Action CS11 – Monitor the presence of introduced species including invasive exotic species Action IP5 – Launch management activities to control exotic species and their impact

The fight against the proliferation of rats continues

The project to battle the proliferation of rats on the small island of Tintamarre continues. Part of Plan France Relance, this operation against exotic invasive species placed 150 baited traps in June 2022, covering one third of the island. The advantage of the rat traps used it that they are automated and kill the rodents immediately. In the past, the traps required two visits per day to kill one captured animal: a very time-consuming solution, but indispensable to identify the species present on the island, and therefore the technical means of regulation. Today, each baited trap is designed to attract the rats, who release a small hammer, activated by gas in a canister. The rat then falls on the outside of the trap, which is once again operationnal, and can reset itself 24 times per canister. The rat is also available as food for local fauna and can be consumed without risk, which avoids a progressive impoverishment in an area with limited resources. Every 15 days since the traps were set, they have been inspected and if necessary refilled with CO2 and bait, an action that employs the time of most of the agents from Réserve; luckily they are helped by a team of volunteers. The mission will continue until the island is covered with traps, with the permanent retention of a sanitary cord with traps behind the beach at Baie Blanche, to avoid new arrivals of rats by the sea, and to maintain the pressure in this zone open to the public.