Removing rats on Ile aux Aigrettes: the final stages

Day 6

Its been wet, really wet and this has taken its toll on the cardboard box bait stations. Two days ago we realised that we would need to replace all our bait stations that were being destroyed by the rain. The ideal replacement would be a plastic bottle, but we need a lot of them. Thankfully, after contacting one of Mauritius' leading soft drinks company, Quality Beverages Ltd., they gladly donated lots recyclable plastic bottles for us to fashion into new waterproof bait stations.

With two of the team collecting the bottles, the rest of us are walking the lines to check the 394 stations. We actually have the sun on our backs for the first time in what seems like ages, but as the island warms up, the humidity increases turning the island into a mosquito filled sauna. The uncomfortable climate is not deterring the rats and we are continuing to find rat chew marks and bait filled faeces across the island.

After having some fun transporting four hundred empty 1.5l bottles in one vehicle and then to the island in a little boat, we start to convert them into our new bait stations. We make the entrances to the new stations by chopping the tops off all the bottles. We then puncture the bottle with holes. Two holes are for a length of wire to pass through the bottle just off centre and near the base to hold the bait and the station in place. A third hole is made for drainage should it continue to rain. With our little production line up and running we manage to make all our stations in time to be taken into the field the following day.

Day 7

Carrying a big bag of wire strewn bait stations through a dense forest in the rain is not as much fun as punching holes in them at the dry field station, but it is definitely more of a challenge. After checking the bait at each station and recording the signs we swop the old stations for the new ones. By the afternoon we manage to complete the exchange just in time to discover that more rain is on its way in the form of an anti-cyclone.

Day 8

Wet!

Day 9

Still finding rat signs, but fewer now.

Day 10

We only have signs at two stations today and this is very encouraging.

Day 11

Today is our first day without rat sign - does this mean there are no longer any rats on the island?