Do you have mice in the house? Electric mouse traps are one of our favorite ways to get rid of mice fast.
However, it seems every day there are new products coming onto the market, so it is getting harder to tell which ones work the best.
We’ve selected the five best electric mouse traps to help you get rid of mice fast.
In order to make our list, the product needed to not only be effective in getting rid of mice but the manufacturer also needed to have a strong background in the pest control industry, provide good customer service and have a reliable money-back guarantee.
What Are Electronic Mouse Traps?
An Electronic mouse trap is a battery-operated mouse trap that humanely kills mice with a high voltage electric current. We find they are one of the better ways to kill mice since the process is super quick, working in mere seconds.
They are easy to use and offer a no-touch, no-see way for folks to get rid of mice quickly. The traps are very effective with little to no mess and do not inflict unnecessary pain to the rodents.
How Does an Electric Mouse Trap Work?
The basic setup is an enclosed plastic box with an entrance at one end and a bait cup in the opposite end. Inside the trap are electrified metal plates that deliver a fatal electric shock when the mouse steps on them to get the bait.
Typically the chamber also has router panels that help guide the mouse toward the bait and prevent him from turning around once inside.
What we like best about this type of mouse trap is the quick and efficient way it delivers the electric shock. Unlike snap traps, there is little risk of the mouse making off with the unless the unit has short-circuited.
All mouse traps have their pros and cons, here is what we think of this method compared to the other ways to get rid of mice.
The Benefits of Using Electric Mouse Traps
The three most important features of using electric mouse traps are:
- Quick & Efficient
- No Touch, No See
- Can catch multiple mice
The Drawbacks
- More expensive up-front cost
- Cannot get wet
The 5 Best Electronic Mouse Traps
We’ve researched dozens of products are have come up with only a few recommended brands. Victor Pest Rodent Control & The Rat Zapper are our 2 favorites.
Victor M250S No Touch, No See Upgraded Electronic Mouse Trap
Best all-around electronic mouse trap
Features
- LED light indicators
- Safety switch to protect children and pets
- Easy empty chamber for better cleaning
- Suitable for indoor Use
- Long-lasting
Victor Pest Control has a long history in the industry, so it is no surprise that they make some of our favorite products.
The first on our list is the Victor electronic mouse trap – Model M250S. This is their most popular electronic mouse trap and is both easy to use and affordable.
It uses 4 AA batteries to power the trap and can last for up to 100 mice before needing to be changed.
Some of the latest improvements include a safety switch so the unit is automatically disabled when opened. That is good news for people with curious children or pets that may want to see inside.
We also really appreciate the removable kill chamber. That is a big improvement over many of the other brands we reviewed and makes it much easier to clean without accidentally damaging the electric components.
The only drawback to this unit is it will only kill a single mouse at a time, so you’ll want to place several of these traps in the mouse-ridden area and be sure to empty the traps daily.
2 – Victor M1 Smart-Kill Wi-Fi Electronic Mouse Trap, 1 Pack, Black
Best Wi-fi Enabled mouse trap
Features
- Wi-fi enabled
- LED light indicators
- Safety switch to protect children and pets
- Easy empty chamber for better cleaning
- Suitable for Indoor Use
Next up on the list is Victor’s Smart Kill Electronic mouse trap.
These cleverly designed mouse traps will send an alert right to your phone when a mouse is caught!
You simply download the Victor Pest Control app to your mobile device and connect it to your wi-fi network to receive notifications when the mouse is caught. You can even name the location of each trap so you know which one to empty.
It has all the same features as the previous design – a removable chamber for easy cleanups, high voltage electric shock that works in seconds, a safety shut-off switch, and a built-in bait cup.
So if you are into technology and need help trapping mice in your house, this is the best electric mouse trap with the latest tech!
3 – Rat Zapper RZC001-4 Electronic Rat Trap
The Rat Zapper electronic rat trap is one of the best ways to trap larger mice, rodents, or rats in your trap.
A more powerful trap is needed for larger rodents such as the Norway rat.
First off, don’t let the name fool you, this will also work on getting rid of mice but it will also work on bigger rodents, so in case you have both mice and rats, this may be a better choice.
The Rat Zapper works with similar technology and is an easy to use battery operated electronic rodent trap. The difference with this trap is that it is designed for rats so it has a longer shock time.
Rats can apparently restart their hearts, so the Rat Zapper was created with this interesting ability in mind and continues to send an electric shock through the metal plates for 2 minutes.
Designed to be used indoors, it can kill up to 20 rats for each battery change.
Best Features
- Longer shock time
- Large entrance for bigger rodents
- Indicator light
- Indoor Use only
The Rat Zapper gets our vote for the best electric trap for larger rodents.
4 – Victor Multi-Kill Electronic Mouse Trap M260
Best for heavy traffic areas like garages, barns, or storage units
Best Features
- Hols up to 10 mice
- 2 entry points
- Shock and drop chamber
- Collection drawer for easy disposal
- Indicator Light
- Indoor Use Only
The Victor Multi-Kill electronic mouse trap was designed to handle larger-scale mouse problems. Like the other Victor electronic mouse traps, it is easy to use. Just bait the trap with a high-protein food like peanut butter, set it in place, then turn it on.
What sets this mouse trap apart from the others is the shock and drop technology. After a mouse is given the electric shock, a rotating chamber will deposit the dead mouse in a collection drawer. An indicator light flashes green to let you know it’s time to empty the drawer.
This eliminates the need for constant monitoring and makes a great mouse trap for heavy traffic areas such as a garage, barn, or storage space.
5 – Victor M2524-2 Electronic Mouse Trap
The Victor M2524 is the older version of the brand’s electronic mouse trap.
This is the model I used to get rid of the mice in my garage. It served me well for many years, so I thought it deserved a place on my list.
The features include smart circuit technology that senses when the mouse enters the trap then triggers the high voltage shock that works in 5 seconds. It has the same safety features as the newer models and can catch up to 100 mice with a set of 4 AA batteries.
What it lacks compared to the updated version is the removable interior chamber so you can dispose of the mouse & clean the compartment separate from the electronic parts.
I really like the removable chamber, so while this is still an effective way to get rid of mice, I’d opt for one of the newer versions.
Buyers Guide and Frequently Asked Questions
What Features Are Important When Buying an Electric Mouse Trap?
When evaluating a good device for trapping a mouse, we rate each product on the following 5 features before including it in our review.
- Brand. The company’s reputation and history in the pest control industry is an important consideration in our reviews. We value this higher than some other reviewers since it is important to us that our readers buy from a company that has a solid customer service team as well as sufficient documentation and testing on their products.
- Effectiveness. A good electric mouse trap needs to be work quickly and humanely.
- Ease of Use. Every mouse trap on our list is easy to use with minimal contact with the mice. The best feature about using electric traps is they are so much easier to use & set than snap traps.
- Number of Mice. We all know there is never just one mice in our house, so it is good practice to buy multiple traps and set them all at the same time. If you have a large scale problem, then one of the multi-catch mouse traps are a better choice.
- Cost. While cost is important if a product is cheaply made and the brand
Note: While we researched several other lesser-known brands during our review, we didn’t feel comfortable recommending any of their products. So for now, we will stick with only the tried & true brands that have a solid track record in the pest control industry.
Frequently Asked Questions
The best mouse trap bait for electronic mouse traps is a high-protein, strongly scented food. Peanut butter is the most common by far, but you can also use wild bird seed.
Many folks have had additional success with sweeter foods such as chocolate chips, grape jelly, and even sugary pastries.
If you don’t have initial success with one type of bait, then you can certainly mix it up and experiment even adding two flavors together like peanut butter & jelly! Yes, we have reports of this working better in some cases.
Your mice may have developed slightly different tastes depending on what is available in the area.
For best results, place the electronic mouse traps near the rodent activity. If you can locate their entry point, that is an ideal location. If not look for the most active area where you see lots of droppings, grease marks, or shredded papers.
Adding traps near their nesting place is a good strategy. The majority of mice will look for food within 10-25 feet of their nest.
All electronic mouse traps are designed for indoor use only, so do not place them outside or where they are likely to get wet such as a damp basement. That will cause the electric parts to short-circuit.
When you first turn the mouse trap on the light will flash green and you will hear a buzzing sound. The buzzing will go away within a few minutes. If you think your trap has stopped working, turn it off wait a minute or two then turn it back on and listen for the buzzing noise.
The batteries in the Victor electric mouse traps last for about 100 mice. The rat trap batteries will be good for only about 20 mice or rats since the electric shock goes on for a longer period of time.
You don’t need to clean it every time, but after a few catches, the mice may have left some fluids behind if it wasn’t emptied within a few days.
First, make sure the traps are turned off. Use hydrogen peroxide solution and an old toothbrush or Q-tip to clean the section where the mouse was.
Be careful so you don’t remove any of the coating on the metal plates. A Q-tip can be used to clean the bait cup. Dry the inside completely before putting the lid back on.
Summary
We hope you’ve found this article helpful in choosing the best electronic mouse trap. There is one for every possible use whether you have just a few mice in your kitchen or a whole barnful.
The Victor brand of mouse traps has a long history of good customer service they make some of the best traps on the market today.