Fishing – trapping – and vermin destroying – Vermin destroying – Fumigators
Reexamination Certificate
2003-02-11
2004-02-10
Eldred, J. Woodrow (Department: 3644)
Fishing, trapping, and vermin destroying
Vermin destroying
Fumigators
C043S132100, C043S134000, C043S138000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06688036
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
This invention relates to a method and apparatus for controlling pests. More specifically, it relates to an effective, environmentally safe, lightweight, inexpensive, versatile, easy to operate, portable apparatus and a method of use for killing, incapacitating, or eliminating pests.
Flying, burrowing and crawling pests can be annoying, threatening or damaging to persons, property and vegetation and are particularly bothersome when they inhabit building structures or the grounds of areas inhabited by humans. Many insects, such as flies, mosquitoes, cockroaches, moths, beetles, aphids, mites and ants, as well as burrowing animals, such as mice, moles and rats, are capable of disease transmission. Nesting bees, wasps, hornets and fire ants may attack and sting farm animals, domestic animals and humans and have been know to seriously injure or kill both animals and humans. Rats, mice and termites, for example, are capable of causing extensive property damage.
Fire ants, in particular, cause over one billion dollars in damage each year in the United States. They have been known to attack, injure and cause the death of humans, farm animals and domestic animals. They also have been known to cause the degradation and deter the harvesting of crops, damage and kill plant and animal life in national and city parks, cause damage to telephone boxes and electrical transformers, deter humans from fully enjoying the yards of their homes, damage building structures and cause the interruption of utility services to buildings. Governments and private citizens in the United States spend millions of dollars each year to eradicate fire ants with limited success. Imported fire ants continue to migrate northward in the United States, expanding the area of infestation.
Apparatuses and methods for controlling pests have existed for years. Toxic chemicals often have been applied to pests' dwellings and the surrounding areas in order to exterminate the pests. While toxic chemicals can be very effective, exposing toxic chemicals to the environment is not safe for humans, animals, plants and desirable insects and therefore is often prohibited in the United States by the Environmental Protection Agency. Methods and apparatuses for applying freezing liquids, steam, intense heat, intensified solar radiation, anesthetics, foams, chemical fogs generated onsite, carbon monoxide, carbon dioxide and other heavier-than-air gases have also been used to control pests. An apparatus for flushing and vacuuming has been developed to remove pests from their dwelling places by injecting a flushing agent into the dwelling and vacuuming out the flushing agent together with the pests. The use of such apparatuses and methods to exterminate pests also can be effective, but they generally require special chemicals that are expensive and not readily available or special equipment that may be expensive, relatively heavy, relatively immobile, and not readily available.
Many of the apparatuses that have been developed utilize a hood or shroud that covers and encloses the surface surrounding the pests' dwelling for application of the exterminating agent(s). The versatility of such apparatuses is limited, however, because oftentimes the pests' dwelling may be located adjacent an obstruction such as a tree, a fence post, a telephone pole, a light pole, a lamp post, an air conditioner or an electrical device used in the provision of electricity or telephone service, and the hood or shroud may not cover the entire surrounding surface of the pests' dwelling.
Other apparatuses and methods have been developed for specialized use in controlling pests. A specialized apparatus has been developed for exterminating insects in walls and ceilings of buildings using a disposable aerosol insecticide spraying canister, but the apparatus is designed only for the control of pests that inhabit buildings through insertion into an opening in a wall or ceiling. Additionally, conventional aerosol foggers have long been used in one or more enclosed rooms in buildings for eliminating pests such as fleas and ticks but generally have not been used to infuse outside pest dwellings such as ant hills, wasp nests, and so on. Such conventional aerosol foggers have, however, been used outside for releasing insecticides into the air for eliminating flying pests such as mosquitoes. Such applications, however, do not eliminate pests from their dwelling places and may be harmful to the environment.
Further, granules of solid insecticide have been used to exterminate ants by placing the granules on ant hills. The success of this method, however, can be limited because ant hills have multiple queen ants, and all queen ants must be eliminated in order to exterminate the entire ant colony. When this method is used, the worker ants take the granules inside the ant hill, where the granules are converted into liquid and consumed by the ants. Because the process is relatively slow, not all ants die at once. If a worker ant dies from consuming the granules, one or more of the queen ants will refuse to eat the granules and may relocate the ant colony. Therefore, this method may require frequent applications of the granules on existing ant hills and on new ant hills resulting from the ants' relocation. The versatility and effectiveness of this method is therefore limited.
Still further, in several of the existing methods and apparatuses, an exterminating agent is introduced into a pests' dwelling using a wand, a probe or a conduit that is inserted into the dwelling to ensure application of the agent in the proper location within the dwelling. Consequently, the pests are likely to be disturbed prior to the application of the agent, and many of the pests may escape the dwelling before they are affected by the agent being applied. Liquids sprayed on a surface of a pests' dwelling have also been used to control pests. Such applications, however, only affect the pests that are outside of the dwelling or are in any areas of the subterranean tunnels that may be reached by the liquid that flows through the pest entrances.
Consequently, there has been a need for an effective, environmentally safe, lightweight, inexpensive, versatile, easy to operate, portable apparatus for controlling pests and a method for its use. Providing an apparatus that contains within an enclosed interior cavity of a housing a fluid used to kill, incapacitate or eliminate pests until such time as the fluid infuses the pests' dwelling will protect the surrounding environment, the operator of the apparatus and any persons, animals, insects and vegetation that may be nearby. Providing a lightweight, inexpensive, easy to operate and portable apparatus will make the apparatus more readily available and affordable to users and will provide an incentive for more users to kill, incapacitate or eliminate the pests that threaten or annoy the users, their animals, their property and the environment. Providing an apparatus that rapidly infuses all areas of the pests' dwelling and does not disturb the dwelling prior to infusion of the fluid into the dwelling, thus avoiding escape by the pests prior to infusion, will maximize the effectiveness of the apparatus and method. Providing an apparatus that can completely or partially surround obstructions adjacent the pests' dwelling increases the versatility of the apparatus and method. It is to this end that the present invention has been developed.
BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
According to one aspect of the invention, an apparatus is provided which includes a housing and a container of pressurized fluid formulated to eliminate pests. The housing has an open end, an open interior cavity and an inside surface and is adapted to sit on a surface surrounding a pest dwelling with pest entrances, thereby forming a closed interior cavity and enclosing the pest entrances. The housing also includes an upper wall connected to a continuous sidewall, the continuous sidewall having an upper surface. The housing furth
Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld & LLP
Eldred J. Woodrow
Keene Daniel W.
LandOfFree
Method and apparatus for controlling pests does not yet have a rating. At this time, there are no reviews or comments for this patent.
If you have personal experience with Method and apparatus for controlling pests, we encourage you to share that experience with our LandOfFree.com community. Your opinion is very important and Method and apparatus for controlling pests will most certainly appreciate the feedback.
Profile ID: LFUS-PAI-O-3289308