Electric rat trap vs snap trap
Updated: October 2026
You are choosing between a spring that strikes and a plate that is supposed to shock, usually because an electric listing promises a cleaner indoor kill. In this set the snaps have thousands of UK reviews and known failures. The two electric listings are thin, or they contradict themselves on power. This page is that one comparison. Cages and glue boards stay on the [rat trap buying guide](/hub/traps/rat-trap/sub/rat-trap-buying-guide). The [Rat trap comparison](/hub/traps/rat-trap) is the full table. A qualifying amazon.co.uk purchase can earn us a commission, at no extra cost to you.
You are choosing between a spring that strikes and a plate that is supposed to shock, usually because an electric listing promises a cleaner indoor kill.
You are choosing between a spring that strikes and a plate that is supposed to shock, usually because an electric listing promises a cleaner indoor kill. In this set the snaps have thousands of UK reviews and known failures. The two electric listings are thin, or they contradict themselves on power. This page is that one comparison. Cages and glue boards stay on the rat trap buying guide. The Rat trap comparison is the full table. A qualifying amazon.co.uk purchase can earn us a commission, at no extra cost to you.
Our top picks
| Badge | Product | Mechanism | Power | Place | Note | Price | Offer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Best overall |  VeftBltrem VeftBltrem electric trap | Electric plate | Listing disagrees | Indoor only | 3.6 | about £25.99 | View offer |
 Roshield Roshield RRT4 snap trap (4) | Open snap | Spring | Outdoor question unanswered | 8.6 | about £15.96 | View offer | |
| Best value |  Cleaneaty Cleaneaty snap trap (6) | Open snap | Spring | Indoor, outdoor | 7.2 | about £10.59 | View offer |
On this page
A bar versus a plate
A snap kills by impact. The failure in the reviews is specific: a hard set, a finger in the way, a trap that flips, a strike that injures, or bait taken with the bar still cocked. You can see whether it fired. An electric trap claims a shock when the animal stands on a plate inside a housing. UFAW allows both a well-designed snap and an electrocution trap as methods that can kill quickly, and it warns that a poor snap injures. A voltage on a title is not that test. Nothing here measures 9,000 V or 6 V / 700 mA. Ordinary break-backs for rats and mice sit under the 1958 exemption in England and Wales. An electric plate is not a glue board, and humane on either title is an adjective.
The snaps you can judge
The snap with the deepest record is the Roshield RRT4, four UK-made traps at £15.96, 4.2 from 7,320. The bullets say they are made for rats. The first 50 UK reviews describe catches on a run, a hard set, a trap that needs weighting, and strikes that injure. Cleaneaty is £10.59 for six plus gloves, 4.1 from 417, and the bullets say large mice and small rats on a 14 cm plate. GERAWOO is £7.99 for two and 3.9 from 1,952. Keep it on the snap side: the table says electric and the bullets describe a spring. The shortlist that names a top pick and a cheaper pack is on best rat traps. An electric listing in this set cannot show that pattern yet.
The two electric listings
Sedilificum is £28.99 and the title says 9,000 V. The bullets say four AA cells or external DC, a body of 212 mm by 90 mm by 80 mm, and an entrance 55 mm by 36 mm by 42 mm. There is no UK review text. You cannot learn what a large rat does on that plate. VeftBltrem is £25.99, with a sliding lid, an LED, and a beep, 5.0 from two UK reviews in June 2026. Those two do not agree on power. The bullets say no batteries are required and also quote 6 V / 700 mA, and they say indoor use only. Two reviews cannot show a miss. A 5.0 will float above the Roshield’s 4.2 in a star sort. The evidence does not. An enclosed housing is harder to trip with a paw than an open bar. That is not a pet test.
Which to buy
Buy a snap when you need a known pattern of catches and misses. For a rat-sized kill, that is the Roshield four-pack at £15.96, with the hard set and the incomplete kills accepted. For small rats, Cleaneaty at £10.59 is the cheaper pack, with the 14 cm limit accepted. Buy electric only if you are indoors, the outbuilding is not damp, and the power label in front of you matches a plug or batteries you actually have. Skip it if you are paying for the 5.0 or for 9,000 V. VeftBltrem does not claim outdoor use. Sedilificum’s place line is cellars, garages, attics, and covered indoor areas. Skip GERAWOO’s electric flag. If the problem is a dog on the same floor, a covered snap is the nearer answer. Updated 19 October 2026. This is not a lab test.
Common questions
When is a snap the default?
When you want evidence. The Roshield RRT4 has 7,320 ratings at 4.2 and is described as made for rats, at £15.96 for four. You can read the failures: hard sets, traps that flip, injured animals. A plastic six-pack is the default only for large mice and small rats, which is Cleaneaty’s own size line. A snap is a poor default on a floor a child or a dog uses.
When is an electric trap worth the extra money?
When you are indoors, you want a closed body and an alert, and you accept that this set cannot show you a pattern yet. VeftBltrem is £25.99 against £15.96 for four snaps. The extra money buys a sliding lid and two positive reviews, not a proven kill rate. It is not worth it in the damp, or if you still do not know whether the unit needs batteries.
Can you trust 9,000 V or 6 V / 700 mA?
Not as a measurement. Sedilificum prints 9,000 V and has no UK reviews in the file. VeftBltrem prints 6 V / 700 mA and contradicts itself on how it is powered. UFAW treats electrocution as a possible quick kill when the device is well designed. A number on a title does not establish that design. Judge the housing and the power label you can see.
Which unit says indoor only?
VeftBltrem. The bullets say it is exclusively for indoor use. Sedilificum names cellars, garages, attics, and covered indoor areas, and it does not answer an outdoor question. The open snaps are a mixture: some titles say indoors and outdoors, and several listing questions are blank. Do not move the VeftBltrem to a wet shed because a snap title says garden.
Do these electric traps need batteries?
Sedilificum’s bullets say four AA cells or an external DC supply, and they do not confirm the cells are in the box. VeftBltrem’s bullets say no batteries are required, while one of its two reviews discusses battery life and the other says to plug it in. Until you see the socket or the battery door on the unit, do not assume either story.
Related pages
Sources
Public UK sources used for the legal and safety limits. Listing prices, stars and review counts are the amazon.co.uk figures saved for this set, shelf date 19 October 2026.
- Glue Traps (Offences) Act 2022, section 1 (retrieved 19 October 2026)
- GOV.UK: Glue trap licences (retrieved 19 October 2026)
- Welsh Government: glue trap ban in force (retrieved 19 October 2026)
- Scottish Government: glue trap ban comes into force (retrieved 19 October 2026)
- Small Ground Vermin Traps Order 1958 (retrieved 19 October 2026)
- Prevention of Damage by Pests Act 1949, section 3 (retrieved 19 October 2026)
- HSE: Leptospirosis (Weil's disease) (retrieved 19 October 2026)
- Animal Welfare Act 2006, section 4 (retrieved 19 October 2026)