Why Utility Companies Are Moving Away from Poison and Choosing Automatic Traps Instead

Rodent control inside electrical substations, utility facilities, and industrial sites presents a unique challenge. Poison programs don’t just fail frequently—they often make infestations worse. Over the past year, Western Area Power Administration (WAPA) and its partners have been testing the Goodnature® A24 automatic trap as a safer, cleaner, and more effective alternative.

Here’s what they’ve learned from real-world deployments.

The Hidden Problems With Poison-Based Rodent Control

As Tim Langer of WAPA describes it, placing poison in sensitive facilities is essentially “putting a refrigerator of food right where you don’t want mice.”

Multiple-dose toxicants require:

• 4 separate feedings for a lethal dose
• 7–10 additional days for the rodent to die after ingestion
• Weeks of active scent trails leading more rodents directly into protected areas

During that delay, affected rodents:

• Travel throughout ductwork and walls
• Leave continuous scent trails for others to follow
• Often die inside walls or ventilation systems, creating persistent odor issues
• Attract predators like snakes, which can further complicate facility safety

In humid environments, poison frequently molds before it ever becomes lethal, which means sites are often:

• Attracting rodents without killing them
• Spending money with no measurable reduction in population
• Creating an infestation feedback loop without realizing it

And perhaps most concerning: with poison programs, you can’t actually verify how many rodents are being eliminated—if any.

Why the A24 Automatic Trap Changes the Game

The Goodnature A24 operates on a completely different principle:

• Instant, lethal strike on first contact
• No delayed suffering
• No wandering rodents
• No scent-trail buildup
• No secondary poisoning risk

With the A24:

• Rodents are killed at the point of contact
• Carcasses remain directly beneath the trap
• Results are visible, countable, and measurable
• Bluetooth strike counters allow remote monitoring
• Maintenance notifications ensure traps stay operational

This transforms rodent control from a guessing game into a verifiable, data-driven process.

Clean, Touch-Free Disposal for Utility Environments

WAPA teams also rely on portable mounting stands, which allow technicians to:

• Lift and empty traps without ever touching the carcasses
• Pour contents directly into disposal containers
• Maintain high sanitation standards even in sensitive environments

This is especially valuable for:

• Substations
• Utility rooms
• Mechanical corridors
• Ductwork corridors

No gloves, no grabbing, no mess.

Field Deployment Results Across Multiple WAPA Sites

WAPA’s initial rollout included 108 A24 traps distributed across multiple sites, along with 40 portable stands. Since deployment:

• Multiple new agency groups have placed repeat orders
• Additional facilities are in the onboarding phase
• Several locations reported strong immediate results after proper placement
• One site experienced reduced effectiveness due to bait drying from direct sun exposure, which was resolved through retraining

WAPA is now considering featuring the A24 program in an agency-wide presentation, signaling broader institutional adoption.

Homeowner & Backyard Squirrel Testing

In addition to commercial testing, private residential use has yielded valuable insights:

• 9 total squirrel engagements
• 4 non-lethal initial strikes recorded
• Portable trap relocation revealed rare counter misreads when reseating on mounts
• Peanut-butter-based lures performed exceptionally well

Even with occasional non-lethal strikes, homeowners overwhelmingly preferred:

• The lethal, hands-off method
• Over live trapping, which requires handling stressed animals
• Over manual dispatch inside cages

One homeowner neighbor is now planning to purchase both A24 and A18 units, and potential workplace deployment is being considered within a supermarket chain currently relying on diphacinone bait boxes.

Better Control, Less Guesswork, Zero Secondary Exposure

Compared to poison, automatic traps deliver:

Poison Programs	A24 Automatic Trap
Delayed kill (7–10+ days)	Instant kill
Unverifiable results	Visible, countable results
Mold risk in humidity	No degradation
Secondary poisoning	None
Scent-trail amplification	Immediate removal
Odor in ductwork	No wandering deaths
Predator attraction	Eliminated

With Bluetooth monitoring, technicians know:

• Exactly how many strikes occur
• When maintenance is required
• When CO₂ cartridges should be replaced

No more blind spending.

The Bottom Line

Utility environments cannot afford:

• Unverified poison programs
• Long death delays inside critical infrastructure
• Secondary predator attraction
• Mold-degraded bait programs
• Odor complaints and safety risks

Automatic traps provide:

• Immediate lethality
• Clean disposal
• Remote accountability
• Predictable performance
• Long-term cost control

As WAPA’s field experience demonstrates, the switch to automatic trapping isn’t just safer—it’s more efficient, more measurable, and better aligned with modern infrastructure protection.