Fishing – trapping – and vermin destroying – Vermin destroying – Poison holders
Reexamination Certificate
2000-02-16
2002-02-05
Poon, Peter M. (Department: 3643)
Fishing, trapping, and vermin destroying
Vermin destroying
Poison holders
C043S121000, C239S055000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06343434
ABSTRACT:
STATEMENT REGARDING FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH OR DEVELOPMENT
Not Applicable.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to the field of devices for holding poisonous material, adapted to attract and kill vermin, particularly insects. More particularly, the invention relates to a practical, safe, and maintenance free system for preserving the integrity of a deployed point source bait supply until such time as a portion of the bait supply is exposed through the activity of targeted pests and thereby made available for consumption.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Formulation is the processing of a technical grade pesticidal compound by any method that will improve its properties of storage, handling, application, effectiveness, or safety. A low level of pesticide incorporated into one or more materials including food that is relished by the targeted pest is considered to be a bait formulation. Baits are typically manufactured in solid, semisolid, or liquid form and, with the exception of powdered or particulate baits which are typically broadcast over large areas, most baits are intended for point source deployment at selected locations where targeted pests are likely to encounter them and exposure to nontarget organisms is minimized. Baits are typically deployed in a manner that facilitates targeted pests with instant access to them, thereby exposing one or more components of the bait to degradation from environmental influences. Consequentially, baits deployed as a preventive measure and the remainder of baits deployed to combat active infestations become increasingly less effective over time and may serve as a food supply for the target pest or other pests if not removed when the pesticide becomes ineffective.
The art is aware of rodenticide baits that have been contrived to include a means for protecting the bait from environmental degradation until breached by the targeted pest. Examples are disclosed in L'Institut Pasteur, FR. Pat. No. 2,032,164, Giroud-Abel, U.S. Pat. No. 3,032,915, Arbaugh, U.S. Pat. No. 3,624,198, Burke et al., U.S. Pat. No. 3,906,656, and Sherman, U.S. Pat. No. 4,891,218; however, these examples are not concerned with dispensing liquid bait and do not target insects.
Wilson et al, U.S. Pat. No. 4,874,611 discloses a microencapsulated ant bait having a poisoned liquid core and a water resistant polymeric shell which is impervious to the core material. The shell material includes attractants which induce the ants to carry the bait particles back to nest where the microcapsule is penetrated and the core material is ingested. As with other particulate baits, this product is specifically intended for broadcast deployment.
The art is generally aware of numerous insect bait stations comprised of a central bait area surrounded by a housing and passageways of various configurations and complexities intended to induce or at least permit the ingress and egress of sufficiently small pests while obstructing access by larger organisms. A number of these devices have been contrived specifically to dispense liquid bait. While these devices do provide protection to nontarget organisms, they lack the means to protect the contained bait supply from environmental degradation because they provide targeted insects with instant access to the liquid bait.
Insects have different dietary requirements at different stages of development so an optimum bait deployment system should be capable of simultaneously accommodating a variety of baits containing protein, lipid, or carbohydrate food types. Ants are a major urban pest and because foraging adult ants most easily assimilate liquid food and supply nourishment to non-foraging nest mates, an optimum bait deployment system should be capable of accommodating liquid, solid, or semisolid baits. Urban pest control strategies that are changing from monthly to annual or semiannual treatment schedules and incorporating more point source bait supplies into their insect treatment plans need products that can be deployed as a preventive measure and remain effective for extensive periods. Different pest types such as ants or roaches vary greatly in physical size, population density, and behavior as do different species of the same pest type. Therefore, the basic design of an optimum bait deployment system should be sufficiently versatile to facilitate the use of various materials and scaling of its overall size and capacity to accommodate particular targeted pests. A need exists in the art for a bait dispensing system that incorporates all of the desirable characteristics listed above.
BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
An important object of the present invention is to provide a point source bait presentation system that can be deployed as a preventive measure and remain effective over an extended time period. More specifically, the aim of the invention is to exploit the inquisitive, resourceful, and destructive behavior of pests by encouraging them to explore and breach a penetrable protective bait container, thereby exposing preserved bait and making it available for consumption. Further, the protective bait container material is enhanced by the addition of an attractant or feeding stimulant to promote its exploration. Still further, the bait container is manufactured to include a plurality of discrete compartments for holding portions of the aggregate bait supply separately, thereby limiting environmental exposure of bait to breached compartments.
Another object is to maximize consumption of exposed bait by promoting sequential exposure of bait compartments. This is accomplished by an impenetrable housing that limits access to specific areas of the bait container, thereby motivating pests to consume the content of one compartment before breaching the wall of an adjoining compartment.
Another object is to prevent children and pets from being poisoned by exposed bait. This is accomplished by obstructing direct access to the bait container with topographic features incorporated into the impenetrable housing that create a maze-like path which targeted pest can easily navigate to reach the bait container.
A further object of the invention is to provide for its deployment at a variety of locations both indoors and outdoors at, below, and above ground level to control crawling, burrowing, and flying insects having mandibulate or piercing mouthparts. It will become obvious from the drawings that the shape, volume, and configuration of bait compartments can be changed and scaled along with the impenetrable housing to suit a particular application without straying from the inventive concept.
Yet another object is to facilitate provisioning a single device with different baits for pests, such as ants, with changing dietary requirements and preferences. Protein, carbohydrate, or lipid based baits in solid, semisolid, or liquid form may be added separately to compartments in a single bait container to facilitate the simultaneous presentation of a variety of baits and formulations.
Still another object of the invention is to make it easy to use by nonprofessionals. No maintenance is required between deployment and disposal of the device and bait levels can be easily monitored visually through the impenetrable housing which is at least in part transparent.
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patent: 5966863 (1999-10-
Nguyen Son T.
Poon Peter M.
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