Mouse Bombs and Baby Biters

Old but interesting news... I saw this article about an interesting method for controlling a dangerous pest in Guam. A news broadcast about this is linked to the left.

Dead mice stuffed with the pain reliever were attractive bait....Each mouse was attached to two squares of cardboard and a streamer of green paper. The streamer could be dropped from a low-flying helicopter and would catch in the upper tree branches of the jungle.

Apparently, brown tree snakes (Boiga irregularis) are non-native snakes that are devastating to the wildlife in the area. They are also a danger to humans, as illustrated in the photo and in this abstract from the American Journal of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene:

The brown tree snake, Boiga irregularis, is abundant on Guam and commonly invades human habitations.... Over 50% of the emergency room visits for snakebite involved children <4 years old. Records exist of 4 infants, 1, 2, 5, 10 months old, who displayed significant symptoms after being bitten, while sleeping, by snakes.

Wow. Hard to love snakes! And may it be a good lesson for us - people say "don't look a gift horse in the mouth", but I say: always look gift mice in the mouth (for tylenol)!