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Regulation Of Small Rodents on Tintamarre
The goal of the second France Relance project is to fight against the proliferation of rats on the small island of Tintamarre. The rat traps being used have the advantage of being automated and killing the rodents immediately, in contrast to the kind of traps used in the past. Each baited trap is designed for one rat to enter and be immediately bludgeoned by a small hammer that is released by compressed gas in a cartridge. The rat then falls on the outside of the cage, which is once again back in operation by rearming itself up to 24 times per cartridge. 150 traps were set in the month of June 2022 on a third of the surface of the island, with the help of Axelle Verdière, an intern at the Réserve from February through July 2022. The results are verified every two weeks, in order to eventually replace the gas cartridges, rebait the traps, and count the number of times the hammer was triggered, as indicated on an integrated counter. 400 to 450 times over a 14 days period: a big number even if it has to be reduced somewhat, as other animals—hermit crabs, lizards—might trigger the trap. The 150 traps will later be moved to the other two thirds of Tintamarre, and several will be placed in a cordon sanitaire behind the beach at Baie Blanche, for a year.
