Can We Change The Way We Trap

[Matt 160]

I vaguely remember someone on one of the pest control forums talking about a system where a text message was sent when a trap was activated. It was a few years ago now; but back then the opinion of certain civil servants was that in their opinion it wouldn't constitute 'trap checking', but that only a judge or magistrate could give a definitive ruling on it.

 

I'm not sure that there is any real advantage when you take into account the lack of observation and field craft that there would be on the trap line. In my experience a line 'evolves' over a period of time and doesn't just 'happen'. When you are going round your traps every day you get to see pest activity and changes in the general environment that you are trapping in.

 

Another consideration when thinking about kill traps is that there is no legal requirement to check them every day unless they are set for rabbits and hares. It may be 'best practice', but as things stand at present it's not a legal requirement.

 

Having said that, there is nothing to beat actually getting out on the ground and seeing what is going on and the more you can do it the better.

[The one 8,463]

I vaguely remember someone on one of the pest control forums talking about a system where a text message was sent when a trap was activated. It was a few years ago now; but back then the opinion of certain civil servants was that in their opinion it wouldn't constitute 'trap checking', but that only a judge or magistrate could give a definitive ruling on it.

 

I'm not sure that there is any real advantage when you take into account the lack of observation and field craft that there would be on the trap line. In my experience a line 'evolves' over a period of time and doesn't just 'happen'. When you are going round your traps every day you get to see pest activity and changes in the general environment that you are trapping in.

 

Another consideration when thinking about kill traps is that there is no legal requirement to check them every day unless they are set for rabbits and hares. It may be 'best practice', but as things stand at present it's not a legal requirement.

 

Having said that, there is nothing to beat actually getting out on the ground and seeing what is going on and the more you can do it the better.

 

That's how they ended up checking the mink traps on the isle,s they said as they where set over a large area that was the best way to check them but I'm sure it worked out at over five thousand pounds for every mink trapped as they gave the job to mates of mates rather than guys who knew what they where doing

[2.8 guy 403]

Thanks otc, My idea came about whilst talking to my keeper friend as said, the estate he runs is as you guest a high moor estate of around 8,000 acre, and has hundreds of traps set across it, he only has the problem certain times of year when rabbits are juvenile and the main target for the traps are weasle stoat and rats.

The idea from my point of view was just a housing over the fen trap with this call on, and as you say it needed to be cheap.

 

so i came up with a idea that would cost little and be easy to install also it would fit on existing housings, then that would cost even less certainly under a fiver just clip it on and there you go.

 

But after you speaking to a paten attorney it was clear the more you cover the better protected you are as if you have one idea and they knock it back its gone you have several under the same umbrella and you lose six you still got one.

 

This was a bit fun and i must admit i did get a bit carried away, just for a min take away legal aspects, as your ideas can be checked and in different countries different laws.

 

For example the keeper once said to me if a stoat with a brood on was caught it would call its young to it, so the broodinator was thought up and its a live catch trap that calls in the stoat then drops it into a cage the stoat then will call its young that will also drop in with it, of course timing on this would have to be just right, just before the brood leaves and placement too would be a big factor, May never work or get made but its one on the list lol,

 

As for the tech stuff some of it has already been done and I was told by some of the organisations about the checking of traps by text ect did not constitute it being checked ect, never the less I still think its good to know sooner than later, i just thought it was a bit wasted on then just being able to see what was in the trap hence why i added the none target species trap door, yes a little infringement but its using the tech just that bit further.

 

At the end of the day it was never really about the tech as my initial idea is so far from that, I did like the idea of the phone thats forward thinking.

[OldTrapCollector 377]

Before you dived headlong into the complex world of patents and secure devices I assume that you gave a full set of prototypes and experiments a comprehensive and robust trial period? How did they perform? Did one outshine the others in the tests, and equally did one or two designs fail to deliver as expected? Did you find that you have to make many modifications to the original designs in order to get them to work as they should? Did traps/mechanism from different manufacturers have much effect on the success of them - for example did different fittings or set-ups, loudness of call, or a particular pitch work better with any particular species and was there one call that proved to be a good all-rounder?

 

Can I also assume that they were trialled extensively in different situations, rather than in the single moorland site you mentioned? Did you experience any intention of theft from the general public as I expected in such lowland areas?

 

You will also obviously have had to compare them to existing trap types and mechanisms - did you find this a difficult thing to achieve since little exists of a similar type to your idea? How did it perform, for example when trialled alongside the US caller you mentioned - was it a great improvement to the existing design or did yours perform much better?

 

I am genuinely interested in this type of thing (as you might tell) - could you offer any answers to my questions without giving away any more of your ideas in the public arena, PM me if you prefer?

 

OTC

[stubby 175]

I dont get into arguments on here so if there your views fine, other an

having animals as a decoy not legal larsan trap with a call bird,

 

 

 

 

I set about researching the idea of a call trap

 

 

 

 

 

 

ATB 2.8

yet couldn't be bothered to research the law on trapping???

 

 

There have been some interesting ideas passed on this thread (which makes a change)

 

I wonder of the legality of checking traps with a camera or suchlike device as most statutes dictate that they must be checked within each 24 hours ... ?

 

 

A web cam checking traps twice a day; particularly something like a squirrel trap in a customer’s loft, is a great idea.

 

I’d also be very interested to find out if that’s actually legal.

 

we tend to use the customer as our webcam, although we visit every 24hrs, if the customer hears the "clunk" of a door, they phone us, although on saying that, we tend to use BB traps more than anything

 

ok, technology catches up with everything, but do we really want it, at the moment I can justify the price of say, trapping a fox for removal to a customer, once they are told whats involved, they realise the quoted price is not really that bad

 

future scenario; to customer, Im going to put this trap down and I want £xxx amount from you, each day I'll look on my phone to see if I've caught anything, once I have I'll be round to remove it and collect my money

so yes, I do want to get paid for sitting on my ar$e

[Mr Muddy 141]

 

I dont get into arguments on here so if there your views fine, other an

having animals as a decoy not legal larsan trap with a call bird,

 

 

 

 

I set about researching the idea of a call trap

 

 

 

 

 

 

ATB 2.8

yet couldn't be bothered to research the law on trapping???

 

 

There have been some interesting ideas passed on this thread (which makes a change)

 

I wonder of the legality of checking traps with a camera or suchlike device as most statutes dictate that they must be checked within each 24 hours ... ?

 

 

A web cam checking traps twice a day; particularly something like a squirrel trap in a customer’s loft, is a great idea.

 

I’d also be very interested to find out if that’s actually legal.

 

we tend to use the customer as our webcam, although we visit every 24hrs, if the customer hears the "clunk" of a door, they phone us, although on saying that, we tend to use BB traps more than anything

 

ok, technology catches up with everything, but do we really want it, at the moment I can justify the price of say, trapping a fox for removal to a customer, once they are told whats involved, they realise the quoted price is not really that bad

 

future scenario; to customer, Im going to put this trap down and I want £xxx amount from you, each day I'll look on my phone to see if I've caught anything, once I have I'll be round to remove it and collect my money

so yes, I do want to get paid for sitting on my ar$e

 

 

 

Do I want to get paid for sitting on my ar$e?

 

Yes I do.

 

Would I like to out-compete the business next to me because I’m the one willing to invest in new kit?

 

I would.

 

Would I be willing to run around like a headless chicken, if there was an easy legal alternative, just because I have

some purist notion of pest control techniques?

 

I would not.

Nobody respects a busy fool.

[Matt 160]

All this does is remind me of the Rentokil Radar system which gasses mice and sends a message to the technician telling him there is mouse activity.

 

Money for old rope.

 

Not my scene anymore, but I can see the business advantages of it.

[2.8 guy 403]

Hi otc, the thing with my idea was never about the tech or trying to re invent the wheel as it were on traps, the market and proof was allready tested on the majority of traps, my idea was just to make them more efficient by placing on a call, as it would by using probably one of our best senses hearing,

eg, you lose your mobile down the couch instead of looking for it for ages you ring it off your house phone finding it far quicker it was this principle i was working on.

 

As for the call it had to be cheap to make easy to fit and maintenance free my first idea and

a idea that didnt work was a whistle type call set in a tube with a tail fin to keep it facing the wind when the wind blows through the tube it powers the call, yes the wind does not blow all the time but its a numbers game meaning it blows more often than not, wind farms would not be seen otherwise cheap effective and maintenance free.

 

This is were the patent process started as i know nothing of how to make whistles so thought contact a company that does, but what if they nick my idea hence why i contacted the patent office, got some free advice from a patent attorney and it was a case of setting about the patent this was a longish but cheap process and would of well been worth paying for.

 

After which i contacted achme whistles and spoke to a very nice gent a proper guy, old school, he was willing to listen, talked me through the problems i faced and before i even started asked if i was protected by a patent as he would not speak otherwise, he said confidentiality agreements was no good as what if he had the same idea. A real nice gent but explained the problem i had was getting the thing to blow as you could drive down the motor way at 70mph with a whistle out the window and not get a sound.

 

The extensive research you talk of is being done as we speak buy the organisation i mentioned earlier to the benifit or not of a call trap they may decide it has no benifit they may decide otherwise.

 

As for the call i did make it is a very tried and tested method and ive been using it to sqeak in foxes for years all over the place and in all different situations however it is on trial with the stoat and in the application of a self powered call.

 

As for the traps and housings over traps, I do have a trap maker willing to use there existing traps with my call added if they can be see a benifit and of course if i decide to carry on with the project.

 

As for the tech stuff its far beyond me to make, yes in principle the ideas would work and well may give a benifit.

And I have a contact now who can get electric calls made and im going to talk spec and price later with him.

 

At the end of the day for me it was just about trying to make traps more efficient without costing the earth and without trying to change trap design or making them less reliable.

I do think the call trap is a good concept in a ideal world, But it would seem its benifit of drawing in a prey would be its down fall.

Atb 2.8

 

 

 

[ChrisJones 7,975]

If you could get this working with an %+ reliability rate I'd be looking at your gear very closely.

[Mr Muddy 141]

Here’s an idea;

 

Why not use an ultrasonic ‘silent dog whistle’ type call.

A lot of things foxes eat, mice, voles, etc make noises far too high frequency for people to hear. You can put a trap wherever you like then, no one will hear it.

[OldTrapCollector 377]

It was the trial I am most interested in 2.8 - not so much the technicalities or design as such

 

Once it is done would you mind telling me what was done and how, as opposed to the results?

 

OTC

[Outlaw Pete 2,224]

Why not use an ultrasonic ‘silent dog whistle’ type call ..... You can put a trap wherever you like then, no one will hear it.

 

 

Yeah, but; It'll end up full of f**king Bats!

[The one 8,463]

Can you ever see the powers that be changing trapping laws in this country to allow anything like that?> I cant all i can see is them changing the laws even more to make it harder to trap or snare

[Matt 160]

 

Why not use an ultrasonic ‘silent dog whistle’ type call ..... You can put a trap wherever you like then, no one will hear it.

 

Yeah, but; It'll end up full of f**king Bats!

 

And sheepdogs..........

[2.8 guy 403]

I will keep you up to date on the trials otc from the high moor any way, as year on year catches by each keeper are documented and in a diary so dates weather conditions loation ect are logged, so a good comparison could be made, this of course wont happen over night.

Also thanks for all the comments good and bad, public opinion was what i was after.

ATB 2.8