SONOMA, Calif., June 24, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Summer is peak season for rodents across California, and few are as destructive as the California ground squirrel. As activity surges from spring through fall, homeowners face burrows undermining yards and foundations, gnawed gardens, and a difficult choice about how to respond. Automatic Trap Company (ATC), the North American distributor of Goodnature self-resetting trap technology, is pointing homeowners toward a poison-free alternative — led by the award-winning TerraTrap California Ground Squirrel Kit — as the season peaks.
Ground squirrels are among the most damaging warm-weather pests in the state. Their extensive burrow systems can weaken foundations, retaining walls, and landscaping, and contribute to soil erosion after seasonal rains. Statewide, ground squirrel damage to California agriculture and infrastructure runs into the tens of millions of dollars annually — a scale of destruction that begins, for many residents, in a single backyard.
The traditional response has meant anticoagulant bait, a poison that does not stop with its target. Rodenticides can move up the food chain, poisoning the hawks, owls, foxes, and family pets that encounter a poisoned animal. Those same predators are a homeowner’s free pest control: according to The Peregrine Fund, a single barn owl family can catch more than 1,000 rodents in a year. Poison that kills the predator ultimately leaves more rodents behind, not fewer. The TerraTrap California Ground Squirrel Kit offers a different approach. Built on Goodnature’s self-resetting mechanism housed in a discreet, camouflaged rock enclosure, it resets automatically after each strike — delivering up to 18 strikes per CO₂ cylinder without bait stations, electricity, or daily maintenance. It carries zero risk to children, pets, livestock or wildlife.
That design recently earned industry recognition: the TerraTrap GS was named a Top-10 New Product at the 2026 World Ag Expo — the world’s largest annual agricultural exposition — selected by a panel of farmers, ranchers, and industry professionals from a field submitted by more than 1,200 exhibitors.
“Homeowners shouldn’t have to choose between protecting their property and protecting their pets and local wildlife,” said Blair Calder, President of Automatic Trap Company. “Summer is when the rodent problem becomes impossible to ignore — and it’s exactly when poison gets spread across the most yards.”
The same poison-free system — for every rodent on the property
What sets ATC’s lineup apart is a single, proven idea applied across pests: a self-resetting trap that strikes, resets itself, and keeps working — no poison, ever. Beyond ground squirrels, the same mechanism powers a full range of tools matched to the specific rodent a homeowner is facing:
The A24 Trap Kit — ATC’s workhorse for rats and outdoor mice. A single CO₂ cylinder powers up to 24 strikes, making it well suited to sheds, garages, barns, and yard perimeters where rodents travel and nest.
The Mouse Trap — the indoor solution for mice inside the home. USB-rechargeable with roughly 100 strikes per charge and app notifications that alert homeowners to activity, it handles indoor infestations without bait, snap traps, or poison on the kitchen floor.
The A18 Trap Kit — built for tree squirrels and rats, with up to 18 strikes per CO₂ cylinder. It gives homeowners a poison-free answer to tree squirrels raiding attics, gardens, and outbuildings.
Whether the problem is ground squirrels burrowing through the yard, rats in the garage, or mice in the kitchen, the approach is the same: a self-resetting trap that does the work automatically and leaves no toxins behind.
Field results bear that out. Dale Shreve of Lenz Pest Control, a certified TerraTrap installer in Santa Barbara, has deployed the system on residential properties across the region.
“I’ve seen what these traps do on real properties — consistent results, season after season, with no poison anywhere on site,” said Dale Shreve of Lenz Pest Control. “For homeowners who care about what’s happening in their yard and to the animals around it, this is the tool I reach for.”
ATC’s full lineup — the TerraTrap California Ground Squirrel Kit, A24, A18, and Mouse Trap — is available now at https://www.automatictrap.com/. Homeowners unsure which trap fits their situation can use ATC’s product finder to match the right tool to their pest.
About Automatic Trap Company
Automatic Trap Company (ATC) is the North American distributor of Goodnature self-resetting, CO₂-powered, poison-free trapping technology. ATC provides residential, agricultural, and professional customers nationwide with effective rodent and ground squirrel control that leaves no toxins in the environment.
Media Contact
Ria Romano, Partner
RPR Public Relations, Inc.
Tel. 786-290-6413
A photo accompanying this announcement is available at https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/1c055b9e-46a9-40eb-966e-627711b7fc4b
