Forums » Off-Topic Discussions
Tiny biodegradable rat traps
-
Goodnature co-founder Robbie van Dam said the idea came to him around eight years ago, while working in predator control on Hawaiian island Kaho‘olawe.To get more news about Butyl Seal Tape, you can visit senpinghz.com official website.
He faced the issue of unexploded mines from past military training preventing access on foot, and he began to see a need for a trap which could be delivered by air, with no need to check it or retrieve it later.
This would be perfect for hard-to-reach locations deep in the New Zealand bush, or high on a ridge line.The trap itself would biodegrade in a couple of months, used or not, leaving no waste and no toxins.Delivering by drone was less invasive, and much easier for inaccessible spots. “We thought, ‘Let’s use a system that already exists’,” van Dam said.
The current prototype had a small cone, sized between a thimble and a shot glass, just big enough for a rat’s head to fit inside.
When a rat nibbled the bait, a biodegradable elastic band would snap around its neck and quickly strangle it.
The company, in conjunction with research institute Scion, in Rotorua, had been testing plastic alternatives, like lignin from timber, or bird feathers, for its construction.Minister of Conservation Kiri Allan said traps were an important predator control tool, “but current technology limits the use of traps in the backcountry or over large areas, due to their costs and servicing needs”.
“The aerial micro-trap is a new concept that is non-toxic and humane, and potentially cost-effective for suppressing rats over large areas and in remote and difficult to access locations.”Goodnature would design, build, and test the prototype in collaboration with DOC. If successful, the trap would be produced and sold by the company.
The funding would come from Goodnature itself, as well as DOC’s Tools to Market programme ($965,000) and Predator Free 2050’s Products to Projects fund ($335,000), backed by the Provincial Growth Fund.
-
