Hands-Off Trap Wins Farm Crowd: TerraTrap GS Gets Top-10 Nod at World Ag Expo

A new farm tool gets a big stamp of approval

At the 2025 World Ag Expo, an automatic pest trap called the TerraTrap GS was named one of the event’s Top-10 New Products. The company behind it highlighted the award in a news release and at the show. According to that announcement, the device caught the attention of growers and land managers for being hands-free, non-toxic and designed specifically to tackle burrowing rodents that damage crops and infrastructure.

How the TerraTrap GS works and why the maker bills it as different

The company describes the TerraTrap GS as an automatic, multi-kill trapping system that runs without poison or repeated human handling. The device is intended to be placed over active burrows; when triggered it captures or kills target animals inside the device rather than relying on bait stations or widespread toxicants.

In plain terms, the TerraTrap GS aims to remove animals quickly while reducing the chance of poison spreading through the environment or being carried to non-target wildlife. The release emphasized the device’s non-toxic and humane positioning — the company uses that language to contrast the trap with lethal baiting or broadcast fumigants that are still common in some field settings.

The maker also pointed to practical features that matter to users: automated operation so staff do not have to check every set repeatedly, and a design claimed to work on multiple burrowing species. The release named specific species that the company has tested the device on and said those tests showed consistent results in the field.

From long days in the field to a finished product

Automatic Trap Company, the firm behind TerraTrap GS, traces the product back to veteran California pest-control operators who brought real-world experience to the design. The release says the founders spent years watching burrowing pest behavior and iterating the unit around those patterns.

Testing cited in the announcement took place in California and involved on-farm trials. The company described those trials as part of the proof that the trap can work across different soil types and on multiple target species. The release framed the World Ag Expo award as external validation of those development efforts.

Why this could matter to farmers and land managers

Ground squirrels and other burrowing rodents are a persistent headache in parts of California and neighboring regions. They chew irrigation lines, undermine fences and damage orchard roots — problems that can be costly to repair and disruptive to planting and harvesting schedules.

Existing control methods include live capture, fumigants, toxic bait and lethal traps. Each has trade-offs: some require frequent checks, some carry environmental or bycatch risks, and some are labour-intensive. The TerraTrap GS is pitched as a middle ground: a device that reduces labour and avoids chemicals while still letting managers remove animals from the field.

Potential customers are straightforward: farmers, ranchers, orchard managers, irrigation districts and large landowners who face repeated burrowing-pest pressure. Adoption barriers the company will face include cost per unit, how many units are needed per acre, and how the new device fits into existing integrated pest management plans.

Expo reaction, company statements and the road ahead

In its release, Automatic Trap Company celebrated the Top-10 honor and said the recognition helped them connect with prospective customers at the Expo. Company representatives quoted in the announcement framed the award as both validation and a springboard for wider field trials and limited commercial sales.

The release also said the company plans follow-up testing and scaled manufacturing to meet interest from growers. Expo visitors reportedly asked about availability, cost and local support — questions the release says the company is working to answer.

Several practical questions remain open. The company’s claims rest largely on its own field tests and Expo feedback; independent, peer-reviewed trials were not referenced in the announcement. Pricing, unit life span, maintenance needs, and how the trap performs over multiple seasons in different climates were not detailed. Regulators and wildlife officials may also want clarity on humane standards and impacts to non-target species.

For now, TerraTrap GS has gained attention as a potentially useful tool for farmers who want a low-labor, non-toxic way to deal with burrowing pests. The World Ag Expo award gives the product a publicity boost, but wider adoption will hinge on price, independent field validation, and how well the maker can scale production and support customers in the field.

Sources

• prnewswire.com