Fishing – trapping – and vermin destroying – Vermin destroying – Poison holders
Reexamination Certificate
1999-06-14
2001-02-20
Ark, Darren W. (Department: 3643)
Fishing, trapping, and vermin destroying
Vermin destroying
Poison holders
C043S132100
Reexamination Certificate
active
06189259
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to the field of insect control, and more particularly to a bait-and-switch delivery apparatus for the control of insects.
Various traps and other types of insecticide delivery systems have been developed in an attempt to control flying insects with varying degrees of success. Insecticide delivery systems are sometimes categorized as being either of the “quick kill” variety or of a “delayed kill” type.
Quick kill systems use pesticides that kill shortly after contact or ingestion. Quick kill pesticides are usually used in aerosol and spray insecticide systems. Unfortunately, quick kill pesticides are typically only effective on individuals or very small groups of insects, and thus the entire colony of insects cannot be eradicated unless the entire colony is exposed to the quick kill pesticide. Such exposure can rarely be accomplished due to the limitations of dispensing such pesticides.
Pesticides which have a “delayed kill” action are most useful against social insects such as wasps and bees. If a “delayed kill” pesticide is ingested by wasps and bees, the active substance toxic to the insect will be carried back to the home colony where it will be shared by other members such as larvae, workers, and the queen. If sufficient toxicant is transported back into the home colony, it is possible to eradicate the entire colony. In order to assure that sufficient toxicant is carried back to the nest or home colony, the formulation containing the active toxicant must be palatable to the insect.
Wasps, which include such species as yellow jackets and hornets, are generally categorized as feeding source generalists. However, wasps are quite sensitive to the presence of adulterants in food. Thus, palatable toxicant formulations must be carefully prepared so that the levels of toxicants, surfactants and other substances are carefully blended to provide an attractive bait. However, degradation of the toxicant often times results in bait which, although initially attractive, ultimately becomes unpalatable.
An approach to getting wasps such as yellow jackets and hornets to ingest a toxicant that has been found very effective has been called the “bait-and-switch” technique. This technique essentially allows the wasps to become accustomed to a liquid food source containing no toxicants, i.e. a liquid formulated with bait only which is attractive to the insect during an initial feeding period. As a result, these insects are baited or trained to continue feeding from what they consider to be a palatable formulation even after a toxicant is added to the formulation. For such a method to be convenient and effective, a specialized delivery system needs to be employed.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The present invention provides an insect bait-and-switch delivery apparatus for the control of flying insects, especially wasps. The invention provides an economical and easily manufactured apparatus that delivers both a bait and an active substance toxic to the insects in such a way as to provide a very effective bait-and-switch apparatus to kill targeted insects. In particular, the apparatus trains wasps to become accustomed to a liquid food source containing no toxicants, i.e. a bait only formulation, so that, after an initial feeding period, they subsequently continue feeding from the source, even after a toxicant is added to the formulation exposed for feeding. Once the delivery apparatus is activated, the formulation having the active ingredient is made available for feeding without any further specific positive action by the end user or consumer who purchases the apparatus.
The apparatus has a reservoir defining a first chamber containing bait attractive to an insect, and a second chamber containing active toxic to an insect, a first feeding station in the first chamber for making bait available to an insect, a second feeding station in the second chamber for making active available to an insect, a passageway interconnecting the first and second chambers, and access means in the first chamber disposed to initially limit access of an insect to the second feeding station during an initial feeding period of bait and to subsequently enable access to the second feeding station via the passageway after the initial feeding period and depletion of the bait. Thus, the apparatus initially prevents or at least limits insect access to the active during an initial feeding period, but after the initial feeding period, enables the insects to have access to a bait-active mixture. In this manner, the insect is initially trained to become accustomed to a food source, and thereafter to continue feeding from a bait-toxicant mixture. Thus, as the insects travel back and forth from the apparatus to their nest, the active toxin is spread throughout the entire nest to exterminate all members of the nest without the time consuming necessity of actually physically locating the nest or the relatively dangerous activity of directly spraying the nest with a quick kill insecticide.
In order to accomplish the above, one embodiment of the apparatus has the chamber containing the active located above the chamber containing the bait, and a central tubular core comprising the passageway interconnecting the two chambers. The access means comprises a plurality of ports located at the bottom of the tubular core. These ports are initially beneath the surface of the bait and therefore, covered by the bait contained in the lower chamber. Thus, wasps, although having access to the feeding station dispensing the bait, do not have access to the feeding station containing the active. Thus, as the bait is depleted due to the feeding action of insects at the feeding station, the level of bait slowly moves downwardly toward the bottom of the reservoir. Eventually, as the level of the bait in the lower chamber continues to decrease, the bait uncovers the lower end of the central tubular core, and thus uncovers the access ports. Once the access ports are uncovered, the insects travel through the access ports up the central tubular core to the upper chamber and its bait-active mixture. Thereafter, as the insects continue to feed, they ingest the combination active and bait mixture. Thus, as the insects travel back and forth from the apparatus to their nest, the active is spread throughout all the insects in the colony resulting in eradication of the entire insect colony.
In another embodiment, the chamber containing the active is located below the chamber containing the bait, and a central tubular core comprising the passageway again interconnects the two chambers. The access means comprises an opening of reduced dimensions located at the upper end of the core which, in this embodiment, extends substantially above the feeding station dispensing the bait. Thus, wasps feed on the readily available bait until it is depleted and then discover the less directly presented access port above the feeding station, whereupon they travel down the central cover to feed on the active in the lower chamber.
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Ark Darren W.
S. C. Johnson & Son Inc.
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