Integrated Pest Monitor

Abstract

A pest control device comprising a box with one or more entrances 1 to allow pests inside. The entrance door(s) 4 remains open but can be closed upon inspection to prevent rodents escaping. The invent

Description

Integrated Pest Monitor The invention is concerned with improving the effectiveness of pest monitoring and remote monitoring and the speed in which pest rodents are removed from buildings they infest. The invention is designed to be used for the control of all pest rodents, however for the purposes of this description, the example of using the invention for the control of mice is used. Traditionally, a pest control technician (“the technician”) places monitoring boxes in high risk areas of a building to monitor and control rodents, primarily mice. The monitoring boxes typically contain toxic or non-toxic block or a trap. These allow the technician to identify if mice have been feeding from a monitoring box, or in the case of a trap, identify if they have been trapped and killed in the monitoring box. As these monitoring boxes are designed to be feeding stations, the mice generally live in other areas of a building they are infesting and travel to and from the monitoring boxes to feed. Once a mouse infestation has been identified by the use of monitoring boxes, the technician will place additional equipment in the infested building to assist in bringing the infestation under control as quickly as possible. The equipment will usually include toxic bait, toxic contact products and traps. There are various factors that can hinder the control of an infestation and result in a building having a long-term mouse infestation, including difficulties locating the mice and the mice avoiding traditional pest control equipment. As the traditional monitoring boxes are designed to be feeding stations to assist in identifying pest activity, the technicians then have to investigate and identify where pests are living in a building. Mice are relatively small and can easily squeeze through small gaps. Mice are notoriously difficult to locate. Itis usual for mice to be living in void areas of a building, which are difficult for the technician to access. One method of locating mice in a building is to track them to harbourage areas using fluorescent dust and gel. The dust and gel are placed in areas mice are likely to travel across and as they do so, they stick to their bodies and are then distributed along the route as the mice travel to their harbourage area. Once their harbourage area has been located, traps and poison are ordinarily placed in that area in an attempt to rid the building of the mouse infestation. An increasing issue with controlling mouse infestations in this manner is avoidance. In some populations, mice have learned that equipment placed to aid in the control of them poses a threat and they will avoid the equipment and teach others to avoid it. This results in an increasing population of mice avoiding all traditional control methods. When mice avoid traps and baits, the technician can attempt to track their movements using the fluorescent dust and gel as described above. Once located, the technician can then use contact poison to kill the mice. Contact poison works by sticking to the body of mouse as it comes into contact with it. The contact poison is then ingested by the mouse during grooming. Contact poison can cause cross contamination when mice move from the area it has been placed in and travel to other areas of a building. This is particularly concerning in food premises, where after being exposed to contact poison, mice may then travel across food products and work surfaces, leaving traces of the contact poison on these products and surfaces. This results in a threat to human health and contact poisons can therefore only be used in certain situations, where the use of it is deemed safe. Another control method for mice is the use of glue boards. These are designed for the mice to walk on and then become stuck to. This control method can cause a great deal of distress to mice and unfortunately, it has been known for other animals such as cats, to become trapped on glue boards. The issue of avoidance also applies to contact poison and glue boards, which results in the control of mice being extremely challenging and in some circumstances, impossible. In addition, the issue of avoidance results in efforts to control mouse infestations being a time consuming and expensive process, as the technician has to attempt various methods of control after other failed attempts. The invention is intended to overcome the issues as described above and proposes the use of an enclosed box with one or more entrances to allow the mice to access the inside of the box. The entrance door will remain open. The invention will have an area to apply non-toxic bait which is intended to lure the mice inside and there will be nesting areas inside the invention for the mice to live in. Remote motion cameras may be added to the invention for it to become a remote monitoring system, where mouse activity can be identified immediately upon a mouse entering the invention. During a routine inspection at a site, which are ordinarily carried out 6, 8 or 12 times per year, the invention will be inspected for mouse activity. Further additional inspections will take place when activity is reported by the occupant of a building or a technician is alerted of mouse activity by the remote motion cameras. When inspecting the invention, the entrance doors will be closed by the technician, to trap any mice living inside the invention. The invention will then be removed from its location for inspection. The invention has a lid which will have a transparent section, to allow for the technician to easily view any mice living inside. The transparent section can have covers in place over it for when the invention is being used in lighter areas of a building. Upon the discovery of any mice living inside the invention, the technician will humanely dispatch the mice and then place the invention back in situ. The invention will be added to wall voids, cupboards, fixed seating, underneath shelves on shop floors and warehouses and in any other areas of a building which are at high-risk of pest infestation. As the invention will be required to fit a multitude of diverse areas, it will be manufactured bespoke to fit in the desired location. The invention will now be described solely by way of example and with reference to the accompanying drawings in which: Figure 1 shows an external view of the invention. Figure 2 shows an internal view of the invention. Figure 1 shows the typical shape of the invention; however, the shape will vary to fit the specific area where the invention is required. The invention has 1 or more entrances for the mice to use, as shown at 1 of figures 1 and 2. Sliding doors are in place on the invention for the technician to close upon an inspection to trap any mice living inside. These doors are shown at 4 of figure 2. These doors can have the addition of a motor or springs placed on them to allow for the doors to be closed remotely, before the technician arrives on site, if for instance the technician is alerted to mouse activity inside the invention by the remote motion cameras prior to the technician arriving on site. The lid of the invention is shown at 2 of figure 1 and will be hinged to allow for access by the technician to the inside of the invention. As shown at 3 of figure 1, a section of the lid has a transparent panel made from a material such as Perspex to allow the technician to view the inside of the invention during inspection. If the invention is to be used in a light area of a building, coverings will be added to the transparent panel of the lid, to ensure the mice are hidden and feel safe inside the invention and remain living there until they are later trapped inside. At 5 of figure 2, there are 2 nesting areas for the mice to live in. Depending on the size of the invention made for a particular area of a building, more nesting areas can be created. At 6 of figure 2 there is an area created to place the non-toxic bait, to lure the mice inside the invention. 7 of figure 2 shows the remote motion camera which can be included on the invention. The remote motion camera will preferably be mains powered (but can be battery powered) and connected to the buildings Wi-Fi which will allow for the technician to access the camera remotely and inspect all monitors on site without the need to physically visit the site. Alternatively, the invention can be used in a similar way to a traditional monitor in that it can be physically inspected during a routine inspection. The use of the invention will result in the infestation being removed during the first visit, with no requirement for the use of toxic poison. The invention overcomes the issue of avoidance, as it is designed to be a safe and trusted place for the mice to live in whilst inhabiting a building. This safe environment will prevent mice becoming wary of the invention. As the mouse infestation can be located and dispatched immediately upon them inhabiting the invention, the mice will have no opportunity to learn and teach other mice of the threat of danger to them as they can do with traditional control methods and equipment. The invention allows for any non-target animals (such as bank voles) living inside of it to be released unharmed, into the wild. Upon entering a building, mice seek a safe area to live and breed in, close to a food source. The invention therefore plays on this natural instinct and behaviour and provides a safe and trusted environment where the mice can live. The invention provides a harbourage area to the mice, while giving the technician the upper hand as they can easily locate, capture and dispatch the mice. The invention removes the need to use toxic poison which is a threat to human health and the health of non-target wild animals that may have also entered the building. The reduction in the use of toxic baits and a reduction in the technicians visits to the site where the invention is being used will inevitably reduce the overall cost of pest management in the long-term. The invention can be placed in a building at any time, however it will ideally be fixed into the building at the time of its initial build or re-fit. The technician will work with building owners and occupiers to ensure that the invention is placed in the most appropriate locations and if remote motion cameras or sensors are to be used on the invention, consideration will be given to locating the invention close to any required electrical or internet cables, or ensuring such cables run to the most appropriate location to site the invention, upon the build or re-fit of a building. The invention will be used in accordance with all current legislation relating to live trapped animals.

Claims

Claims 1. A pest control device which is used to monitor and trap rodents, intended to be installed into void areas of buildings where rodents actively seek out harborage. The device is a harborage area comprising an enclosed box with one or more entrances; one or more nesting chambers and a lid which can be hinged or sliding. The entrances have doors in place which will remain open to allow rodents to enter and exit the device and then closed when inspecting the device to prevent rodents escaping.

2. The device as described in Claim 1 can also be a stand-alone unit for use in any area, as an alternative to it being integrated into a void area.

3. The device as described in Claim 1 can be of any shape, size or length.

4. The device as described in Claim 1 can be made using any material.

5. The device as described in Claim 1 can have the addition of remote monitoring technology.

6. The device as described in Claim 1 can have an area to place non-toxic bait to lure the rodents into the device.

7. The lid of the device, as described in Claim 1, can have a transparent section made using material such as wire mesh or Perspex for viewing rodents living inside. The transparent section can have a covering on it to maintain a dark environment to assist rodents in feeling safe living inside.

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