Clay Davenport
Cerebral Nomad
HONOLULU -- Improvements are being made in efforts to keep the brown tree snake out of Hawaii.
Environmental and agricultural officials from Guam and Hawaii are meeting in Honolulu this week to discuss new developments in controlling the snake. One of them is the discovery that a common painkiller has proven deadly to the creature.
"Acetaminophen, which we use as a pharmaceutical, turns out to be very toxic to brown tree snakes and it's being used at very low dosages," said Earl Campbell of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.
Acetaminophen could eventually replace mice in traps to catch the snake.
The brown tree snake has already decimated the bird population in Guam. Experts say the snakes are an extreme threat to Hawaii.
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The Hawaii Channel
Common Painkiller Could Keep Brown Tree Snake Away
Environmental and agricultural officials from Guam and Hawaii are meeting in Honolulu this week to discuss new developments in controlling the snake. One of them is the discovery that a common painkiller has proven deadly to the creature.
"Acetaminophen, which we use as a pharmaceutical, turns out to be very toxic to brown tree snakes and it's being used at very low dosages," said Earl Campbell of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.
Acetaminophen could eventually replace mice in traps to catch the snake.
The brown tree snake has already decimated the bird population in Guam. Experts say the snakes are an extreme threat to Hawaii.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The Hawaii Channel
Common Painkiller Could Keep Brown Tree Snake Away