Patent ID: 7671750

Claim:
A method, comprising: installing a plurality of pest detection devices at least partially in the ground, the pest detection devices each including: one or more bait members structured to be consumed or displaced by one or more pests and a detection device positioned proximate to the one or more bait members, the detection device including a substrate with a first end portion opposite a second end portion and an electrically conductive ink trace carried on the substrate, the trace defining two contacts spaced apart from one another on the first end portion, the trace extending from a first one of the contacts along the substrate to the second end portion and reversing direction on the second end portion to return to a second one of the contacts on the first end portion, the electrically conductive ink trace defining an chisel-shaped tip along the second end portion; performing an interrogation of each of the pest detection devices with a signal to determine an electrical conductivity state of the trace; and determining if pests are present based on the interrogation; wherein the substrate includes a polymer-coated paper material with a predefined grain oriented generally along a longitudinal axis of the substrate.