Developing Strategy and Tools for the Local Elimination of Multiple Pest Species

Control of invasive vertebrate pests is likely to be needed in perpetuity unless their pest status changes or they are completely eradicated, both of which seem unlikely at present. This emphasises the need for pest managers to adopt long-term strategies that are both ecologically sound and cost-effective. We suggest that a strategy for simultaneous management of multiple sympatric species of pests is preferable to a single-species approach. While present strategy involves periodic control over entire areas to achieve management aims, modelling suggests that a strategy of localised elimination followed by perimeter control offers significant cost-savings in the long term. We are therefore researching three aspects of this strategy: (1) the further refinement of aerial baiting by identifying principal causes of individual pest survival, (2 the optimal deployment of control devices around the perimeter following localised elimination, and (3) the development of an efficient pest detection device to enable targeted elimination of survivors.