GB2519567A

GB2519567A - A bait station

Info

Publication number: GB2519567A
Application number: GB1318859.4A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Andrew Christian Jordan
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 2013-10-25
Filing date: 2013-10-25
Publication date: 2015-04-29
Also published as: GB201318859D0

Abstract

A bait station 10 comprises a hollow exterior housing 12, provided with an opening 14 at an end (there may be an opening at both ends), and an internal column 16, slidable in and out of the exterior housing via the opening, the internal column comprising a baiting location 18 accessible via an entrance 20. When the internal column is within the exterior housing, the opening of the exterior housing is not fully blocked and the entrance of the internal column is accessible from the interior of the external housing 12. There may also be a lock 22, to lock the internal column in place, and the cross section of the housing may comprise two overlapping circles. There may be a removable bar 24 for mounting bait within the internal column. The internal column may comprise multiple deflectors 26 protruding from the internal column, restricting access to the bait.

Description

DESCRIPTION

A BAIT STATION

This invention relates to a bait station.

Pest control in many domestic and business premises is provided by so-called bait stations. A bait station is a small unit designed to provide access for small pests such as mice and rats to poisoned food that is present within the bait station. The pest will enter the bait station, consume some of the poisoned food, and then return to their lair or nest and die shortly afterwards.

This provides pest control and ensures that the number of pests present is reduced, which is important in many environments for health and safety reasons. However, bait stations tend to be highly visible objects and as such is can be unsightly and also detrimental to businesses, particularly in the food trade, if customers can see that bait stations are present.

It is therefore an object of the invention to improve upon the known art.

According to the present invention, there is provided a bait station comprising a hollow exterior housing, provided with an opening at one end, and an internal column, slidable in and out of the exterior housing via the opening, the internal column comprising a baiting location accessible via an entrance, wherein when the internal column is within the exterior housing, the opening of the exterior housing is not fully blocked and the entrance of the internal column is accessible from the interior of the external housing.

Owing to the invention, it is possible to provide a bait station that is a tamper-proof rodent bait station that can be fabricated into many permanent and non-permanent objects, enabling the bait station to remain disguised without drawing any unwanted attention to a potential rodent baiting program or indeed infestation. Some examples of permanent objects where the bait station can be disguised include commercial buildings, houses, steps, bars, walls and decking, and some examples of non-permanent objects include hedging, garden planters, chicken houses and compost stations. The bait station can also be used in its own right through fixing to a wall or floor.

The bait station has been designed to enable easy access for rodents including rats and mice but also provides protection from non-target species and humans. Examples of non-target species include household pets, farmyard animals and birds.

The bait station is made from two principal components, a tubular shell and a baiting column. The tubular shell is preferably open at both ends, which allows entry and exit for both the rodents and the baiting column. The rodents are able to enter and exit once the baiting column is in situ. The baiting column slides in and out of the tubular shell on entry and exit, so that a handler/installer can monitor or replace the bait of choice.

The baiting column is preferably lockable to the tubular shell, which when locked will prevent the baiting column from moving forward and is backwards and prevent the baiting column from being removed from the tubular shell without the required key. The baiting column preferably has deflectors situated internally, which aid with protection against non-target species and humans. The baiting column ideally contains a removable bar/rod which securely fixes within the baiting column and enables certain baits to be securely positioned; alternative non-secured baits are easily placed within the base of the baiting column.

The target pest species would enter the tubular shell through the attraction of the bait of choice. Upon entering the bait station the pest would pass the deflectors and enter the centre of the baiting column where the bait of choice has been positioned. Upon taking the bait of choice from the baiting column, the rodent would exit the bait station. Either end of the bait station can be used for entering and exiting.

The aforementioned deflectors and the curved side walls of the baiting column also act as stabilisers ensuring that the baiting column cannot rotate within the tubular shell when the baiting column is locked in position or during entering and exiting thus ensuring the correct positioning of the bait. The bait station can be made from a variety of materials and can be sized according to the target species and the design of permanent or non-permanent object in which it has been disguised.

Embodiments of the present invention will now be described, by way of example only, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:-Figure 1 is a perspective view of a bait station, Figure 2 is a further perspective view of the bait station, Figure 3 is a yet further perspective view of the bait station, Figure 4 is an end view of a housing and column of the bait station, and Figure 5 is a side view of a planter with the bait station installed.

Figure 1 shows a bait station 10, which comprises a hollow exterior housing 12, which is provided with an opening 14 at one end, and an internal column 16. The column 16 is slidable in and out of the exterior housing 12 via is the opening 14 and the internal column 16 comprises a baiting location 18 accessible via an entrance 20. When the internal column 16 is within the exterior housing 12, the opening 14 of the exterior housing 12 is not fully blocked and the entrance 20 of the internal column 16 is accessible from the interior of the external housing 12. This allows pests to enter the bait station 10 via the opening 14 and access bait within the column 16 via the entrance 20.

The internal column 16 further comprises a lock 22, which is operable to lock the internal column 16 to prevent removal of the internal column 16 from the exterior housing 12. This means that an installer can slide the column 16 into the housing 12 and lock the lock 22 with a key, so that the column 16 cannot be removed without first unlocking the lock 22. The internal column 12 further comprises a removable bar 24 for mounting bait. The bar 24 can be used to mount bait and/or loose bait can be placed in the bottom of the baiting column 16. The internal column 16 comprises one or more deflectors 26 protruding from the internal column 16 and restricting access to the entrance 20.

Figure 2 shows the bait station 10, as it would look once the baiting column 16 is located and locked into position within the exterior housing 12.

The housing 12 is shown as transparent in order to show how the column 16 would locate within the housing 12, but there is no requirement for the housing 12 to actually be transparent. The exterior housing 12 and the internal column 16 are elongate in shape and are substantially the same length, in the preferred embodiment. The cross-section of the exterior housing 12 comprises two overlapping circles, with the column 16 located by being slid into one of the circles, as shown in the Figure. The hollow exterior housing 12, in this preferred embodiment, is provided with an opening 14 at both ends. In an alternative embodiment, it is possible that the outer tube 12 will be considerably longer than the baiting column 16, with fabrications having two baiting columns 16 situated at both ends of the outer housing 12.

The main advantage of the design of the bait station 10 is that the exterior housing 12 can be located within another object or structure, allowing the bait station 10 to be disguised, while still providing a fully functioning and is effective bait station 10. An installer can slide the baiting column 16 in and out of the housing 12, with the lock 22 being used to secure the baiting column 16, once in position. Pests will enter the bait station 10 via the opening 14, at either end of the housing 12, and can access the poisoned bait located within the baiting column 16, using the entrance 20 to access the interior baiting location 18 of the column 16, where the poisoned bait will be located.

Figure 3 shows a different view of the bait station 10. The baiting column 16 has been unlocked and slid out from the housing 12. The view of Figure 3 shows the baiting column 16 from the opposite side, when compared to the view of Figure 1, in order to illustrate the interior of the baiting column 16. The baiting column 16 is formed by a curved base 28, which has a uniform cross-section, with similar end plates 30 at each end of the curved base 28.

The baiting rod 24 connects the two end plates 30. One end plate 30 also contains the lock 22, which is used to lock the baiting column 16 in position, once the installer has slid the baiting column 16 into the exterior housing 12.

The baiting column 16 also has two curved side walls 32, which extend from the respective end plates 30 partially along the length of the baiting column 16. The gap between the side walls 32 creates the entrance 20 through which the pest will enter the interior of the baiting column 16. At the end of the side walls 32 that create the entrance 20, there is provided the respective deflectors 26, which effectively guard the entrance 20 to the interior of the column 16. The deflectors 26 protrude from the column 16 and restricting access to the entrance 20. They are designed to assist prevention of non-pest animals entering the baiting column 16. This prevents small pets and small birds from being directly poisoned by the bait present in the column 16.

The deflectors 26 also prevent children from accessing the interior of the column 16 with their hands.

Figure 4 is an end view of the exterior housing 12 and the baiting column 16. The housing 12 is formed as a tube that is open at both ends and has a cross-section that is formed by two identical sized overlapping circles.

The baiting column 16, seen from this angle, shows the end plate 30 with lock 22 mounted thereon and a single deflector 26 is also seen from the end on is view. The end of the baiting rod 24 can also be seen, fixed into the centre of the end plate 30. The baiting column 16 is sized so that it can slide easily into the left-hand side of the exterior housing 12 and then be locked into position using the lock 22. The side walls 32 also prevent rotation of the column 16 once it has been slid into the housing 12.

Figure 5 shows one of the baiting stations 10 installed in a planter 34.

The planter 34 has an opening into which the exterior housing 12 of the baiting station 10 is fixed. The housing 12 can remain in position within the planter 34 for evermore and does not need to be removed for any reason. Indeed, the planter 34 can be constructed with the housing 12 in situ. The baiting column 16 can be slid in and out of the housing 12 as often as is needed, with the lock 22 being used to secure the baiting column 16 in place. An installer can remove the baiting column 16, add poisoned bait to the baiting column 16 and slide the column 16 back in place.