PETA is urging people to consider humane mouse trap methods
Mouse traps have now been used to control rodent infestations for over one hundred years.
A lot has happened since James Henry Atkinson invented one of the most common forms - the Little Nipper mousetrap - in 1897 to get rid of mice in homes.
However, some people still use mouse traps similar in design to Mr Atkinson's century-old prototype - although an animal rights group has highlighted that more humane methods may be better for getting rid of unwanted rodents.
Many are familiar with the wooden base, spring trap and wire fastenings of the ironmonger's creation, which was sold to Procter in 1913.
It is designed to lure mice into the spring-loaded metal contraption, which aims to kill the rodent as it attempts to take food from a spike on the end of the contraption.
They can, however, be dangerous and About.com states that children can be injured if they come into contact with the so-called "snap traps".
Glue traps have also been invented as a form of mouse control. They consist of a board coated with a sticky substance which traps pests and small animals that walk across the sheet.
But animal rights websites criticise the glue traps for being an inhumane means of pest extermination. People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) states: "These hideous devices leave animals to suffer immensely during the days that it takes for them to die." Patches of skin and fur can be torn from mice as they try to escape and some can suffocate after getting mouths stuck in the glue.
The organisation has urged people to replace glue, poison and snap traps with more humane means of extermination. Electromagnetic pest control offers a more humane, cleaner and cheaper means of mouse repellent.
The Green Shield product is plugged into a standard electric socket and creates an electromagnetic field which pulsates around the building. Pests do not like the waves created by the device and are repelled from the field.
Humane Mouse traps do exist, since they do not kill rodents which enter them. However, the traps must be emptied regularly which can be a messy and unpleasant task.
New Scientist said: "The optimal solution is to exclude animals in the first place." Many mice are killed "using less than perfect methods," it added.
