Who knew getting rid of such a plebeian problem could be so … expensive? Of course, it doesn’t have to be, but if you want to rid your home of rodents the high-tech way, you’ll need to spend an impressive $1,600. It’s all thanks to a new connected mousetrap from Rentokil called the ResiConnect. It certainly does away with the more icky parts of pest control, but you’ll have to decide for yourself if it’s worth the hefty price tag.
What differentiates the ResiConnect mousetrap from your run of the mill trap is its interconnectivity. By tapping into the Internet of Things, the company is convinced it has something worth about 700 times more than your average trap. As Berwyn Evans of Rentokil told the BBC, “This is a trap that’s connected to the internet, essentially. Whereas there are other standard traps on the market that just catch and kill the mouse, that mouse can be caught in that trap for several weeks or several months. What this does is sends us a signal to notify us the trap has been activated, which allows us to respond.”
Of course, if you have a rodent problem, it doesn’t seem as though you’ll have any trouble remembering to check your traps every once in awhile, though perhaps you’re less squeamish than we are. “ResiConnect brings mouse control into the 21st century,” Rentokil’s David Cross told the Independent. “We know that finding mice in the home can be traumatic for many people, and ResiConnect takes all the hassle out of managing pests for the resident. Technology has an increasingly important role in the pest control business, as it helps us to spot a pest problem and helps to provide a more effective and humane treatment.”
The connected mousetrap uses neither bait nor poison, and instead releases carbon dioxide to administer the fatal blow once the rodent has been trapped. So hopefully, the only thing that will be squeaking in your home is … you … when you think about how much you’ve spent to get rid of your pests.