It is always interesting to hear people’s experiences with various lures and traps, but I rather lament the lack of hard, scientific, independent field trials.
My suspicion is that the effectiveness of one lure/bait/trap against another is highly dependent on context. One person’s success story is another person’s failure. The result is that the trapping community follows a fragmented, incoherent approach. Albeit well-meaning.
If we are going to ultimately meet the lofty goals we have set I think we need a far more systematic approach based on science. Calling government-funded scientists and funding bodies!
For example:
- food scientists - surely you can develop a range of food baits which do not go mouldy and are not attractive to mice and slugs etc. This knowledge should then be made publicly available not restricted to a few commercial entities.
- animal behaviourists - can we see some rigorous field trials comparing the effectiveness of the most common lures and baits in various natural and urban environments (not under lab conditions with lab animals).
- mustelids - catching these seems particularly hit and miss. I imagine this is partly because of the intelligence of the animals, but I am sure we can do better. CRSPR gene-editing is amazing science - but let’s be honest - it is unlikely that the general public will ever agree to it.