Scientists use sex, food, sound to lure rats in superior trap
VANCOUVER — Scientists have outwitted the crafty rat with a stimulating new formula that puts sex on the brain.
A team at Simon Fraser University in Burnaby, B.C., has developed a rat trap that combines synthetic sex pheromones, food scents and baby rat sounds to lure rodents to their deaths.
The bait has proven 10 times more powerful than traditional traps and could be commercialized in about two years, said principal investigator Gerhard Gries.
“Rats are really intelligent, and in order to manipulate them you have to be intelligent as well, and do that in a way that addresses their needs,” said Gries, a communication ecologist in the department of biological sciences.