Throw mouse bombs to kill snakes

In order to destroy the brown tree snakes on Guam, the American planes threw the mice with poisoned mice.

A tree snake on the island of Guam. (Photo: Popular Science).

Popular Science said scientists from the US Department of Agriculture use helicopters to throw frozen mice down on dense forests on Guam. The mice were impregnated with acetaminophen - a drug that could cause snake death.

The snake epidemic on Guam began in the 1980s, when brown tree snakes unknowingly came to the island thanks to a military transport ship. This snake has moderate virulence, but its body length can reach 3 m. Hawaii's Land and Resources Agency said its proliferation is a major cause of a sharp decline in the number of native species.

' Discovering that snakes will die when eating acetaminophen is a big step. The problem is how we poison the snake, 'said Anne Brooke, managing director of the US Navy's resources protection program.

The solution was to throw the mouse down on the tree branches in the forests on Guam, because the tree branch is the main activity of the brown tree snake. Scientists attached cardboard-covered wings to the body of the mouse and dropped it. The carcasses will fly slowly in the air and get into the branches. Snakes will be hard to ignore such big and delicious prey.

From the beginning of September, scientists have released 200 mice to Guam during the first test. The results of the test will help them evaluate the effectiveness of the program to use ' mouse bombs ' to kill snakes.