New rat poison traps have arrived at the Vector Control office. Foreman Supervisor Ross Furbert said the new traps are safer and slightly less obtrusive.

“There is not a lot of difference between the old boxes and these new ones,” he said.

The old ones are no longer available so the office was forced to find a replacement.

“The new traps have a two-key locking system which makes them more secure than the previous single key lock box,” he said. “If for any reason one latch should break or become free, there’s another to ensure the poison stays in the trap.”

The new boxes are also slightly lower and should lie lower in the ground making them less visible. This is good not only from an aesthetic point of view but it also lessens the chance of curious interference especially by dogs and children.

The heavy plastic rat traps are a must in areas where there are small children and/or dogs. Vector Control inspectors set the traps and monitor them. Homeowners are required to pay $15 per trap. The number needed at a site depends on the extent of the infestation and the size of the property.

How the boxes work:

The boxes have an entrance and an exit joined by a passageway that leads to a chamber filled either with poison pellets or poison block hung on a special metal insert. The box has a tightly covered lid which is locked in place preventing access to the poison by pets or children. The box is also anchored to the ground from the inside with a metal stake.

Inspectors check traps to see if the poison has been eaten and, depending on the extent of the infestation, may add more poison or remove the trap. Traps are re-useable and homeowners can keep them in case they have another rodent visit.

At the time of writing this article there were 425 residences with rat traps. Inspectors check each trap at least once a week. Which means at this time they are averaging 20 traps a day.

“We do have less traps out there than this time last year,” said Mr. Furbert. “I have seen the situation go so high that inspectors were checking over 40 boxes a day.”