Alligator Lizard vs. Glue Trap

[Skiploder]

This evening while watching the Simpsons with the kids, my neighbor rang the doorbell.

In his hands was a large rat glue trap. Caught in it was the biggest california alligator lizard I have ever seen - close to 18" and thick.

Using a putty knife I was able to lift him out of the trap. Covered in glue, I placed him in a shoe-box tub filled with about 1/2" of canola oil. After a rinsing in a tepid water bath he was good to go and we let him loose close to where my neighbor found him. I was pretty happy we were able to extract and clean him without him jettisoning his tail..........

While I hate rats running around in my garage as much as the next guy, this is one of the reasons I abhor glue traps - you don't always catch a rat in them..............

Since my immediate neighbors know about our herps, I am often called upon to deal with stowaways and rescues. Sadly, this is not the first glue trap rescue. Earlier this summer another neighbor brought me a baby rattler caught in one.

I guess the moral of the story (if there is one) is that it isn't that big of a deal to rat and mouse proof your attic or your garage without resorting to traps or poisons.

[nixer]

This evening while watching the Simpsons with the kids, my neighbor rang the doorbell.

In his hands was a large rat glue trap. Caught in it was the biggest california alligator lizard I have ever seen - close to 18" and thick.

Using a putty knife I was able to lift him out of the trap. Covered in glue, I placed him in a shoe-box tub filled with about 1/2" of canola oil. After a rinsing in a tepid water bath he was good to go and we let him loose close to where my neighbor found him. I was pretty happy we were able to extract and clean him without him jettisoning his tail..........

While I hate rats running around in my garage as much as the next guy, this is one of the reasons I abhor glue traps - you don't always catch a rat in them..............

Since my immediate neighbors know about our herps, I am often called upon to deal with stowaways and rescues. Sadly, this is not the first glue trap rescue. Earlier this summer another neighbor brought me a baby rattler caught in one.

I guess the moral of the story (if there is one) is that it isn't that big of a deal to rat and mouse proof your attic or your garage without resorting to traps or poisons.

wow thats a big lizard! i bet it was real interesting getting that baby rattler out of the glue trap.
i use those glue traps but around here we dont get many herps. typically i just catch mostly spiders, crickets, and silverfish

[Skiploder]

wow thats a big lizard! i bet it was real interesting getting that baby rattler out of the glue trap.
i use those glue traps but around here we dont get many herps. typically i just catch mostly spiders, crickets, and silverfish

The rattler's head was stuck along with his body. The putty knife trick works because while it removed him from the trap, he was still stuck to the knife.

Once removed, you can then easily restrain the head while rubbing them down with vegetable oil.