High-tech beats mice, rats

Press, 6 December 1989, Page 12

High-tech beats mice, rats

NZPA-AAP London Mice seeking a little Christmas cheer in food factories this year might find the pursuit a lot less festive than before, Rentokil scientists say. Mouse Alert a new high-tech mousetrap that they have developed was perfect for food or pharmaceutical factories because it did not need poisons, they said. Instead it harnessed the latest in surveillance and high-security electronics to catch the pests.

Mouse Alert used a series of carefully sited box sensors designed to lure scavenging mice inside, the scientists said. Lured by a succulent paste, the rodents triggered an infra-red beam inside the box. Coloured lights in a central nerve centre tell mice control officers the precise location of the intruder and a historical pattern of mice routes. Once the movements were logged, the sensor box was replaced with a trapping box and

the mice destroyed humanely with anaesthetics. Up to 128 different locations could be monitored from the same control panel, Peter Batemen, of Rentokil, said. Rentokil had patented the system, he said. Mouse Alert was quicker and more reliable at detecting mice than traditional baiting and visual inspection, he said. Hudson Devices, of Illinois, has devised a trap for rats as well as mice.

It is about the size of a toaster and runs on eight small batteries. When the rat enters a baited tunnel, it disturbs an electric eye, the tunnel tilts and tips the rodent into a bag. Carbon dioxide is pumped into the container and suffocates it in minutes. The tunnel springs back into position, The bag can hold about 10 rats or 30 mice before it needs emptying: