Patent ID: 7076914
Filing Date: 2006-07-18
Classification: A01M

Abstract:
1. An insect pest control device comprising: a degradable housing defining a hollow interior, at least one opening in the housing through which pests can enter the hollow interior of the housing, a degradable closing material that closes the at least one opening so as to enclose but not fill the hollow interior, and a pest behavior-modifying agent contained within the hollow interior of the housing and protected by the housing from an environment in which the housing is located, the hollow interior being only partially filled so that both the pests and the pest behavior-modifying agent are capable of being simultaneously accommodated within the hollow interior, means for securing the device to a portion of a plant, and aerofoil means extending directly from the housing for causing the securing means to follow a rotational path around the housing in the event the device falls through the air, wherein the closing material is more rapidly degradable in the environment than the housing, wherein degradation of the closing material exposes the at least one opening to enable the pests to enter into the housing through the at least one opening to access the hollow interior of the housing and the pest behavior-modifying agent which is prevented from escaping the hollow interior by the housing and the closing material and thereafter remains protected within the hollow interior from the environment as a result of the housing more slowly degrading than the closing material, and wherein the housing and the at least one opening are not configured as a trap but instead are configured so that pests that enter the hollow interior are also able to freely leave the hollow interior through the at least one opening.