Abstract:
An animal control system for use in a plant to facilitate management of the trapping of animals in the plant, the system including: a plurality of animal traps located at discrete locations of the plant, each trap including an animal sensor associated with the trap for detecting an animal trapped in the trap and a transceiver in electronic communication with the animal sensor, the transceiver having an identifier unique to the trap with which it is associated; and a computer system having a plurality of computers in communication with one another for receiving and reporting information relating to conditions of the traps. The discrete locations of the traps are obtained and input into a computer processor for processing to yield a computer generated template of the plant having a template of the plant with the discrete locations of the traps.

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION 
     This application claims priority to U.S. Provisional Application Ser. No. 61/260,207, filed Nov. 11, 2009, and entitled “Animal Control System,” incorporated by reference herein in its entirety. 
    
    
     BACKGROUND 
     Rodents and other small animals are common pests in industrial plant settings, especially food processing facilities. The presence of these animals in a plant is undesirable. For example, animals can carry disease agents. These animals also often damage plant equipment, such as by chewing wires and the like. In plant settings, especially in the case of food processing plants, the use of pesticides may be limited. Thus, it becomes necessary to trap and remove the pests. 
     Plants typically utilize professional pest control providers to manage control of such pests. As part of this, however, it is desirable to maintain accurate records of both pest control problems and the treatment thereof. For example, it is useful for both the pest control provider and the plant management to know where problem areas in the plant are and how effectively they are being treated. 
     The present disclosure relates to improved systems in the field of animal control in industrial plant settings. 
     SUMMARY 
     The above and other needs are met by improved apparatus according to the disclosure for trapping animals in a plant. The apparatus includes a plurality of animal traps located at discrete locations of the plant, each trap including an animal sensor for detecting an animal trapped by the trap and a transceiver in electronic communication with the animal sensor. The transceiver has an identifier and when the sensor detects an animal trapped by the trap, the sensor sends a signal to the transceiver; 
     The apparatus also includes a computer system having a plurality of computers in communication with one another for receiving and reporting information relating to conditions of the traps. The computer system includes a master base computer proximate the plant and in communication with the transceiver of each of the traps for receiving information from the transceiver and sending information to the transceiver of each of the traps, professional computer, a plant computer, and a provider computer remote from the plant and the master base computer and in communication with the professional computer and the plant computer for sending and receiving information therebetween. 
     The apparatus also includes a portable layout template of the plant onto which a user identifies the discrete locations of the traps. Also, input means enable the discrete locations of the traps to be input from the layout template into a computer processor for processing to yield a computer generated template of the plant having a template of the plant with the discrete locations of the traps. 
     In another embodiment, the apparatus includes a plurality of animal traps located at discrete locations of the plant, each trap including an animal sensor for detecting an animal trapped by the trap and a transceiver in electronic communication with the animal sensor, the transceiver having an identifier. When the sensor detects an animal trapped by the trap the sensor sends a signal to the transceiver. The apparatus also includes a computer system having a plurality of computers in communication with one another for receiving and reporting information relating to conditions of the traps. 
     The computer system includes a master base computer proximate the plant and in communication with the transceiver of each of the traps for receiving information from the transceiver and sending information to the transceiver of each of the traps, professional computer, a plant computer, and a provider computer remote from the plant and the master base computer and in communication with the professional computer and the plant computer for sending and receiving information therebetween. 
     In this embodiment, a portable GPS locator transceiver is included. The GPS locator transceiver is operable to communicate with each one of the transceivers and to identify each of the discrete locations of the traps. The apparatus also includes input means for inputting the discrete locations of the traps from the portable GPS locator transceiver into a computer processor for processing to yield a computer generated template of the plant having a template of the plant with the discrete locations of the traps. 
     In yet a further embodiment, the apparatus includes a plurality of animal traps located at discrete locations of the plant, each trap including an animal sensor associated with the trap for detecting an animal trapped in the trap and a transceiver in electronic communication with the animal sensor, the transceiver having an identifier unique to the trap with which it is associated. The apparatus also includes a computer system having a plurality of computers in communication with one another for receiving and reporting information relating to conditions of the traps. The apparatus includes means for obtaining and inputting the discrete locations and identifiers into a computer processor for processing to yield a computer generated template of the plant having a template of the plant with the discrete locations of each of the traps identified. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       Further advantages of the disclosure are apparent by reference to the detailed description when considered in conjunction with the figures, which are not to scale so as to more clearly show the details, wherein like reference numbers indicate like elements throughout the several views, and wherein: 
         FIG. 1  is a block diagram of computer connections used in an animal control system according to the disclosure. 
         FIG. 2  is a block diagram illustrating the animal control system at a typical plant. 
         FIG. 3  is a drawing of a plant provided as by a professional positioning of the animal control system traps throughout a plant, with the professional hand writing numbers on the drawing corresponding to serial numbers of the traps and located at locations corresponding to the locations where the professional located each trap. 
         FIG. 4  is a drawing of a plant generated by a computer based on the hand drawn locations of the traps of  FIG. 3 , with the computer automatically positioning the actual serial numbers of the traps at the actual locations of the traps. 
         FIG. 5  is a computer generated drawing providing a listing of the known serial numbers of the traps located in a plant and a blank drawing of the plant. 
         FIG. 6  is a drawing of a trap utilized in animal control systems according to the disclosure. 
         FIG. 7  shows an animal sensor utilized in the trap of  FIG. 6  to sense the presence of an animal in the trap. 
         FIGS. 8-12  show various alternate embodiments of an animal sensor for use in systems according to the disclosure. 
         FIGS. 13-19  show aspects of computer operation of animal control systems according to the disclosure. 
         FIGS. 20 and 21  show aspects of an alternate apparatus and method for locating traps according the disclosure. 
         FIG. 22  shows a circuit of a remote transceiver utilized in connection with systems according to the disclosure. 
         FIG. 23  shows a simplified block diagram of a circuit of a master base unit utilized with systems according to the disclosure. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
     Referring now to the drawings in which like reference characters designate like or corresponding parts throughout the several views, there is shown in  FIG. 1  a block diagram of computer connections used in an animal control system  10  of the present disclosure. The animal control system  10  is used to catch or monitor animals such as mice, rats, rodents or other animals. The system  10  reports captured or monitored animals to professionals as shown in  FIG. 1  and the professionals may provide reports to their customers if they choose. 
     Referring to  FIG. 1 , the system  10  includes a provider computer  20  shown connected to three professional computers  22 ,  24  and  26  and also connected to three plant computers  28 ,  30  and  32 . In operation, the plant computers  28 ,  30  and  32  report to the provider computer  20  when and how many animals have been detected or captured. Preferably, the location of each captured animal is also provided from the plant computer to the provider computer  20 . The provider computer then reports the information to the professional computers  22 ,  24  and  26 . The professional computers  22  may be responsible for the plant computer  28  and, thus, the provider computer would only provide information to the professional computer  22  regarding the plant computer  28 . Likewise, if the professional who owns computer  24  is responsible for the plant corresponding to plant computer  30 , the information from plant computer  30  would only be reported to the professional computer  24 . The information provided by the provider computer to the professional computers is used by the professionals to decide when they should service the plants and what traps have captured animals. 
     Typically the professional computers  22 ,  24  and  26  are connected to customer computers, such as customer computers  34 - 44 . Again, each professional may have more than one customer and thus, its computer would be connected or may be connected to more than one customer. The professional reports to each customer only the information relevant to its plants. The information provided by the provider computer to the professional computer is not the same information that is provided by the professional computer to the customer computer. The professional needs to have timely information to enable it to monitor and maintain the traps in the plants. On the other hand, the customer needs to have reports on a less timely manner so that it is fully informed as to how its pest control plan is working in each of its plants. 
     Referring now to  FIG. 2 , there is shown a block diagram illustrating the animal control system at a typical plant. In this figure, the plant computer  28  is shown connected through the Internet  50  to the provider computer  20 . The plant computer could also be connected to the provider computer by telephone connections, wireless telephone connections or other communication systems. The plant computer  28  is also connected to a master base unit  56  as illustrated by line  54 . This connection could be a hard wired computer to computer connection or the connection could be made through a wireless network. Thus, both the plant computer  28  and the master base unit computer  56  are shown with wireless antennas  52  and  58  illustrating that the two units may communicate wirelessly. 
     The master base unit  56  is a computer based communication unit that receives information concerning the status of various base stations disposed throughout the plant and it reports that information to the plant computer  28 . Thus, the master base unit  56  communicates with a plurality of animal traps such as traps  60 ,  68 ,  80  and  88  shown in  FIG. 2 . It will be understood that the traps  60 ,  68 ,  80 , and  88  may take various structural configurations to be suitable for enabling an animal to enter into an enclosed or other trapping area of the trap and for serving to maintain the animal within the trapping area. For example, the trap may include a funnel entrance having a large access end adjacent the exterior of the trap, with the funnel exiting to an enclosed area of the trap, with a very small exit area into which the animal typically does not re-enter. Other structures may include one-way doors and the like which serve to allow an animal to enter through but not easily exit through, effectively trapping the animal within the interior or enclosed area of the trap. 
     Referring to trap  60 , it is equipped with a remote transceiver  62  that is connected to an animal sensor  66 , preferably an electronic sensor, for detecting when an animal is captured in the trap  60 . The sensor  66  may be located on a wall  60   a  of the trap  60 . When the sensor  66  indicates the presence of an animal, the remote transceiver  62  communicates that event wirelessly to the master base unit  56 . Antenna  64  on remote transceiver remote  62  illustrates this wireless communication. While wireless communication is preferred, other forms of communication could be used as well, such as hard wired communication systems. 
     The trap  68  is likewise equipped with a remote transceiver  70 , a sensor  74 , and a wireless communication antenna  72 . The traps  60  and  68  are near the master base unit  56  and illustrate the fact that each of the traps may communicate with the master base unit  56  directly. However, other traps may be remote from the master base unit  56  such that wireless communication is difficult and in such cases repeaters may be used such as a repeater  76 . The traps  80  and  88  each have animal sensors  82  and  90 , transceivers  84  and  92  and antennas  86  and  94 , respectively. Because they are distant from the master base unit  56 , each of the traps  80  and  88  have signals that are repeated by the repeater  76  and are eventually received by the master base unit  56 . 
     Although only four traps are shown in  FIG. 2 , it will be understood that most plants will have many more traps located both inside and outside of the plant and this figure has been simplified for purposes of illustration. As will hereinafter be described in greater detail, each of the remote transceivers, such as the remote transceiver  62  is battery powered and, thus, they are designed to require a minimum of power. The transceiver  62  is a microprocessor based unit that is programmed to sleep most of the time. The sensor  66  is connected to the remote transceiver  62  and when an animal triggers the sensor  66 , a signal is sent to the remote transceiver  62  that wakes up the transceiver  62 . The sensor  66  is designed to operate at an extremely low power level until it senses something. When the remote transceiver  62  wakes up, the microprocessor of the transceiver  62  executes a program designed to verify that an animal has been detected and to communicate this fact to the base unit  56 . 
     In one embodiment, the transceiver  62  is programmed to wake up and determine a count of sensor signals. The sensor  66  is designed to repeatedly sense the presence of the animal in the trap  60 . Thus, when an animal is present in the trap  60 , the animal will repeatedly activate the sensor  66  and wake up the remote transceiver  62 . When the transceiver  62  wakes, the transceiver  62  records the fact that an animal has been sensed and the transceiver  62  makes a logical determination of whether animals have been sensed within the recent past, such as within the last hour. If the remote transceiver  62  has a total count of “x” triggers of the sensor  66  (such as three triggers) within the last hour, the remote transceiver  62  will power up its transmitter and transmit to the master base unit  56  its unique serial number. By transmitting the serial number to the master base unit  56 , the transceiver  62  is telling the master base unit  56  that an animal has been captured in the trap  60 . 
     In this embodiment, the remote transceiver  62  and the master base unit  56  communicate digitally such that a hand shaking process is first initiated to establish communication between the transceiver  62  and the master base unit  56 . Once communication has been established, the serial number of the trap  60  is transmitted to the master base unit  56  and the master base unit  56  transmits the serial number back to the transceiver  62  to indicate that the serial number has been received. Alternatively, the master base unit  56  could transmit a simple message back to the transceiver  62  indicating receipt of the serial number without repeating the serial number. Once the remote transceiver  62  has received confirmation that the master base unit  56  received its message, the transceiver  62  will return to a sleep mode. Thereafter, the remote transceiver  62  will not wake up and will not transmit a signal even when the sensor  66  has been activated by the animal within the trap  60 . In this manner, the transceiver  62  maximizes the life of the battery supplying its power and minimizes its power consumption. 
     The data being transmitted by the system  10  is protected by fail safe procedures and error checking. For example, the remote transceiver, such as transceiver  62 , is programmed to keep a log of triggers of the sensor  66  and keep the log for a period of time, even after it has transmitted the information. The master base unit, such as the base unit  56 , also keeps a log of events, such as each trigger event, and the log of the base unit  56  is periodically compared to the log of the remote transceiver  62 . If the master base unit  56  is missing some data points, it may be updated during the comparison. Likewise the plant computer, such as plant computer  28 , keeps a log of events and it is compared to the log of the master base unit  56  and a log maintained by the provider computer. If any log is lacking some of the data it may be updated. The logs of the remote transceivers are routinely purged of older data, and the other logs in the master unit  56 , the plant computer  28  and the provider computer  20  may also be purged if desired, but typically the provider computer  20  will keep data for periods of years. 
     If desired, the remote transceiver  62  can also be programmed to periodically wake up and communicate with the master base unit  56 . For example, the transceiver  62  could be programmed to wake up at the same time each day and communicate with the master base unit  56 . During such communications, the master base unit  56  can issue additional or different instructions to the remote transceiver  62 . For example, the master base unit  56  could instruct the remote transceiver  62  to reset itself so that it will wake up whenever the sensor  66  is tripped and after three “trips”, the transceiver  62  will transmit to the master base unit  56  the fact that an animal has been detected in the trap. 
     In one embodiment, the provider computer  20  may send commands via the internet to the plant computer  28  and the plant computer  28  may reprogram itself and or the base unit  56  based on the commands received from the provider computer  20 . For example, the plant computer  28  may reset the clock in the master base unit  56 . Or, the provider computer  20  may send the plant computer  28  a message to reprogram a designated remote transceiver, such as transceiver  62 . In such case the reprogramming instructions would be sent to the master base unit  56  and the instructions would be held by the base unit  56  until the designated remote transceiver  62  woke up and began talking to the master base unit  56 , and at that time the master base unit  56  would send instructions to the remote transceiver  62  causing it to reprogram itself. For example a new time could be sent to the remote transceiver  62 , or the behavior of the transceiver  62  could be modified. For example, the time that transceiver  62  routinely wakes up and talks to the plant computer  28  could be modified or the number of triggers of the sensor  66  needed to be interpreted as indicating a trapped animal could be adjusted. 
     In alternative embodiments where power consumption is less of an issue, the remote transceiver  62  can be programmed to continuously wake up each time the sensor  66  has been activated and record the fact that such sensor  66  has been activated. Then, periodically the remote transceiver  62  can activate its wireless communication and communicate the number of sensor trips to the master base unit  56 , along with the date and time of each trip. The count of trips within a given time period in the trap will typically indicate the number of animals within the trap. For example, if a mouse enters the trap  60 , he will typically search the trap thoroughly seeking a way out and will trip the sensor  66  over and over within a fairly short period of time. Then, the mouse will typically settle down and the number of trips will be reduced. However, when another mouse enters the trap  60 , it will also furiously search for a way out and it will aggravate the mouse that is present. Thus, it will start a new cycle of sensor trips. In general, as more mice enter the trap  60 , more activity is recorded. Thus, in a gross way, the number of sensor trips  66  will indicate the number of animals within the trap  60 . This type of information may be valuable to the professional pest control company and, thus, the number of sensor trips along with date and time information may be communicated to the master base unit  56 . 
     As the master base unit  56  receives information from the traps  66 ,  68 ,  80  and  88 , for example, it constantly communicates this information to the plant computer  28 . In turn, the plant computer  28  is programmed to constantly provide this information to the provider computer  20  and the provider computer  20  may be programmed to report the information to the professional computer  22 , for example, as desired. In addition, the provider computer  20  may inform the professional pest control company of the condition of its traps by sending information other than via the professional computer, such as computer  20 , such as by wireless text messaging, instant messaging via the Internet, by e-mail, or by phone call. These options can be selected by the professional pest control company as desired. Typically, a pest control company will prefer to receive only periodic reports as to the condition of its traps, for example, one report an hour is more than sufficient in most cases. 
     When the pest control company receives the reports at the professional computer  22 , for example, the pest control company can make a decision as to what service or maintenance is required at the traps. For example, if only one trap has an animal in it, a decision may be made to send a single person to the plant to that particular trap and dispose of the animal in the trap. Also, the maintenance person would reset the trap and no further maintenance would be required. In a plant with two hundred traps, a great efficiency is achieved because the professional pest control company knows that only one trap has captured an animal and only one trap needs service, especially if the one trap with the animal is known. Since the trap has provided its serial number, the professional knows precisely which trap needs to be serviced and reset. 
     In a preferred embodiment, the remote transceiver  62  is programmed to respond to a particular type of trigger at the sensor  66  and recognize this particular type of trigger as a reset. For example, the remote transceiver  62  may be programmed to interpret a sensor trip that lasts for three seconds as a reset, and not the detection of an animal. Thus, when the operator arrives to dispose of the animals in the trap, such as the trap  60 , he will additionally trigger the sensor  66  for three continuous seconds in order to reset the transceiver  62 . Preferably, to allow the maintenance personnel to know when the transceiver  62  has been reset, an illumination device such as an LED lamp is provided on the transceiver  62  to blink while the maintenance person is triggering the sensor  66  and then to glow solidly after three seconds thereby informing the maintenance person that the transceiver  62  has been reset. 
     Communication between the various components of the system  10  may be encrypted or otherwise made secure if desired. Typically, the communication between the remote transceivers, such as transceiver  62 , and the master base unit  56  will not be encrypted and, likewise, the communication between the master base unit  56  and the plant computer  28  will not be encrypted. However, all other communications discussed above typically are encrypted. 
     Since one of the advantages of the animal control system  10  is to allow the professional pest control company to service the traps efficiently on an as needed basis, it is important that the traps be located in known positions. To accomplish this, the maintenance person will record the position of each trap as those traps are located in the plant. 
     One convenient system for locating the traps in a plant is illustrated in  FIG. 3  and  FIG. 4 , both of which represent layout drawings of a plant. In this particular plant, represented as plant  100 , there are three offices  102 ,  104  and  106  located in three corners of the plant  100 . Also, there is a tank  108  located in the upper left portion of the plant drawing. It will be understood that this is a simplified drawing of a plant designed to illustrate the principles of locating the traps within a plant. 
     Preferably, the maintenance personnel are provided with a drawing of the plant such as shown in  FIGS. 3 and 4 . However, if no drawing is available, maintenance personnel are trained to accurately sketch the plant layout and such sketches are usually sufficiently accurate for the purpose of locating animal traps. In this particular case, the drawing has been provided of the plant layout. As the maintenance professional positions the traps throughout the plant, he simply hand writes numbers on the drawing, such as shown in  FIG. 3 , to indicate the location of each trap. For example, the unique serial number for each trap may be provided on the transceiver of each trap in bold font and bar code. 
     Thus, the professional reads the number from the transceiver (visually or electronically) and writes all or a portion of the number on the layout drawing. In practice, the serial number may have many digits, such as ten digits or sixteen digits, and the maintenance professional is trained that he only needs to record the last three digits of each number on the drawing. Only the last three digits are needed because the transceiver numbers are typically assigned serially so that the last three numbers will uniquely identify each transceiver unless more than one thousand transceivers are used in a particular site. If for some reason the transceivers are not serially issued, and the numbers are more random, it is still probable that only three digits will uniquely identify each transceiver but the professional may write down more digits on the map if desired. 
     After the maintenance professional writes the numbers on the layout drawing, it may appear as shown that  FIG. 3 , the numbers  238 - 253  represent the location of each trap. It should be noted that in the lower right hand corner there is a trap numbered  274  in  FIG. 3 . The adjacent traps are  246  and  248 . In this instance, the maintenance professional has made a mistake. He intended to write down the number  247 , but instead he transposed the last two digits and wrote  274 . This mistake will be used to illustrate the correction feature of this embodiment. When the maintenance professional returns to his office, the drawing is scanned into the provider computer  20  and optical character recognition software is used to read the drawing and actually read the numbers that have been provided by the maintenance professional. 
     As the maintenance professional locates each trap in the plant, he also resets each trap. That is, in one embodiment, he holds the sensor in a tripped condition for three seconds until the LED quits flashing and burns constantly. In response to this tripping, the transceiver, such as transceiver  62 , recognizes that it is being reset and it transmits its number to the master base unit  56  along with a message that it has been reset. As the maintenance professional repeats this process each time a trap is located within the plant, the master unit  56  is collecting a list of numbers transmitted to it by the remote transceiver. It will be appreciated that the master base unit  56  receives the entire serial number whether it is ten digits or sixteen digits because it is simple for the transceiver to transmit a long number and likewise it is easy for the master base unit  56  to retain those numbers. After all of the traps have been located, the master base unit  56  has a list of all serial numbers of all traps in the plant and this list is constantly being communicated to the plant computer and from the plant computer to the provider computer. Thus, the provider computer  20  is also maintaining a list of all serial numbers of all traps located in a particular plant. 
     When the drawing provided by the maintenance professional is scanned into the provider computer  20 , and the numbers are recognized, the handwritten numbers are matched with the serial numbers that were reported by the master base unit  56 . The provider computer  20  performs a best fit analysis on all of the handwritten numbers as compared to the numbers that were provided electronically. For example, the provider computer  20  will first look for serial numbers having the last three or four digits that correspond to each of the handwritten numbers. In this particular example, that first test will uniquely identify all but one of the handwritten numbers with a serial number. Thus, the computer is able to automatically position the actual serial numbers on the layout drawing as shown in  FIG. 4 . 
     However, as mentioned, the maintenance professional made a mistake in writing down the number  274 . In this case, the provider computer  20  has recognized that mistake and has shown the trap  274  in the lower right hand corner with bold numbers and hatching to indicate that the trap  274  is a mistake. Immediately above the box representing  274 , the number  92247  has been written to indicate the computer&#39;s suggestion as to the best fit for this particular trap. In this simple example, since only one mistake was made, it was easy to match the number  92247  to the handwritten number “ 274 ”. However, if numerous mistakes have been made, the provider computer  20  will use a more rigorous examination in order to find the best fit. 
     Suppose, for example, that the provider computer  20  has positively identified trap numbers with the handwritten numbers in all but three cases. The provider computer  20  will then know that the remaining three handwritten numbers must correspond to the remaining three serial numbers. To make a positive identification, the provider computer  20  will execute a series of tests to find the best fit. For example, the provider computer  20  could look for transposed numbers in the last “x” number of digits by summing the last “x” digits. In this case, the provider computer  20  could sum the last three digits of  92247  and it would calculate a total of 2 plus 4 plus 7 equals 13. When it calculated the sum of the handwritten number “ 274 ”, it would reach the same sum, namely, 13. Thus, this particular test would indicate a possible match between the handwritten number and the serial number. 
     To further test for the best fit, the program could begin a process of transposing numbers in either the serial number or the handwritten number. For example, in this case, the provider computer  20  could transpose the first two numbers in  274  and change the handwritten number to  724 . That would not match anything. It could then transpose the second two numbers in  274  to create  247  which would be an identical match to the last three digits to  92247 . Thus, the provider computer  20  has found another best fit using a different technique. By using multiple best fit techniques, the computer will ultimately suggest best fits for each of the three erroneous numbers. 
     Referring again to  FIG. 4 , the human operator of the provider computer  20  can quickly glance at  FIG. 4  and see that one mistake has apparently been made. The operator could look at the suggested number and see that numbers have been transposed and that the handwritten number was out of order. In other words,  274  does not fit between  92246  and  92248 . Thus, the operator would quickly see that the numbers have been transposed and could click on the suggested number to accept it. Then, the provider computer  20  would substitute the number  92247  for the number  274  and un-hatch the block so that it would indicate an accepted serial number for that particular trap. In addition, the user could spot check or otherwise verify every other trap serial number against the handwritten number to verify that the provider computer  20  has properly located the various traps on the layout drawing. 
     In a more simplistic alternate embodiment, the provider computer  20  could provide a listing of the known serial numbers located in a plant and a blank drawing of the plant as shown in  FIG. 5 . The operator could then view the handwritten paper drawing of the plant and drag and drop each of the serial numbers to the appropriate location in  FIG. 5 . For example, in the upper left hand corner of the serial numbers, there is shown a number  92238 . The operator could find on the handwritten map the number  238  in the upper left hand corner of  FIG. 3 . The operator would then know to drag and drop the box labeled as  92238  to the position  109  shown in  FIG. 5 . By repeating this process, the operator could quickly drag and drop each of the serial numbers to the appropriate location in the layout drawing. 
     It will be appreciated that the systems according to the disclosure allow the electronic transfer of the actual serial numbers from the remote transceivers such as transceivers  62 ,  70 ,  84  and  92 , to the provider computer  20 . By providing this electronic transfer of numbers, the maintenance professional has eliminated many possible sources of errors, has reduced the burden on the maintenance professional when installing the traps and has provided a check on the accuracy of the layout drawing that is created by the maintenance professional. In other words, if the maintenance professional makes a mistake in writing down a number, the mistake can be caught and easily corrected, possibly automatically corrected by the computer itself without much intervention by an operator. 
     Referring now to  FIG. 6 , there is shown a more detailed view of one embodiment of the trap  60 , the transceiver  62  and the antenna  64 . In  FIG. 6 , the relative sizes of the trap  60  and the transceiver  62  are more realistic than in  FIG. 2 , but it will be understood that this illustration is again not to scale and the sizes of elements have been modified for purposes of clarity. In this particular embodiment, the trap  60  is a rectangular cage that includes breathing holes  112 . Preferably, the cage is constructed of metal, such as galvanized steel, and breathing holes are approximately ¼ of an inch in diameter such that there is no chance that the animals within could escape through the holes. The transceiver  62  is connected to the sensor  66  by wires  110  and the sensor  66  is mounted in hole  112  extending into the trap  60 . In this particular embodiment, the wires  110  are disposed on the outside of the trap  60  and are therefore inaccessible to animals within the trap  60  because the animals inside a trap would probably chew the wires. In alternative embodiments, the wires  110  could extend within the trap  60  and be covered by durable sheath, such as a small steel tube acting as a conduit. In another embodiment, the sensor  66  could be connected directly to the transceiver  62  and the transceiver  62  could be mounted on the outside of the trap adjacent to one of the holes  112  so that the sensor  66  could extend through the hole  112 . 
     Referring to  FIG. 7 , one embodiment of the sensor  66  is shown. In this embodiment, the sensor  66  has a tubular shape and it extends into the trap  60  for approximately three quarters of an inch. The length dimension of the sensor  66  is not critical so long as it is sufficiently penetrating into the trap  60 . It is also important that the sensor  66  be positioned low enough that the animals in the trap  60  will have an opportunity to contact the sensor. The connecting wires  110  are attached to a pair of conductors  114  that extend from outside of the trap  60  to an exposed position within the trap  60 . The conductors  114  are made of a strong stiff material such as a high grade stainless steel. This material should be sufficiently strong to resist any kind of bending forces that a large rodent or animal could apply to the steel even with their jaws. The ends of the conductors  114  include round tips  116  and  118  that are designed to encourage animals to contact the tips of the conductors  114 . A sharp tip might be instinctively avoided by an animal. 
     On the inside of the trap, the conductors  114  extend out of a plastic insulation material  120 . The insulation material  120  is typically a hard rubber or plastic that will be resistant to chewing by a rodent, but is sufficiently attractive to a rodent to cause it to try to chew the material. The insulating material  120  is protected by a steel sheath  122  and the steel sheath  122  is mounted to the wall of the trap  60  as by fasteners  124  and  126 . For example, the fasteners  124  and  126  could be threadedly secured to the steel sheath  122  and thus, the fasteners  124  and  126  can be threadedly tightened to firmly secure the sensor  66  in place on the wall of trap  60 . 
     When an animal, such as a mouse, enters the trap  60 , it typically follows the walls of the trap  60  searching for a way out of the trap  60 . As it circles around adjacent the wall, it will encounter the protruding sensor  66 . It will instinctively investigate and will probably rub its nose or body against the tips  116  and  118 . It will also probably attempt to chew the probes  116  and  118  or it will attempt to chew the plastic or rubber insulation  120 . In either event, it will cause a short circuit (a resistive path having greater conductivity than air) across the conductors  114  and the transceiver  62  is equipped a resistance sensor that will immediately sense the dramatic shift in the resistance across the conductors when a mouse even brushes against it. The conductivity of air between the conductors at low voltage is for practical purposes infinite. Thus, even the slightest bit of conductivity between the conductors  114  created by a mouse will be easily detected by the resistance meter in the transceiver  62 . When the resistance meter detects a short or a dramatic reduction in the resistance between the wires  110 , it generates a signal intended to wake up the transceiver  62  and indicate that the sensor  66  has been triggered. 
     An alternate embodiment of the sensor  66  is shown in  FIG. 8  as sensor  67 . In this embodiment, the sensor  67  is mounted almost flush against the inside wall of the trap  60 . Again, the wires  110  extend through an insulating tube  120  and then extend down along a frame  128  in a position exposed to the animals within the trap  60 . As before, the sensor  67  is mounted to a wall  60   a  of the trap  60  by a metal sheath  122  that surrounds the insulated tube  120  and by fasteners  124  and  126 . 
     Referring to  FIG. 9 , a view of the frame  128  is shown from within the trap  60 . In this view, one appreciates that the frame  128  has a generally rectangular shape and extends downwardly almost to a bottom  134  of the trap  60 . Two separated steel conductors  130  and  132  extend down the exterior face of the frame  128  and are exposed for contact with animals inside the trap  60 . The steel conductors  130  and  132  are connected to the wires  110 , and again the animal within the trap  60  has access to the conductors  130  and  132  and will create a short (a resistive path having greater conductivity than air) between the conductors  130  and  132 . In this particular embodiment, a rodent, such as a mouse, will typically brush against the conductors  130  and  132  as it follows the wall of the trap  60  trying to find an exit. As it brushes against the conductors  130  and  132 , it will short the circuit which will be detected by the resistance sensor in the transceiver  62  and will be interpreted as a trigger signal indicating the presence of an animal. In addition, the frame  128  is constructed of a highly durable hard plastic or rubber that is attractive to rodents for chewing but is sufficiently hard to resist any significant damage caused by chewing. Likewise, the steel conductors  130  and  132  are sufficiently hard and strong to resist any significant damage by chewing. Thus, the rodent will typically attempt to chew the frame  128  and the conductors  130  and  132 . During the chewing process, the rodent will inevitably create a short between the conductors  130  and  132  thereby triggering the sensor  66 . 
     In both of these sensors, the activity of a rodent has been recognized and taken advantage of to simplify the mounting of the sensor within the trap  60 . It is not necessary to cover the entire trap or to cover any particular point in the trap in order to detect the presence of an animal. Its basic instinct to escape will cause any animal, particularly rodents, to investigate the entire area of the trap and thereby encounter the sensor. Thus, the job of finding an appropriate location for the sensor is greatly simplified. In fact, the sensor can be attached directly to the transceiver  62  and the transceiver could be mounted to the side of the trap such that the sensor and trap may be conveniently located almost anywhere along the trap so long as the sensor is sufficiently close to the bottom  134  of the trap  60  to ensure that all rodents big or small have an opportunity to trigger the sensor  66  and  67 . 
     Referring now to  FIG. 10 , there is shown another sensor system  141  for sensing the presence of animals within a trap, such as the trap  60 .  FIG. 10  shows the wires  110  terminating at junctions  140  and  142 . The junctions  140  and  142  represent connections to the transceiver  62 . In  FIG. 10 , the walls of the trap  60  have been removed showing only a floor  145  of the trap and a door  144  representing the entry point of the animal into the trap. As the animal enters the trap, it crosses a conductive pad  146  positioned on the floor  145  of the trap. As the animal moves away from the pad  146 , it will step on another pad  148 ,  150  or  152  while it is still in contact with pad  146 . The pad  146  is connected to the terminal  142  and the other three pads  148 ,  150  and  152  are connected to terminal  140 . Thus, when the animal steps from the pad  146  onto any of the other pads, a short is created between the terminals  140  and  142 , and such short is interpreted by the transceiver  62  as it measures the resistance across the terminals. When the resistance changes from infinity to some measurable amount of resistance, the transceiver  62  interprets such change in resistance as a trigger caused by an animal. As the animal wanders about the trap  60 , it will repetitively step on pad  146  and one of the other pads  148 ,  150  and  152  and repetitively trip the sensor in a manner similar as that described above. 
     Referring to  FIG. 11 , an alternate embodiment of a conductive sensor is shown. In this embodiment, a wire  110   a  is connected to a contact  154  which places the wire  110   a  in electrical contact with the metal cage  60 . Another wire  110   b  is connected to a steel conductor  114  that extends through an insulated tube  120  and terminates at a rounded tip  116 . This construction is similar to that disclosed in  FIG. 7 , except that only one conductor  114  extends through the insulator  120 . When the animal touches the conductor  114  or the tip  116 , a short is formed between the conductor  114  and the metal trap  60 . Since the wire  110   a  is connected to the trap  60 , the short will be detected by the transceiver as a trigger signal. Thus, when a mouse or other rodent that is standing on the metal floor  145  of the trap  60  touches the conductor  114 , a trip signal will be generated and reported by the transceiver  62 . 
       FIG. 12  represents multiple other signals that could be used in connection with the present embodiments. For example, a sensor  156  shown in  FIG. 12  can represent a diffuse light sensor that transmits a diffuse light, preferably in a frequency range that cannot be observed by humans or rodents. For example, ultraviolet or infrared light is not visible to either rodents or humans. By transmitting ultraviolet light and receiving the backscatter, the sensor  156  detects when is normal in a non-occupied trap. When a rodent or mouse appears in front of the sensor  156 , the backscatter created by the mouse is detected as a change in the overall amount of backscatter by the sensor  156 . Thus, a mouse in close proximity to the sensor  156  will cause a trip signal. 
     In a similar manner, the sensor  156  may be an ultrasonic sensor that generates and transmits an ultrasonic signal and listens for a return echo. When the trap is empty, one type of echo will be received. When one or more animals are in the trap, the return signal or echo will change and the changed signal will be interpreted as a trigger indicating the presence of an animal. 
     Referring now to  FIG. 13 , the program that operates on the provider computer  20  will be described in pertinent detail. The provider computer  20  first allows the operator to select one of its pest control professionals. For example, the operator might select from a list (not shown) the name “Joe Smith Pest Control”, and a screen like that shown in  FIG. 13  would be presented showing the name “Joe Smith Pest Control” at  160  and identifying three customers  162  of this company. The operator may then select one of the customers of Joe Smith Pest Control, and such selection is indicated in  FIG. 14  showing that Customer  1  has been selected. In this view, the operator may click on any of the indicated boxes and select either a drawing of one of the customer&#39;s plants or alarm settings for the plant or customer reports. Also, boxes are provided for selecting activity analysis and maintenance data. 
     If the operator selects a box entitled plant drawing one (PltDwg 1 ), the provider computer  20  will display a screen such as that shown in  FIG. 15 . In this figure, a simplified drawing of a plant is represented. The plant perimeter is indicated by line  164 . Each of the traps in the plant is represented by a box, such as box  166  indicating the unique number of that trap. In this simplified drawing, a lobby  168  is represented along with a tank  170 . In reality, a plant would be much more complicated and larger than this drawing, but this particular drawing is simplified for purposes of illustration. In this drawing, the unique serial numbers of the trap range from  33001  to  33007 . The current status of each trap is indicated by the presence or absence of a star, such as star  171  shown above trap  33006 . Thus, the drawing of  FIG. 15  is indicating that traps  33004 ,  33005  and  33006  have currently detected the presence of an animal in the trap. The remaining traps have not detected animals. 
     Returning to  FIG. 14  and with additional reference to  FIG. 16 , the operator may also set alarms for each of the plants. If the Alert Sets Plt 1 box (alert sets plant one box) is depressed as shown in  FIG. 14 , then a screen such as that shown in  FIG. 16  is presented. In this screen, the user may select the frequency with which the maintenance professional is alerted to the presence of an animal in a trap. For example, the user may elect to be alerted each time any trap captures an animal by checking the box next to “each capture”. Likewise, if the box “each hour” is checked, the system will send out alerts only once an hour at a time selected by the user. In this particular case, the user has selected each day by placing an X in the box by clicking on the box next to “each day”. In this case, the user will receive an alert message once a day at a selected time. For example, the user might select 8 a.m. as the time for being alerted. 
     The user may also select the type of alerts it would like to receive. In this particular case, the user has selected the option of receiving text messages at two different phones and it has also selected the option of receiving an e-mail at the address of “joe@go.com”. While text messages and e-mail are preferred by this particular customer, the system will also allow the selection of alerts to be sent by instant messaging over the computer, voice telephone calls, messages placed on computer boards and the like. The alerts that are sent to the customer will indicate the identity of the plant where animals have been captured and the serial number of each trap containing an animal. If desired, the message may also provide additional information such as the time at which the animal was captured and the estimated number of animals that were captured in the trap. 
     If the user selects activity analysis as shown in  FIG. 14 , the user will be presented with a screen allowing it to choose a time period for which the analysis is desired. In the example shown in  FIG. 17 , the user has selected plant one and desires an analysis extending from Jan. 1, 2010 to Feb. 15, 2010. In response, the computer has generated a graphical image of plant one and has placed crosses by the plant traps that have captured animals during the selected period of time and the number of crosses indicates the number of captures at each trap. In this case, trap  33005  has made two captures, trap  33006  has made three captures, and trap  33007  has made eight captures. This graphical display allows the maintenance professional to quickly see which traps are most active and therefore understand where correction or some type of repair measures should be taken to prevent the entry of animals into the plant. 
     If the user selects maintenance data in the screen shown in  FIG. 14 , the views shown in  FIG. 18  and  FIG. 19  become available. First, the view in  FIG. 18  shows a calendar of visits for the selected plant. In this case, the user has selected plant one and has selected January and February on the calendar. In this case, it shows that the traps in plant one have been inspected basically every other week throughout January and February as indicated by the crosses  180  on the calendar. The user can then click on one of proscribed indicia, such as one of a number of crosses  180  to receive additional information about the visit to the plant on that particular date. 
     Referring to  FIG. 19 , a screen shot is shown indicating the details of the visit to the plant on Jan. 5, 2010. This screen shot was obtained by clicking on Jan. 5, 2010 in the screen shown in  FIG. 18 .  FIG. 19  first indicates that the technician or maintenance professional for this particular day and this particular plant was a person named “Joe Smith” having the identification number of “007”. When Joe visited the plant, he visited all of the traps that needed attention. He knew which traps needed attention based on the drawing shown in  FIG. 17 . This drawing may be printed and taken with the technician to the plant, or the technician may view the drawing on an electronic device such as a PDA or a laptop computer. 
     In  FIG. 19 , the activity of the tech is shown both graphically and numerically. At the top middle of the screen, a graph  182  is shown with bars  184  indicating the duration of a visit at a particular trap. It also indicates the time along the bottom of the graph. In this instance, the graph starts at 8 a.m. and continues to 6 p.m. The width of the bar  184  indicates how long the technician spent at each trap. It will be recalled that the technician is instructed to trip the sensor of the trap when he first begins the process of maintaining the trap and perhaps cleaning the trap. When he is finished, he will trip the sensor again and the software will interpret the two quick trips of the sensor of a particular trap to mean that it was cleaned or maintained starting with the first trip and ending with the second trip. 
     In the graph shown in  FIG. 19 , the bars indicate eleven traps were cleaned between 7 a.m. and 12 p.m. on January 5. The duration of the cleaning in each case was five minutes which is indicated by the consistent width of the bars on the graph. After 12 p.m. the graph indicates that seven traps were cleaned. Between 12 p.m. and 1 p.m., a single trap was cleaned and it took approximately five minutes, between 1 p.m. and 2 p.m., another single trap was cleaned and again it took about five minutes. Between 2 p.m. and 3 p.m., a single trap was cleaned and that cleaning took about thirty minutes. Then between 3 p.m. and 4 p.m., the very thin bars indicate that four traps were cleaned and each cleaning took less than a minute. 
     The program will indicate a very thin bar as shown between 3 p.m. and 4 p.m. when the sensor is tripped only once during the cleaning process. So, in this case, it appears that the technician became hurried about 3 p.m. and began servicing the traps quickly and forgot to trip the sensor twice during the cleaning process. The small number of traps that were cleaned during the time period from 12 p.m. to 2 a.m. indicates that something odd was taking place. Perhaps the maintenance person was distracted by something else occurring at the plant. 
     The extremely long duration of the cleaning process between hours 2 p.m. and 3 p.m. indicates, again, that something unusual took place. In this case, perhaps it was necessary to perform extensive maintenance on a trap. Likewise, the relatively large number of traps that were visited between 3 p.m. and 4 p.m. and the short duration of those visits also raises concern. This graph quickly tells the operator in a form easy to interpret whether the visit to the plant was routine or unusual. When unusual events are detected using the graph, the data may be studied more rigorously or an inquiry may be sent to the technician for an explanation. This information serves two purposes. One, it fully informs the operator of exactly what type of maintenance is being performed on the traps and, by sending an inquiry to the technician, the technician understands that his performance is being monitored. 
     At the bottom of the page, the inspection or cleaning of the traps is indicated by a list identifying each trap that was cleaned or inspected and indicating the starting time of the inspection and the duration of the inspection. The ending time of the inspection is not needed, but it could also be displayed if desired. If the trap was tripped only once during an inspection, the list as shown at the bottom of  FIG. 19  will indicate a duration of an asterisk (“*”) indicating that a trap sensor was tripped, but only once. The computer realizes that the trap was triggered only once because it received a signal from another trap indicating the start of another cleaning process. The computer is also programmed to interpret many hits in a short period as a cleaning process. If there were an unusually high number of actual animal trappings, the program might be fooled, but the data will be retained and an operator can correct the interpretation manually. If the operator sees that traps were cleaned at 3 a.m. in the morning and he knows that the traps were not inspected at that time, he can override the interpretation and instruct the program to record the data as animal traps. 
     Besides testing or judging the frequency of sensor signals, the program can be set to use a variety of tests to determine the difference between cleanings. For example, the computer can be programmed to interpret 3 second trips to be cleaning only. If a trap has a high number of trips in a short period of time, that test would indicate the presence of an animal and not a cleaning even if the animal is tripping the sensor for 3 seconds at a time. If the trips are occurring at unusual hours for a cleaning, such as late at night or early in the morning (e.g. 3 a.m.) that test would tend to indicate the trips were caused by animals. Likewise, trappings in the middle of the daylight hours inside an active plant would indicate cleaning as opposed to animal trappings. In short, an animal trapping procedure and a cleaning procedure each create a different pattern of trips and each has unique characteristics or tendencies. By employing numerous tests on the detected characteristics, and weighing these tests, the computer can quickly distinguish between the two. The tests can be customized for a particular plant. For example if the traps are normally cleaned at night in a particular plant, the time of day test would need to be eliminated or corrected for this plant. 
     In one particular embodiment, cleanings are identified whenever a single trap is triggered twice for 3 seconds within a specified period of time, for example, within 15 minutes of each other. This assumes that a trap will not usually capture two animals within a 15 minute period and the animal will not trip the sensor for 3 continuous seconds each time. The user may adjust the duration of time used in this analysis as desired. 
     Referring now to  FIG. 20  an alternate apparatus and method for locating rodent traps  92238 - 92251  is illustrated. The rodent traps are located in a warehouse  200  shown in plan view, and in this simplified warehouse, a tank  208  and office  206  are shown along with the rodent traps. In this embodiment, a set up unit  190  is used to locate the traps as they are installed. The setup unit  190  is a microprocessor based radio transceiver. It may be a specially designed dedicated device or it can be a smartphone that has been specially programmed to perform the functions set forth hereinafter. Preferably, but not as a requirement, the setup unit  190  includes a large sensitive GPS antenna designed to allow it to function inside. Thus, the setup unit  190  can determine its position using WAAS GPS. Typically this type of GPS location is accurate to within 1 meter horizontally which is more than sufficient for location rodent traps. 
     In addition to using GPS location technology, the setup unit  190  is preferably provided with supplemental back-up or verification technology. For example, the setup unit  190  may include wireless location technology provided by “Sky Hook Wireless”. This technology uses any number of other radio transmitters to supplement GPS location and, the other radio transmitters can be used as the primary location device if the GPS signal is not obtainable. For example, the Sky Hook Wireless technology utilizes transmission signals from cell phone towers and wireless wifi hot spots. The Sky Hook Wireless database includes the precise location of the various other radio transmitters, such as cell towers and wireless wifi hot spots, and the setup unit  190  detects the direction to those towers and triangulates its position based on a number of different directions to a number of different radio transmitters. 
     In this embodiment, the setup unit  190  may be used to first position a number of auxiliary radio transmitters and incorporate them into a database identifying their exact location. Once those transmitters have been located in the database, or in the unit  190  itself, those transmitters can be used to further locate the setup unit  190 . For example, in this particular embodiment, the setup unit  190  has been used to locate auxiliary transmitters  194 ,  196  and  198 . These transmitters are located immediately outside of the warehouse  200  and have been accurately located by the setup unit  190  because a clear and open signal has been received from satellites to locate the auxiliary transmitters using GPS enhanced by WAAS. 
     Once the transmitters  196 ,  198  and  194  are precisely located, the setup unit  190  records those precise locations, latitude and longitude, within the unit and begins to use the locations of those transmitters to supplement, verify or substitute for GPS location. Operating within the warehouse  200 , if the GPS signal continues to be available, and it will be in most warehouses, the setup unit  190  continues to use GPS supplemented by the auxiliary transmitters and any other transmitter that has an exact known location and is being received by the setup unit  190 . 
     Inside the warehouse  200 , the master unit  56  is precisely located using the setup unit  190  and, since it is also a radio transmitter, it may be used to supplement the location accuracy of the setup unit  190 . Most preferably, the master unit  56  is located in a position that is easily recognized within the building. For example, in this case, it is located within an office  206  in the warehouse  200 , and it is located in the corner of the office  206  which also happens to be the corner of the warehouse  200 . A second auxiliary transmitter  192  is also precisely located using the setup unit  190  and the auxiliary transmitter  192  is located in the right hand corner of the warehouse  100 . Each of the transmitters  56 ,  192 ,  198  transmits a unique identification number with its signal so that the setup unit  190  can accurately identify which unit is sending a particular signal that is being detected. Each of the bait stations, such as  92242  are also transceivers with unique serial numbers and theoretically they could be used as part of auxiliary location system as well, but since they transmit for only very short periods of time, they have been excluded in this particular embodiment from the auxiliary positioning system used by setup unit  190 . 
     To locate a particular transmitter, such as the transmitter  192 , the setup unit  190  and the transmitter  192  are located in substantially the same position. The setup unit  190  is allowed to settle until it gives a consistent readout indicating that it has acquired sufficient electronic signals to accurately position itself to within approximately 1 meter. After the setup unit  190  has accurately located its position, the unit  190  is turned on and allowed to transmit. The setup unit  190  will receive the new signal and recognize it as a new signal. In response, it will automatically display the unique serial number of the new transmitter and ask the user whether this transmitter should be entered into the auxiliary positioning system. If the user answers yes, the exact position of the transmitter  192  is entered into the memory of setup unit  190  and will be used thereafter to help position the unit  190 . 
     In addition, the unit  190  will transmit the unique serial number of the transmitter  192  back to the master unit  56  where the location and identity of the transmitter  192  will be stored as well. In addition, this same information may be transmitted back to the Sky Hook Wireless database, if desired, and it is transmitted back to the provider computer  20  as in the manner previously described. That is, the master unit  56  will transmit the information back to the provider computer  20 . Once the various transmitters have been located, the accuracy of the setup unit  190  will be more than sufficient for purposes of locating the traps. In addition, if the GPS signal is weak within any building, the auxiliary signals will be sufficiently strong to provide accurate positioning information to the setup unit  190 . Thus, the setup unit  190  can function with or without receiving a reliable GPS signal. 
     To set up a trap, such as the trap having the serial number  92242 , the setup unit  190  and the trap are located in approximately the same exact position. The trap  92242  is then triggered by the user causing it to begin transmission. One of the items transmitted is the unique serial number of the trap. The setup unit  190  will recognize that it is receiving a new signal, will recognize it, and setup unit  190  will establish communications. It will receive the serial number from the trap  92242  and it will ask the user whether this serial number should be recorded at this particular location. If the user responds “yes”, the serial number and location are recorded and transmitted to the master unit  56  and from the master unit  56  back to the provider computer  20 . In this manner, each of the traps may be precisely located within a plant using latitude and longitude information. The setup unit  190  is moved from trap to trap and it is used to quickly acquire both the location and the unique serial number of each trap as each trap is positioned throughout the warehouse  100 . 
     Once all of the traps have been located, the exact location of all traps will be known by the setup computer  20  and the computer  20  is programmed to display a screen such as that shown in  FIG. 20 . In this screen, all of the traps and transmitters are located on the screen relative to one another, but the building is yet to be located. If a drawing of the building is available with the exact locations of various features of the building known, then the building can be simply superimposed on the traps and transmitters shown in  FIG. 20 . However, if such drawing is not available, other techniques may be used to locate the building and the building features on the display of  FIG. 20 . In this particular embodiment, a scale drawing  200   a  is available showing the warehouse  200  ( FIG. 21 ). 
     As shown in  FIG. 21 , the scale of warehouse drawing  200   a  is considerably less than the scale being used to display the traps. Thus, the size or scale of the drawing  200   a  must be expanded as indicated by arrow  204 . Using the cursor, the operator may grab the corner of the drawing  200   a  and drag it diagonally to coincide with the dashed lines  200   b  and  200   c . At that point, the corner of the drawing  200   a  will just fit around the transmitter  192  shown in  FIG. 20 , and the left corner will just fit around the master unit  56 . By using any two reference points, the scaled drawing can be expanded and positioned on  FIG. 21  to precisely coincide with the locations of the traps. In other words, once the drawing is expanded in  FIG. 21 , it will appear identical to the drawing shown in  FIG. 20 . 
     The use of setup unit  190  eliminates the requirement that the operator produce a sketch or drawing of the building and manually locate and number the various traps in the drawing on the building. However, use of both techniques can be used so that the setup unit  190  operates as a check on the sketch and manual setup that has been described previously. 
     Referring now to  FIG. 22 , there is shown a block diagram of a circuit  210  of a remote transceiver, such as transceiver  62 . The circuit  210  is built around a microcontroller  212  that may be an msp430, but it may be other microprocessors as well. The microcontroller  212  receives its main inputs from a conductivity sensor  214  and a micro-switch sensor  216 . These two sensors  214  and  216  represent the various sensors that may be used to detect animals in a trap, and the signals from sensors  214  and  216  are conditioned by a sensor conditioning circuit  218 . For example, in the case of the conductivity sensor  214 , the output voltage of the sensor would be amplified and provided to a comparator to determine when the resistance or conductivity of the sensor  214  changed dramatically which would occur when an animal touches the sensor in a trap. 
     The signals from the sensor conditioning circuit  218  are provided to the microcontroller  212 . As previously described, the microcontroller  212  operates in a sleep mode but is responsive to the signals from the sensor conditioning circuit  218  to awake and record the sensor input. Typically, the microcontroller  212  will update a counter and determine whether a sufficient count has been reached to report the presence of an animal. If a sufficient count has been reached and the capture of the animal has been previously reported, the microcontroller will simply update the counter and go to sleep. On the other hand, if the appropriate count has been achieved to indicate the presence of an animal, and the animal has not been previously reported, the microcontroller  212  will actuate a transceiver  226  and transmit a signal through an RF matching network  228  and an antenna  232  indicating the presence of an animal in the trap and also transmitting the unique number of this particular remote circuit  210 . 
     The programming of the microcontroller  212  is provided to the microcontroller  212  through programming header  220  and the operating parameters may be modified through serial port  224  or through signals received through the wireless transceiver  226 . The computer program controlling the microprocessor  212  is stored in a memory internal to the microcontroller. In this particular embodiment four LEDs  222  are connected to the microcontroller  212  and are illuminated to indicate various conditions of the microcontroller. For example, one LED may be illuminated when the conductivity sensor  214  is actuated once by an animal. Another LED may be illuminated to indicate that a particular number of triggers have been sensed by the conductivity sensor  214  or  216  and the remote unit is transmitting to the base station. Yet another LED may indicate that the remote unit is receiving transmissions from the base station and the fourth LED may indicate that micro-controller has been reset with its counter reset to 0 so that it is waiting on the first animal to appear in the trap and actuate a sensor. The microcontroller  212  is also connected to a crystal  234  that is used to provide timing for the internal clock of the microcontroller. 
     Referring to  FIG. 23 , a simplified block diagram  240  is shown illustrating the electronic circuit of the master base unit  56 . In this particular embodiment, a suitable microcontroller  242  is an MSP430, but other microcontrollers may be used. Push buttons  244  provide manual signals from the user into the microcontroller  242  and an LCD display  248  is provided to indicate information to a user. For example, the push buttons  244  may be actuated to cause the microcontroller  242  to display information regarding the traps that have captured animals. This information will be displayed on an LCD display  248  and may be scrolled using the push buttons  244 . The microcontroller  242  is connected through an RS232 serial port  250  and a USB interface  252  to the plant computer, such as the plant computer  28 . As previously discussed, the microcontroller  242  reports data to the plant computer that it received from the remote transceivers on the animal traps. Also, the microcontroller  242  may receive instructions from the plant computer through the port  250  and the USB interface  252 . 
     The microcontroller  242  also receives input from a wireless transceiver  254  and an RF matching network  256  that is connected to an antenna  258 . If desired, the plant computer can communicate with the microcontroller  242  through the wireless transceiver  254 , but use of the serial port  250  is preferred for communications with the plant computer. The primary use of the wireless transceiver  254  is to communicate with the remote transceivers located on animal traps around a particular plant. Again, as previously discussed, the remote transceivers report when an animal has been captured, and they periodically wake up and report to the microcontroller  242  that they are operating and will report their latest account of triggers caused by animals. Also, when the remote transceivers wake up and report in, the microcontroller  242  can reprogram the remote transceivers through the wireless transceivers  254 . 
     A power supply  262  is connected to an AC power line and to a battery back-up  266 . The power supply  262  provides un-interruptible power to the microcontroller  242  and allows the wireless transceiver circuit to remain in a continuously listening state so as not to miss any remote station transmissions. The microcontroller  242  is also connected to a crystal  268  for providing a timing signal for its internal clock and is connected to a non-volatile memory  264  where data is stored. 
     Having described multiple embodiments and details of the various embodiments, it will be understood that the foregoing description is not intended to be limiting. The disclosure is capable of numerous re-arrangements, modifications and substitutions of parts without departing from the scope and spirit of the disclosure.