Pest control device

Fishing – trapping – and vermin destroying – Traps – Insect

Patent

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Details

43131, A01M 2500

Patent

active

059791080

DESCRIPTION:

BRIEF SUMMARY
The present invention relates to the control of crawling pests, e.g., crawling insects, arachnids, wood lice, millipedes and centipedes, but especially cockroaches. More particularly the invention is concerned with a localized placement device for the control of such pests.


PRIOR ART

Crawling pests have conventionally been controlled by applying a pest control agent to an area, usually by spraying, so that when the target pest crawls over that area it acquires a lethal dose of the agent. However, in this method, humans and non-target creatures can contact the pest control agent, and contamination of foodstuffs or surfaces may occur which could be harmful. Furthermore, the target pest may not stay on a treated area long enough in order to acquire a lethal dose, and this may result in the development of repellency, or resistance, to the agent concerned.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,970,822 describes a contact poison delivery system for cockroaches comprising a tunnel structure having two vertical walls and two horizontal walls defining a poison containment area. An insecticide is applied to the internal horizontal surfaces so that a cockroach walking through the tunnel and contacting those surfaces receives a dose of insecticide. However, the embodiments described are suitable only for the control of cockroaches of a particular size, and we have found that the construction of the device does not allow the insecticide to be transferred even to an insect of appropriate size in a particularly efficient manner. In addition, insecticide is transferred to the legs and feet of the cockroach, and some of this will naturally be deposited on any surface or foodstuffs that it subsequently crosses, resulting in undesirable further contamination. Such contamination is likely to be at sub-lethal levels and, if encountered by other pests, might contribute to the development of resistance. In the region of the device, it could also act to repel further pests from entering the device.


DESCRIPTION

The present invention provides a localised placement device for the control of crawling pests, particularly insects, and especially cockroaches, which reduces or overcomes some of the disadvantages of the prior art.
In one aspect, the present invention provides a device for the control of crawling pests, said device comprising a tunnel into which a crawling pest may enter, characterised in that the interior surface of the tunnel ceiling, or a portion thereof, is treated with a suitable pest control agent, and in that the gap between floor and ceiling in the treated area decreases from at least one edge of the treated area; such that a pest entering the device may encounter said decreasing gap and receive upon contact with the treated surface a dose of the agent topically on its upper parts.
Where the target pest is an insect, the dose is received topically on its antennae, dorsal surfaces of the thorax, abdomen or head.
The floor of the tunnel is preferably formed from a thin layer of a material that does not represent a significant barrier for the pests to cross and enter the device.
The floor of the tunnel is preferably flat, in which case the treated area of the ceiling desirably slopes from opposite edges towards the floor in the direction of the interior of the device to provide the reduction in the floor-to-ceiling gap. For the control of most crawling insects, especially cockroaches, the floor-to-ceiling gap preferably decreases from about 10 mm to about 2 mm, desirably towards the interior of the device. This could alternatively be achieved by means of a flat ceiling and a sloping floor, but this presents a change in environment that is detectable by and may therefore deter the target pests. When a sloping ceiling is used, the change in environment is only detected once the ceiling has been contacted, i.e., once the dose of the pest control agent has been transferred.
In comparison with a device in which the floor and ceiling are parallel, the reducing floor-to-ceiling gap enables a far wider range of sizes of crawling pest to be a

REFERENCES:
patent: 3777716 (1973-12-01), Cortner, Jr.
patent: 4709504 (1987-12-01), Andric
patent: 4970822 (1990-11-01), Sherman

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