dropping them off at a location far away from your home. It works with any type of bait, including cheese, peanut butter, and crackers.

The end of this trap features just one opening, which isn’t large enough for some rodents to squeeze through. You may find rats, rabbits and even squirrels stuck in that opening.

A clear window on the top makes it easy to see when you caught something. You can then dump the rodents in the forest or a wooded area near your home.

This is a definite buy for those who want to humanely dispose of rodents without killing the creatures. It does have some design flaws like a small opening that some shoppers won’t like.

5. JT Eaton 409BULK Jawz Plastic Mouse Trap – Best for Using by Foot

The simple design of this mouse trap allows you to set it down and get it ready with just your foot instead of using your hand to set the trap. It works with both liquid and solid baits too.

When the trap works, it works great. The problem is that it may come down on a different part of the animal and leave it wounded rather than dead.

The spring inside the trap uses a high level of tension that forces it to come down as quickly as possible. With most smaller mice and other rodents, the trap will kill those animals quickly and painlessly.

Though we want to recommend this product, we’ll give it a thumbs down for now. It doesn’t work effectively on all types of rodents and can stun or injure some animals without killing them.

6. Tomcat Press’N Set Mouse Trap – Best for Small Spaces

Suitable for use inside cabinets and along your baseboards, these traps from Tomcat have a slim design that will fit in almost any space. It takes just one step to set the traps up in your home.

Tomcat opted for a flimsy type of plastic in these traps, and if you leave the traps unattended for a few hours, you may find that you caught mice but that they chewed their way out. There’s a chance that some rodents are too light to set off the trap too.

Once you set one of these traps, you’ll never need to see or touch any mice that you catch. When a mice climbs inside, it sets off a trigger that closes the trap and keeps the pest locked inside.

Despite some issues caused by the cheap plastic, we’ll go ahead and recommend this Tomcat trap. It’s much smaller than others on the market and will fit anywhere in your kitchen or bedroom.

7. Ultrasonic Pest Repeller – Best Ultrasonic Mouse Trap

With this ultrasonic pest repellent, you might see results in just three weeks or less. The manufacturer claims that it works on all types of pests, including rats, mice, cockroaches, and ants.

More than 30% of the reviews of this product point out that it failed to work. You may not like the noise that it makes or the light that shines out of it either.

As this mouse repellent uses ultrasonic sound waves, it serves as an alternative to modern and traditional mouse traps. You can use one in each room of your home without worrying about your kids or pets coming into contact with toxic and dangerous chemicals.

This ultrasonic pest repellent doesn’t get our signature of approval because it has so many negative reviews from past customers. Though it may work in your home, many found that it failed to work and that they saw bugs and rodents walking right by it with no ill effects.

8. Anzonto Electronic Rat Trap – Best Cheap Electronic Trap

As the top electronic trap cheap, this one lets you attack both rats and mice as well as other rodents. Though it looks like a simple black box, it kills rodents quickly and allows you to empty the container right in your trash can.

If you leave the trap unattended for a few hours or overnight, you may find that you need to both empty the container and clean the tray inside.

You can choose between powering this trap with the included AC adapter that fits in any outlet or on battery power. Using both ensures that the trap keeps working and that it never runs out of power.

We give our thumbs up to this electronic mouse trap because it gets great reviews from shoppers who bought and used it in their own homes. You’ll like that you can run it on electric or battery power too.

9. Hoont Powerful Electronic Rodent Trap – Best Electronic Mouse Trap On The Market

Electronic mouse traps like this one use a powerful current of electricity to kill rodents before they’re even aware of a problem. This model lets you use an AC adapter and plug in the trap to an outlet or use a simple battery to power the current.

Though we like the LED light on the top, we don’t like that these light doesn’t always work. It should change from green to red when you catch a pest, but this light may change to red when there is nothing inside or just keep blinking.

Get rid of mice and other rodents in your home without touching those animals with this trap, which has a tray that you can slide out to dump the animal into the trap. That tray also comes out for cleaning to keep the inside hygienic.

We highly recommend this trap for those looking for an affordable way to kill mice and other rodents. Though there are some issues with the built-in LED light, this trap works quickly and efficiently.

10. Victor Multi-Kill Electronic Mouse Trap M260 – Best for Small Infestations

With this trap from Victor, you can kill up to 150 mice and other pests before you need to change the batteries. It features two interior staircases that allows more rodents to get inside at the same time.

Despite running on four C batteries, those batteries may not last as long as the manufacturer claims. When used in areas with a larger infestation, it will require more cleaning and emptying too.

This is a good choice if you have kids at home because as soon as the door opens, the trap will shut itself off. It also comes with a handy power switch and a light that changes from green to yellow and red based on what the trap caught and the battery life.

This Victor trap gets our recommendation because it works so effectively on small infestations. It can kill 10 mice on one setting and kill up to 150 creatures before the batteries run out. You may need something more powerful for a larger infestation.

Best Mouse Trap – Buyer’s Guide

When many people think of mouse traps, they think of those old-fashioned designs that use wood and metal. These traps have a wood base and a spring that attaches to a metal piece. You put bait on the spring and lift the metal hinge. When a mouse steps foot on the trigger, the spring causes the hinge to drop down. Though those traps can work effectively, there is a chance that the hinge might break the mouse’s leg or injure it in another way without actually killing it.

Modern mouse traps use new designs and features that do a better job of catching and killing mice as well as other types of rodents. You can use our buyer’s guide to find out everything you need to know about buying the best traps for your home and using those traps.

How Do Mouse Traps Work?

Contemporary mouse traps use either AC or battery power. That power supplies a constant current that runs across the bottom of the trap. When a mouse gets inside, the current sends out a jolt or a shock that kills the mouse almost instantly. These traps work on mice and rats as well as other rodents and pests living in and around your home like squirrels.

Traps vs. Repellents vs. Collectors

Before you begin shopping, you need to look at the differences between a trap, repellent and a collector. Repellents are devices that require an outlet to work. These devices are usually small enough to use in a tight space without getting in your way. Most release a type ultrasonic frequency or a high-pitched sound that only animals can hear. This sound repels the rodents and pushes them away from your home. These devices do not work as well as you might like though and will usually only cover a small area of space. You may need to use multiple units to see any results in your home.

Another option is something called a collector, which some manufacturers refer to as humane traps. Unlike kill traps that kill rodents, these traps simply collect the rodents that get inside. You can then empty the container to let the mice out wherever you want. Humane traps can often hold a large number of rodents. If you do not check or empty the collector frequently though, you risk the animals attacking and eating each other.

What is the Best Bait for a Trap?

If you ever watched cartoons as a kid, you probably think that mice love cheese. While mice will eat cheese inside a trap, the animals actually prefer foods with a deeper and more savory smell. The best baits to use in a trap include hot dogs, peanut butter, and canned pet food. You can use either canned dog or cat food, but you’ll want to choose a product that includes gravy because it has a deeper smell. Some people find it helpful to mix a solid bait with a liquid bait.

Liquid bait refers to anything you use inside the trap that has a liquid consistency. Maple syrup is a good choice because it has such an intense smell. You can also use bacon grease or a combination of the grease with a few small pieces of bacon mixed into it. Use a piece of bait no bigger than your thumb when setting the trap. If you use a larger amount, the rodents may eat around the bait and get the food they want without setting off the trap.

Some companies make liquid baits that you can use in these traps too. These liquids are best for use in electronic traps that often have a small reservoir for the bait. Liquids use pheromones that attract mice and other rodents. The odor produced can attract pests from all over your home.

How Often Should You Check the Traps?

You’ll want to check your traps at least once a day. With newer electronic models, you can look at the light on the top to see if the light changed colors, which indicates that there is a rodent inside. You may want to lift the trap and give it a soft shake too, especially if the light hasn’t changed for several days or you see the light blinking. If you hear anything moving around inside, you’ll want to empty the trap. If you do not see any activity within a few days, you may want to move the traps to a new spot.

How Long Can You Use Mouse Traps?

Traditional and old-fashioned mouse traps have a basic design that will work as long as the spring remains tight. Ultrasonic models will last for months and even years, though shoppers report mixed results in regards to how well these traps work. Plastic traps work quickly and can outlast wood traps. Electronic models are quite popular today because these traps work for so long. As long as you have batteries or an outlet, you can keep using those traps to kill all the rodents in your home.

Humane traps and collectors work in one of two ways. Collectors simply catch and collect the mice. As long as you have a type of bait that works, you can use these traps for years to catch rodents. Other humane traps use a CO2 canister that is similar to the canisters used on paintball guns. When the rodent sets off the trigger on the trap, the canister releases a quick burst of air that kills the rodent immediately. Even if it doesn’t kill the rodent, it will incapacitate it long enough for a predator to carry it away or for you to find and remove it from your home. These traps can last for months on a single canister and provide years of relief when you replace the canister as needed.

We hope that our buyer’s guide makes it easy to find the best traps to use in and around your home. You can use the same type and brand in all areas or select different types of to use in your home, basement, attic, garage and garden. With our list, you’ll find the best mouse traps for different shoppers and budgets.