Economics and outcomes of working with the enviroMate 100 TM automated bait station
The main economic advantage of using an enviroMate 100 TM as part of a pest control program is the man hours saved in pre-feeding. Charge out costs are tailor- made to fit each situation on the basis of: pests to target, pest density, site terrain and accessability e.g.
1/ A four visits to site , over an up to 42 day long, active operation of Possum and Rat pest control , costs on average, $ 40 per enviroMate 100 TM unit.
2/ A three visits to site , over a 21 – 35 day long, active operation of Possums only pest control, costs on average, $ 30 per enviroMate 100 TM unit.
3/ A two visits to site , over a 7 – 14 day long, active operation of Possums only pest control costs on average $ 20 per enviroMate 100 TM unit.
Costing basis:
1 / A professional pest controller/hunter, on foot in the forest, can manage 150 and 200 enviroMate 100 TM units each working week .When working in such terrain using a 14 day cycle 1 person can manage 300 -400 enviroMate 100 TM units every 10 working days. This includes 2 x 2 day breaks!
The cost of materials and labour delivering service in a forest environment, is on average $10-15 per enviroMate 100 TM per site visit, depending on the lures and toxins
required.
2/ The starting cost per ha depends on the resident pest population density and therefore the number of units decided to place per ha........
The higher the density the more units required initially, or the longer each EM unit stays on site delivering additional cycles e.g.
1/ enviroMate 100 TM's cyanide pest control programs( enabling fur recovery) have demonstrated a high capacity to kill multiple possums nightly .
2/ enviroMate 100 TM's when delivering first lure, then toxin in days 6 and 7, over a 7 day cycle, averaged a capture of 5.6 possums per EM unit - with some EM units catching as many as 13 possums per unit .
3/ An operation of one EM unit set to protect a low density control area, delivered new lure and 3 cyanide baits every 3rd day across 21 days caught 17 possums.
The further the walk distance between units the greater the service cost .
(Servicing takes just 1 -3 minutes per enviroMate 100 TM unit. )
It is better to concentrate units along a transversable walk / drive line and lure pests to site , rather than trying to gain a perfect grid placement.
It is cheaper to run additional pre-feed cycles giving time to encourage further out pests to “funnel in” to the site, rather than push difficult terrain.
With this scenario the first 7, 14 or 21 day cycles of control would concentrate on pre - feeding to create pest scent trials to site