plan stage 3

HOME

NATURA SITES

PROPERTIES

BIRDS

NEWS

LINKS

Canna seabird recovery project: The plan

Stage 3. The poisoning campaign

The project used Ditrac™ blox, a wax block containing diphacinone a first generation rodenticide, produced by Bell Laboratories in the USA.

http://www.belllabs.com/cgi/products.cgi

This poison was chosen as it significantly reduces the risks of secondary poisoning, which might have affected Canna’s important bird of prey populations. Wax blocks were recommended by WMIL as they will remain intact within the bait stations and their removal by rats can be accurately monitored.

The wax block also has a hole running through it which allows it to wired into the bait station, if necessary.

Return to seabird recovery programme home page

In late October 2005 the Spannish John delivered 23 tonnes of Ditrac Blox from Mallaig to Canna.

The poison was unloaded at the pier and then moved to large depots at Coroghon, the Square, Tarbert Barn and on Sanday.

From these depots the pails were moved by the ATV and trailer to smaller depots scattered over the island. Once the pails were in position each bait station could then be baited with 10 blocks of bait.

Each bait station on the grid is numbered and is visited, weather permitting, every third day... more....

top of page