Another Look at the “Humane” Alternative
Thousands of small rodents make our city home. Sometimes we don’t think about our wild neighbours until there is a problem: a squabble over who gets the garden vegetables, or an uninvited tenant taking up residence in our home. While mice and rats are only trying to meet their basic food and shelter needs, these conflicts can be very frustrating for homeowners.
So why not trap the mouse or rat and move them somewhere else?
Contrary to popular belief, live trapping a mouse or rat and relocating them is not a good way to solve any problem you might be having with the animal. While trapping may seem like a humane option, it often ends in a death sentence for the animal and leaves your property vulnerable to ongoing wildlife conflicts. Here’s why:
1. There’s no place like home
Many people think that a mouse or rat can survive anywhere. It may even appear that moving them from an urban backyard to a ravine, park, or forest will help them, since these spaces seem more “natural.” But the truth is, all wildlife have specific home ranges where they are adapted to living.
An urban mouse or rat’s home range may be as small as one city block, and within that range, they learn where to find food, water, shelter, and how to stay safe. A small rodent that has spent its whole life living in a shed and foraging at birdfeeders isn’t likely to adjust if transported to a conservation area. There are also rodents already living in the new territory, increasing competition for food and territory. In addition, mice and rats set up caches of food that they rely on in times of food scarcity. Suddenly relocating them leaves them with nothing, and no guaranteed source of food or shelter.
Trapping a mouse or rat and moving them to a new, unfamiliar location—even one that looks nice to us—is stressful and bewildering for the animal. It’s unlikely that most relocated wildlife will survive long in their new environment.
2. Winter is a deadly time to become homeless
Most small rodent conflicts happen during the winter when mice and rats seek refuge from the oppressive cold and find ways into homes or sheds. Trapping and relocating a small rodent who has become acclimatized to indoor temperatures and who may not have access to food outdoors during winter is likely to hinder their ability to survive. In many cases, when temperatures rise and the ground starts to thaw – and when food sources become more abundant – the rodents begin to move back outside.
3. Babies get left behind
The spring and late summer is baby season for almost all wildlife, and during this time mother mice and rats are looking for shelter and extra food to raise their babies. These babies quietly wait in their nests for their mother’s return; when a mother rodent is trapped and moved, dependent babies are left behind. Without their mother, they will die.
Toronto Wildlife Centre receives many calls each year about baby rodents who have been “orphaned” after a nuisance mouse or rat was trapped and relocated. Sadly, we don’t have the resources to take care of all of them, and many are turned away.
Trapping and relocating a mother rodent with her babies also doesn’t work. Because of the stress and terror caused by relocation, faced with unfamiliar territory and no prospects of food or shelter, a mother rodent will likely abandon her babies at the new site.
4. Short-term fixes don’t work
There are no empty spaces in nature. If you get rid of one mouse or rat, it won’t be long until another animal finds that cozy den in your garage, or delicious meal in your garden. More likely, you will do a lot of unnecessary work, or pay a lot of money to an animal removal company, with no long-term results.
Without addressing the root cause or attractant, it will be an endless cycle of trapping and relocating, with no guarantee of the animal surviving.
Conflicts with rodents are best dealt with individually. What is the rodent doing that’s bothering you? Why are they doing it? How do we get them to stop?
For tips on resolving small rodent problems, see our conflict resolution section.
