The Agriculture (Wales) Act 2023, which was given Royal Assent on 17th August 2023, includes banning the use of rodent glue boards in Wales from 17th October 2023.
This means that Wales will become the first nation in the UK to introduce a ban on the use of rodent glue boards and the penalty for this offence will coincide with most of the Part 1 offences within the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981, namely, on summary conviction imprisonment for a term not longer than six months or an unlimited fine.
In the past year, different industry organisations have come together to try and ensure continued use of rodent glue boards by professionals in Wales, but unfortunately their efforts fell short of influencing the final decision.
Looking forward, this ban implementation will mean many pest controllers will have to change the way they manage rodent infestations. In terms of rapid non-chemical measures for rodent control, options are snap / break-back traps, spring traps and live-capture cage traps. It is also expected that enhanced rodent monitoring, via remote / digital monitoring systems, will play an increasingly important part in rodent control. Sites will be encouraged to focus even more on rodent proofing, housekeeping and hygiene measures.
