FORESTRYJOURNAL.CO.UK AUGUST 20 19 57result: near-instant death.
The piston retracts, the dead animal drops
out of the trap, and gas pressure from the
reservoir resets the mechanism ready for the
next unsuspecting victim.
As the name suggests, the A18 will kill
up to 18 times before a new gas cartridge
is needed, and the lure is formulated to be
long-life too (‘A’ stands for ‘automatic’).
KEEPING COUNT
In most circumstances, corpses will
quickly be removed from the forest floor
by scavengers as they drop down. So how
do you know how many times the trap has
fired and when the gas cartridge needs
changing?
A ‘strike counter’ attachment keeps a tally
of how many times it has fired. This guides
the operator as to when to replace the gas
cylinder, even when he or she hasn’t seen
any bodies.
Even when the count reaches the magic
18, there may still be enough gas up the
spout for one last firing – so users should
never poke any fingers up the tube.
Last month, the Royal Forestry Society
hosted a free workshop at Battram Wood in
the National Forest, when Vance Paines of
GoodNature UK demonstrated the trap and
how to use it to best effect. This was also a
golden opportunity for the 25 participants
to share knowledge and
experience of grey squirrel
control with other
woodland managers
and quiz the sellers.
This 48 ha block
of multi-purpose,
commercially
viable woodland
was established
by the Royal
Forestry Society
between 1999
and 2001 on
arable farmland
in north-west
Leicestershire in the
National Forest, which
now expands across the
English Midlands.
Today, the landscape is still
evolving but, like so many other woodlands
across the UK, it has not escaped the
attentions of the North American grey
squirrel. The RFS has three bait stations
in the woods where authorised local
marksmen, armed with air rifles, kill about
70 squirrels a year.
LESSONS FROM THE DAY
After demonstrating a range of tunnel, cage,
single-use and multiple-catch traps currently
available in the UK, Vance Paines introduced
the GoodNature A18, talking through the
pros and cons of this new multi-catch device
and the refinements underway.
Of course, no trap is foolproof. The lure is
being refined as any trap is “only as good
as the bait”. His favourite so far is hazel
truffle, a paste used in the catering trade.
Each trap operator tends to conjure up their
own recipe. Peanut butter is a hot favourite,
but should be organic for optimum results.
Smearing just a little of the bait outside on
the trunk can boost catch rates.
Situations will vary, but the GoodNature
trap should be sited up a tree – preferably
one with coarse bark so the squirrel can
climb it easily – and pre-baiting may be
useful. Sites with a lot of ground cover
should be avoided and those with a
continuous tree canopy are ideal so greys
(and the trapper) can get to the trap in
safety.
As the squirrel is dispatched before
actually reaching the bait chamber, the
amount needed is minimal and, as it’s
inside and protected from the elements, it is
long-lasting, though it will eventually need
changing.
The gas cartridge will need replacing
after 18 hits. A diode-style counter keeps
the tally. In development is a counter with
BlueTooth so the count can be checked from
a distance – and even by drone.
The bracket mounts for the traps are sold
separately so those can be left
in place and just the traps
moved around.
The striking orange
livery can be doubly
beneficial – easy
for the right
people to see,
while attractive
to inquisitive
squirrels – but
a simple slip-
over box or
coat of spray
paint provides
camouflage.
The company
works with the
European Squirrel
Initiative, the UK Squirrel
Accord and scientists. Traps
are monitored using the latest camera
technology with studies on what happens
to the dead animals once they fall to the
ground.
As with any vertebrate pest control (VPC),
there may be a risk of non-target birds and
other animals falling victims unintentionally.
Any by-catch is carefully checked, but to
date these have been minimal.SOME THOUGHTS
Trapping greys without the cooperation of
adjoining woodland owners will never be
effective. Squirrels are highly mobile andLeft inset: The A18 – entry tube to the right, bait chamber on
top and piston and counter on the left. Photo courtesy of Vance
Paines/GoodNature.
Above: The trap’s protective slip-on box.disperse rapidly from a wood where they are
not controlled to fill the vacuum in the one
that is. A collective control crusade is called
for (a similar story there to deer control).
The spread of native pine martens and
their purgative effect on greys has been
heralded as a natural panacea, while work
on immunocontraception presses ahead, but
has some way to go.
Habitat management and silvicultural
practice might also help. Strange though
it may seem, smearing a sap substitute
such as maple sugar on sacrificial trees in
a stand where squirrels are debarking or
may debark valuable broadleaves could
deflect attention from the main crop. The role
of social behaviour and territory marking
in debarking could be a factor. Improved
predicting on when the often very sudden,
intense yet sometimes sporadic debarking
happens would assist.
The arrival of the GoodNature A18 grey
squirrel trap from the Antipodes and its
recent approval for use on this island is
welcome. This multi-catch trap may not be
the long-sought-after ‘silver bullet’ for making
a dent in grey squirrel stocks as a damage-
limitation exercise in woodlands in the UK
and a saviour of the native reds. But it is
certainly a useful addition to the armoury.
Used at the recommended density of one
trap per hectare, it is not cheap initially but
should be cost-effective in the longer term
with low maintenance apart from the gas
cartridge and bait.
And efficiency will increase as the
operators’ field craft evolves and is passed
on in meetings such as that organised by the
RFS at Battram Wood.