This guidance describes methods and criteria to evaluate rodent break back/snap traps regarding their animal welfare impact and efficacy. The assessment follows a tiered approach starting with the tests of the mechanical properties, followed by a semi-field trial testing the animal welfare impact and basic efficacy, and optionally supplemented by the extended efficacy test in the field. The latter test is comparable to the efficacy testing of rodenticides as defined in the guidance for the Biocidal Products Regulation.
The guidance was developed, discussed and written by the NoCheRo (Non-Chemical alternatives of Rodent control) working party consisting of experts from European authorities, the pest control industry and scientific organisations. It was established after an EU workshop concerning the alternatives to rodenticides in rodent control in Brussels in 2018.