Mechanical pest control steals the show at Eurocido

Exhibitions, such as Eurocido, always offer the product manufacturers the opportunity to show-case their new products. Eurocido was no exception. But rather than new chemicals, the emphasis was very much on mechanical methods in particular sophisticated rodent traps.

From past experience, Eurocido usually has a very ‘green’ feel to it – in previous years this has been naturally occurring chemical methods of control. But with an increasingly strong anti-pesticide movement and all the debate currently swirling around the EU regulatory authorities concerning second generation anticoagulant rodenticides (SGARs) it should come as no surprise that companies are increasingly turning their attention to more sophisticated mechanical traps.

In fact this is a trend recently predicted by Peter Trotman, managing director of Mitie’s pest control business at a Mitie seminar supported by Pest held in January in London. His forecast was that in the next few years the use of traps, particularly in the more sensitive areas, would equal that of rodendicides. Obvious by their absence were the customary proliferation of bed bug related products and, if there were new chemical means of control launched, we apologise as we missed them! Although Bá¡bolna Bio from Hungary was celebrating, as they had very recently heard that after ten years of effort their insect growth regulator – S-methoprene – was now included in Annex I of the Biocidal Products Regulations.
A suite of innovative traps What particularly caught our attention were the new and innovative systems on display on the Futura stand. Based in Borchen, Germany, the company has come-up with some pretty novel ideas. Non-toxic monitoring baits are growing in popularity, but the existing food-based ones are prone to infestation by insects and mould if used in wet areas. Futura has developed two aromatised plastic baits – the smaller (Nara Lure) is ‘mushroom’ shaped and is designed for use in Kness mouse traps, whereas Nara Bloc is a larger bait for both rats and mice. Using both these non-tox baits, they can be employed with Swopbox, specifically designed for use wall-mounted in hygiene areas which are wet cleaned. Whereas the Speed Break trap (seen below) tunnel type trap includes two Kness mouse traps and emitter. Double trouble for mice – the Speed Break With the mouse in mind, the EPP-tunnel is a considerably longer tunnel type trap, constructed of a ‘warm to touch’ epoxy foam material which is not only ‘friendly to touch’ for mice feet but also offers a cooler retreat in hot conditions. It contains two Kness traps which can be baited with Nara blocks accompanied by an emitter alert. Distribution arrangements are taking shape around Europe, but as yet, nothing is settled for the UK. The EPP-tunnel with Kness traps baited with ‘mushroom’ non-tox baits and emitter		Non-toxic plastic bait – Nara Bloc The Swopbox shown without its cover The ingenious hand-wounded, energy self-sufficient emitter which can be added to signal when these traps are sprung
Epoxy foam the material of the moment Spotted on the Killgerm stand was a very similar epoxy foam two mouse trap tunnel, again protected by a stainless steel outer case. Here the two Kness traps contained a cigar shaped non-tox attractant bait. Epoxy foam seems the material of the moment, as also on the Killgerm stand was a cockroach bait box made of this material, containing a sticky lure pad within. Toys for the boys The gadget attracting most attention on the Killgerm stand was a flying drone. Certainly a ‘toy for the boys’ this can be flown not only to scare away birds, seek out wild boar (a big market in the UK!) or apply insecticide to really high-up wasps’ nests. At Euros 8,500 maybe a somewhat expensive piece of kit – but certainly fun!
The Killgerm two trap epoxy foam bait box		The Kness trap with cigar shaped lure
Cockroach trap with slit-like entry holes		Drone with camera and remote control
If flight is your thing, spotted on the Pestion stand were the Robirds. These are remotely controlled robotic birds with the realistic appearance and weight of real birds. The battery powered birds use flapping wing flight as a means of generating propulsion and lift, whilst also looking like the real thing. If seeing is believing, watch this short YouTube film clip – click here. Another interesting trap spotted was Topsnap on the Andermatt Biocontrol stand. Again consisting of two mouse traps, they are encased within a stainless steel outer. A red indicator on the exterior shows when a trap is sprung and then a lever can be pulled to remove the mouse without any form of contact made
Twin mouse trap with built-in monitoring		Robird – mechanical bald eagle and peregrine falcon