Lisa asked: Our dog got into a sticky trap for a mouse. She got the sticky adhesive on our leather sofa and Karastan area rug. Do you have any suggestions for either? I can’t use any oily substances on the leather. Only water and a small amount of mild soap and/or leather conditioner that came with it. Thanks.
If
your pet or child had an unfortunate run in with a sticky trap intended for a rodent, the mess may have spread around the house before you even realized what has happened. It may seem like an overwhelming task to remove that sticky adhesive from multiple surfaces, but fortunately there are some simple techniques that will work on almost anything. If the trap is upside-down on a floor, first try to cut off as much of the backing as you can. The baking (container) of the traps are usually made of thin plastic. This will allow you easier access to treat the glue.
Vegetable Oil Method
You Will Need:
- Paper towels
- Vegetable oil
- Clean cloths
- Spoon
Steps to Remove the Glue:
- Before you use any products on your furnishings or décor, make sure to spot test it in a hidden place.
- Vegetable oil is one of the safest ways to remove adhesive from surfaces. For surfaces that you don’t want to get oily, such as carpet, clean with the vinegar method found below.
- Put vegetable oil directly onto a paper towel.
- Cover the adhesive with the oil-soaked paper towel and allow it to sit for a few minutes. The oil on the towel will begin to soften the glue.
- Scrub or blot the adhesive stained spot with a clean cloth. Depending on the surface, you may be able to use your fingernail or a spoon to scrape the softened glue off of the surface.
- Repeat as necessary until the glue is gone.
Vinegar Method
Because oil can be difficult to remove from porous surfaces, the vinegar method can be used as an alternative. In most cases, the smell will dissipate as the vinegar dries.
You Will Need:
- White vinegar
- Clean cloths
Steps to Remove the Glue:
- Moisten a clean cloth with vinegar.
- Place it over the adhesive and allow it to sit for a few moments. The exposure to the vinegar will soften the glue.
- Scrub gently with the same cloth until the glue adhesive comes up.
- Repeat as necessary until all of the glue is removed.
- If desired, rinse the area with clean water.
- Allow the area to dry completely.
Additional Tips and Advice
- Some furniture, such as many types of leather, cannot be cleaned with oil. Either use a leather cleaning and conditioning product recommended by the manufacturer or have it professionally cleaned.
- If the glue is on a relatively flat surface, you may have success by placing a bag of ice over the sticky spot until it hardens. Once it hardens, use a blunt edged object, such as a butter knife or spoon, to gently scrape the glue away.
- Avoid using oil or polish on hardwood or other floors unless the product is indicated for floors. Floors can get extremely slippery and dangerous with even small amounts of oil.
- One site user reported having success by pressing clear packing tape onto the glue, then pulling off the tape. This process had to be repeated several times for all the glue to be removed, but it did the trick. (Thanks for sharing!)
I had this glue on work trousers; removed it by placing a folded section of kitchen roll over the glue and placed a out iron set to steam on the towel; melts the glue and the towel soaks it up. Then, wash on a hot wash as normal.
I used oil on a metal hammock stand that fell onto a glue trap in the basement and it worked perfectly! Thanks!!
OMG!!! Thank you, thank you, thank you! A brand new shirt… hand wash only… got dropped on this stuff. I thought I had just thrown $100 in the trash after one wear. I used this process (the vegetable oil) and then followed it up with a good Woolite treatment and it is as good as new. [whew]
I dropped my dress on a mouse trap. I can’t get the stain out.
Put your dress in the freezer for an hour or two. Remove the dress and pull the glue off.
Thank you – my labradoodle got into one and walked all over the house. There was sticky stuff on hardwoods and rugs, not to mention his fur. Vegetable oil got it out of his paws, then we washed him with Dawn to remove the oil. I used the oil in small dabs on the rug spots, then followed up with vinegar. Seems to have worked (did have to snip a few spots off both the rug and snip a lot off the dog with scissors).
A gecko lizard fell down in to mouse trap liquid. I don’t want it to die. How can I save it? Please can any body advise???
Louis,
Put on some rubber gloves, then rub cooking oil onto any spot where the mouse trap liquid touches the lizard’s body. Use the oil to gently push the trap liquid off of it’s body. Once it is free, carefully rinse it with some soapy water to remove the oil, then plain water to remove the soap. Here is a video of someone freeing a lizard from a glue trap using some oil and a toothpick. Good luck!
Source: Martha Stewart – Freeing an Animal from a Glue Trap
A sticky mouse trap melted under my fireplace. Any idea how I can remove the mess, so that I can use my fireplace?
Thank you.
I got sticky glue in my carpet when I moved a large rolling cart that went over a trap. As I had multiple sticky spots to clean, I experimented a bit. The most effective and quickest solution was using a plastic grocery bag and finishing up with white vinegar on a terry cloth. I pressed the plastic onto the sticky area and as I pulled it away, some of the goo came with it. Take care to pinch the sticky plastic together after each pull so you don’t just put it back next press! Keep at it until no more sticky is coming off. I used up several bags getting it all, but it still went much faster than any other option I tried. Finish up by spraying or pouring a bit of vinegar and rubbing vigorously with a washcloth.
I just came home to three dogs in a mess of mouse trap glue. The vegetable oil method worked great for furry dog feet, tile floors and dog bedding–what a wonderful non-toxic clean-up solution! Thank you!
I had one trap glue to the wooden floor and I had success with lighter fluid. Use some of it and clean with a paper towel. Repeat around 10 times. All clean and shiny!
Does the lighter fluid take the varnish off the floor? When you’re trying to get the glue trap off the hardwood floor?
Liz,
There are different kinds of lighter fluid, and yes, some of them could remove the finish on a wood floor. You can test it on a small hidden area first to find out if the kind you have is safe for your floor.
Source: Wikipedia – Lighter Fluid
Source: Wikipedia – Charcoal lighter fluid
Please help me. I unknowingly placed my foot on dead rat glue and then without noticing it, I tried to overcome from it by pulling it and in the process the glue was stuck onto my room’s floor and it’s giving off too much of a foul smell, which causing me headaches. Please, how can I remove that foul smell of dead rat glue from my room?
Santhosh,
First, clean off the glue. Once it has been fully removed, the smell should disappear. However, you can also try some deodorizers to hasten the process. Set a bowl near the area and fill it with either baking soda, white vinegar, or fresh coffee grounds. Leave the bowl there for several hours. Any one of those items can absorb the odor. However, the coffee will leave a coffee odor in its place, so only use coffee if you like the smell of it. Good luck!
There is also a product that is oil-based that I have used called Glu-Off, and probably quite a few others made for the same purpose, i.e., to remove adhesives. You might try one of those, but as noted, do a spot test because all of these products are oil-based and could stain.
In addition, here is something that some might find helpful — we bought a quantity of large thin cardboard sticky pads (much cheaper than the small plastic ones); they are about 8×5″. Occasionally something other than a rodent would get caught, a large, rather disgusting looking spider or horse fly or water bug. It’s dead, but you don’t want to have to look at it anytime you happen by the trap. BUT you also don’t want to throw away the whole trap since 95% of its surface is perfectly usable. You can’t simply cut away the offending bug — that won’t work with the exposed adhesive.
What I’ve done successfully is to:
1) cut a piece of plastic, like a kitchen garbage bag or similar a little bigger than the size of the object you wish to cut away
2) Place it so it just covers the area with the unsightly object, pressing the plastic over it, just enough to fully cover the it and a bit beyond — the adhesive will hold the plastic firmly in place.
3) Now you can use a scissors to cut the offending object out, making sure you only cut on the plastic, not letting the scissors touch the rest of the surrounding, uncovered adhesive.
This will rid you of the ugly thingy, leaving the rest of the trap still usable. Our traps are made of thin cardboard so very easy to cut, but I have been successful cutting the plastic traps as well. Use a fairly hefty scissors.
Some adhesive invariably will bleed through the sandwich you’ve created with the covering plastic and the trap base and it will get on the blade, but not nearly as much as if you tried to cut a trap alone (which will not work — believe me). That bit of adhesive on your scissors is easily cleaned off with the methods outlined here.
My iRobot got onto a sticky mouse trap. How can I remove the glue?
Wendy,
These same methods can be used, just be careful not to let any liquid drip into the electronics area. Good luck!
My kids smeared mouse trap glue over the carpet, pillows, furniture, the vacuum machine…etc. Vinegar did nothing for me. Given glue is an organic matter only organic dissolvers will melt it: paint thinner, nitro, paint remover or Goo Gone from HW shop. I used the paint thinner sitting in my garage since last painting job. It removes is instantly by either soaking it into the thinner or using a cloth/sponge soaked in the thinner. For the pillowcases, I soaked them in the thinner for couple minutes and then washed the thinner and glue away with hot water and dish soap. All organic dissolvers are oily liquids so dish soap is the best to wash them away once the glue is gone. After that just threw it into the washing machine for a regular wash.