Mating disruption arrangement

Abstract

The invention discloses a mating disruption arrangement, which includes clip-on means adapted to be connected with housing means, adapted to contain at least one pheromone adapted to disrupt mating of insects and / or pests, and said clip-on means is adapted to be clipped onto branches of trees and / or plants and / or stands and / or rods and / or wire and / or ropes; longitudinal locating means adapted to clip the clip-on means with the housing means high in branches of the trees and / or plants and / or stands and / or rods and / or wire and / or ropes. The housing means and the clip-on means can be integrally formed. The clip-on means and the housing means are located high in branches of the trees and / or plants and / or stands and / or rods and / or wire and / or ropes without the assistance of ladder(s).

Description

[0001] MATING DISRUPTION ARRANGEMENT

[0002] FIELD OF INVENTION

[0003] The present invention relates to a mating disruption arrangement.

[0004] More particularly, the present invention related to a mating disruption arrangement for insect and / or pest control.

[0005] BACKGROUND TO INVENTION

[0006] Mating disruption is a pest management technique designed to control certain insect pests by introducing artificial stimuli that confuse the individuals and disrupt mate localization and / or courtship, thus preventing mating and blocking the reproductive cycle. Mating disruption usually involves the use of synthetic sex pheromones, although other approaches, such as interfering with vibrational communication, are also being developed.

[0007] Over the decades that pheromone pest programs have been used several disadvantages have been argued when compared to the use of conventional pesticides. Most pheromones target a single species, so a specific mating disruption formulation controls only the species that uses that pheromone blend; whereas pesticides usually kill indiscriminately a plethora of species, including multiple species with a single application. Some synthetic pheromones have high developmental and production costs, causing the mating disruption technique to be too costly to be adopted by conventional commercial growers. Furthermore, most commercial pheromone mating disruption formulations must be applied by hand, which can be an expensive and time consuming.

[0008] It is an object of the invention to suggest a novel mating disruption arrangement.

[0009] SUMMARY OF INVENTION

[0010] According to the invention, a mating disruption arrangement includes

[0011] (a) clip-on means adapted to be connected with housing means, adapted to contain at least one pheromone adapted to disrupt mating of insects and / or pests, and said clip-on means is adapted to be clipped onto branches of trees and / or plants and / or stands and / or rods and / or wire and / or ropes;

[0012] (b) longitudinal locating means adapted to clip the clip-on means with the housing means high in branches of the trees and / or plants and / or stands and / or rods and / or wire and / or ropes. Also, according to the invention, a method for disrupting mating of insects and / or pests includes the steps

[0013] (a) of providing housing means adapted to contain at least one pheromone adapted to disrupt mating of insects and / or pests;

[0014] (b) of connecting clip-on means to the housing means to be adapted to be clipped onto branches of trees and / or plants and / or stands and / or rods and / or wire and / or ropes; and

[0015] (c) providing longitudinal locating means adapted to clip the clip-on means with the housing means high in branches of the trees and / or plants and / or stands and / or rods and / or wire and / or ropes.

[0016] Also according to the invention, a method for locating housing means for disrupting the mating of insects and / or pests which includes the steps

[0017] (a) of providing housing means adapted to contain at least one pheromone adapted to disrupt mating of insects and / or pests;

[0018] (b) of providing clip-on means adapted to be connected to housing means, adapted to contain at least one pheromone adapted to disrupt mating of insects and / or pests, and said clip-on means being adapted to be clipped onto branches of trees and / or plants and / or stands and / or rods and / or wire and / or ropes; and (c) providing longitudinal locating means adapted to clip the clip-on means with the housing means high in branches of the trees and / or plants and / or stands and / or rods and / or wire and / or ropes.

[0019] The housing means and the clip-on means may be integrally formed.

[0020] The clip-on means and the housing means may be located high in branches of the trees and / or plants and / or stands and / or rods and / or wire and / or ropes without the assistance of ladder(s).

[0021] The longitudinal locating means may include a magazine of housing means to be located high in the branches of the trees and / or plants and / or stands and / or rods and / or wire and / or ropes.

[0022] The housing means and the clip-on means may have an illuminous colour.

[0023] The housing means and the clip-on means may have different annual colours adapted to confirmed which year the mating disruption arrangement was used and to prevent confusion.

[0024] The housing means and the clip-on means may be biodegradable.

[0025] The housing means and the clip-on means may be made of plastics material. The housing means may have various shapes.

[0026] The clip-on means may have various shapes.

[0027] The mating disruption arrangement may be used for insect and / or pest control.

[0028] The arrangement may include the housing means adapted to contain at least one pheromone adapted to disrupt mating of insects and / or pests.

[0029] The mating disruption arrangement may also be used for at least one of the following:

[0030] (a) Luring;

[0031] (b) Baiting;

[0032] (c) Trapping; and / or

[0033] (d) Decoying.

[0034] BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

[0035] The invention will now be described byway of example with reference to the accompanying schematic drawings.

[0036] In the drawings there is shown in Figure 1 : a first perspective view of a mating disruption arrangement according to a first embodiment of the invention;

[0037] Figure 2: a second perspective view of the mating disruption arrangement shown in Figure 1 with the cover or lid of the housing means closed;

[0038] Figure 3: a first perspective view of a mating disruption arrangement according to a second embodiment of the invention; and

[0039] Figure 4: a second perspective view of the mating disruption arrangement shown in Figure 3 with the housing means clipped connected to the clip-on means.

[0040] DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

[0041] Referringto the drawings and accordingto the invention, a mating disruption arrangement, generally indicated by reference numeral 10, is shown.

[0042] According to the invention, a mating disruption arrangement 10 includes

[0043] (a) clip-on means 16 adapted to be connected with housing means 12 or 14, adapted to contain at least one pheromone adapted to disrupt mating of insects and / or pests, and said clip-on means adapted to be clipped onto branches of trees and / or plants and / or stands and / or rods and / or wire and / or ropes;

[0044] (b) longitudinal locating means (not shown) adapted to clip the clip-on means 16 and the housing means 12 or 14 high in branches of the trees and / or plants and / or stands and / or rods and / or wire and / or ropes.

[0045] The clip-on means 16 has guides 18 to slide in a guiding channel (not shown) of the longitudinal locating means.

[0046] The housing means 12 has a porous lid 20.

[0047] The housing means 12 and the clip-on means 16 are integrally formed.

[0048] The clip-on means 16 and the housing means 12 or 14 can be located high in branches of the trees and / or plants and / or stands and / or rods and / or wire and / or ropes without the assistance of ladder(s) due to the longitudinal locating means, which can be an extended rod or pole.

[0049] The longitudinal locating means can include a magazine of housing means 12 or 14 and clip-on means 16 to be located high in the branches of the trees and / or plants and / or stands and / or rods and / or wire and / or ropes.

[0050] The housing means 12 or 14 and the clip-on means have an illuminous colour. The housing means 12 or 14 and the clip-on means 16 have different annual colours adapted to confirmed which year the mating disruption arrangement was used and to prevent confusion.

[0051] The housing means 12 or 14 and the clip-on means 16 are biodegradable.

[0052] The housing means 12 or 14 and the clip-on means 16 are made of plastics material.

[0053] The housing means 12 or 14 can have various shapes.

[0054] The clip-on means 16 can have various shapes.

[0055] The mating disruption arrangement 10 is used for insect and / or pest control.

[0056] The arrangement 10 includes the housing means 12 or 14 adapted to contain at least one pheromone adapted to disrupt mating of insects and / or pests.

[0057] The mating disruption arrangement 10 can also be used for at least one of the following:

[0058] (a) Luring;

[0059] (b) Baiting;

[0060] (c) Trapping; and / or

[0061] (d) Decoying. The invention thus provides a method for disrupting mating of insects and / or pests which includes the steps

[0062] (a) of providing housing means 12 or 14 adapted to contain at least one pheromone adapted to disrupt mating of insects and / or pests;

[0063] (b) of connecting clip-on means 16 to the housing means 12 or 14 to be adapted to be clipped onto branches of trees and / or plants and / or stands and / or rods and / or wire and / or ropes; and

[0064] (c) providing longitudinal locating means adapted to clip the clip-on means 16 and the housing means 12 or 14 high in branches of the trees and / or plants and / or stands and / or rods and / or wire and / or ropes.

[0065] The invention also provides for a method for locating housing means for disrupting the mating of insects and / or pests which includes the steps

[0066] (a) of providing housing means adapted to contain at least one pheromone adapted to disrupt mating of insects and / or pests;

[0067] (b) of providing clip-on means adapted to be connected to housing means, adapted to contain at least one pheromone adapted to disrupt mating of insects and / or pests, and said clip-on means being adapted to be clipped onto branches of trees and / or plants and / or stands and / or rods and / or wire and / or ropes; and

[0068] (c) providing longitudinal locating means adapted to clip the clip-on means with the housing means high in branches of the trees and / or plants and / or stands and / or rods and / or wire and / or ropes.

Claims

PATENT CLAIMS1 . A mating disruption arrangement, which includes(a) Clip-on means adapted to be connected with housing means, adapted to contain at least one pheromone adapted to disrupt mating of insects and / or pests, and said clip-on means is adapted to be clipped onto branches of trees and / or plants and / or stands and / or rods and / or wire and / or ropes;(b) Longitudinal locating means adapted to clip the clip-on means with the housing means high in branches of the trees and / or plants and / or stands and / or rods and / or wire and / or ropes.

2. An arrangement as claimed in claim 1 , in which the housing means and the clip-on means are integrally formed.

3. An arrangement as claimed in claim 1 or claim 2, in which the clip-on means and the housing means are located high in branches of the trees and / or plants and / or stands and / or rods and / or wire and / or ropes without the assistance of ladder(s).

4. An arrangement as claimed in anyone of the preceding claims, in which the longitudinal locating means includes a magazine of clip-on means and housing means to be located high in the branches of the trees and / or plants and / or stands and / or rods and / or wire and / or ropes.

5. An arrangement as claimed in anyone of the preceding claims, in which the housing means and / orthe clip-on means have an illuminous colour.

6. An arrangement as claimed in anyone of the preceding claims, in which the housing means and / or the clip-on means have different annual colours adapted to confirmed which year the mating disruption arrangement was used and to prevent confusion.

7. An arrangement as claimed in anyone of the preceding claims, in which the housing means and / or the clip-on means are biodegradable.

8. An arrangement as claimed in anyone of the preceding claims, in which the housing means and / or the clip-on means are made of plastics material.

9. An arrangement as claimed in anyone of the preceding claims, in which the housing means has various shapes.

10. An arrangement as claimed in anyone of the preceding claims, in which the clip-on means has various shapes.

11. An arrangement as claimed in anyone of the preceding claims, which is used for insect and / or pest control.

12. An arrangement as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, which includes the housing means adapted to contain at least one pheromone adapted to disrupt mating of insects and / or pests.

13. An arrangement as claimed in anyone of the preceding claims, which is used for at least one of the following:(a) Luring;(b) Baiting;(c) Trapping; and / or(d) Decoying.

14. A method for disrupting mating of insects and / or pests which includes the steps(a) of providing housing means adapted to contain at least one pheromone adapted to disrupt mating of insects and / or pests;(b) of connecting clip-on means to the housing means to be adapted to be clipped onto branches of trees and / or plants and / or stands and / or rods and / or wire and / or ropes; and(c) providing longitudinal locating means adapted to clip the clip-on means and the housing means high in branches of the trees and / or plants and / or stands and / or rods and / or wire and / or ropes.

15. A method for locating housing means for disrupting the mating of insects and / or pests which includes the steps(a) of providing housing means adapted to contain at least one pheromone adapted to disrupt mating of insects and / or pests;(b) of providing clip-on means adapted to be connected to housing means, adapted to contain at least one pheromone adapted to disrupt mating of insects and / or pests, and said clip-on means being adapted to be clipped onto branches of trees and / or plants and / or stands and / or rods and / or wire and / or ropes; and(c) providing longitudinal locating means adapted to clip the clip-on means with the housing means high in branches of the trees and / or plants and / or stands and / or rods and / or wire and / or ropes.

16. A mating disruption arrangement substantially as hereinbefore described.

17. A method for disrupting mating of insects and / or pests substantially as hereinbefore described.

18. A method for locating housing means for disrupting the mating of insects and / or pests substantially as hereinbefore described.

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