Copyright (c) 2005 University of Nebraska - Lincoln All rights reserved. http://digitalcommons.unl.edu/vpcone Recent documents in Proceedings of the [First] Vertebrate Pest Conference (1962) en-us Sun, 23 Oct 2005 01:43:47 PDT 3600 http://digitalcommons.unl.edu/vpcone/25 http://digitalcommons.unl.edu/vpcone/25 Fri, 21 Oct 2005 07:18:21 PDT Shortly after the passage of the Federal Insecticide Act of 1910, mammal control specialists in the Bureau of Biological Survey began to consider a similar law to cover the chemicals with which they were concerned. Work on the project went slowly and spasmodically, but reached the point of having a Federal Rodenticide Act available for study and possible revision in 1928. At this time, the mammal control chemicals in use were limited to strychnine--alkaloid and sulphate-arsenic, barium carbonate, thallium sulphate, phosphorus, sodium and calcium cyanide, carbon disulphide, and red squill. Strychnine alkaloid was about the only predatory animal control agent, while the alkaloid and thallium sulphate dominated field rodent formulas, and calcium cyanide and carbon disulphide were the only burrow fumigants. That left strychnine sulphate, arsenic, barium carbonate, thallium sulphate, phosphorus, and red squill for rat and mouse control agents. This was not a long list, but it was long enough to have raised many problems. Justus C. Ward http://digitalcommons.unl.edu/vpcone/24 http://digitalcommons.unl.edu/vpcone/24 Fri, 21 Oct 2005 07:14:56 PDT Meadow mice, kangaroo rats, prairie dogs and cotton rats are broadly classified as field rodents. The control of their populations have been necessary since man first began to farm and raise livestock within the areas in which these rodents live. The intensity of control has varied with land values and the population fluctuation of the rodents. Rodent control, like other farming practices must be profitable to the land owner, or he cannot afford to undertake a control program. If he is to continue in business his control efforts must be done efficiently and as successfully as possible. To accomplish these ends it is necessary to know when to time his program, what to use for best results, and what can be done to lessen the need for repeated treatments. John A. Ludeman http://digitalcommons.unl.edu/vpcone/23 http://digitalcommons.unl.edu/vpcone/23 Fri, 21 Oct 2005 07:10:05 PDT The record of this meeting will stand as a permanent tribute to Dr. Walter Howard and his associates. It should remind them for years to come of their worthwhile contribution in conceiving, organizing, promoting, and handling the details of this first Vertebrate Pest Control Conference. Those of us privileged to attend will be grateful for the opportunity to enlarge our acquain¬tance with the workers in the vertebrate pest control field, and to share in this exchange of information. The National Pest Control Association, whose members provide among other services, control of many vertebrate pests, draw information and guidance from many of the participants, as well as the organizations they represent. Therefore, NPCA welcomed Dr. Howard's invitation to participate in the meeting and to publish the proceedings. The vertebrate pest problems and control methods of the past, as well as of the present, have been well covered at this meeting. As noted by the keynote speaker, the record will be a guide to the future. Important as we may feel the meeting to be now, it is likely that its benefits will be even greater as new problems arise in the future. As the public or some segments of it are affected by pests, it is essential that full knowledge of the problems be assembled and communicated to the public at large. Without understanding on the part of the general population, there can be neither acceptance of necessary drastic control methods nor support for long range management programs based on sound knowledge of the biology and ecology of the pests. If the past is a guide to the future we can expect to be surprised by outbreaks of new pests or old pests in new environments. The development of conditions suitable for the creation of vertebrate pest problems can be foreseen. Participation in outdoor recreation is expected to triple in the next 40 years. In part, this is due to the turnpike system being constructed under the national highway program. These same parkways, that bring people to the "Wilderness," also are protected avenues into residential areas over which many vertebrates travel and find protection close to man. Finally, some of the problems which now are understood poorly, if at all, will receive proper study and evaluation. For example, we are now learning much from studies of the role of bats and birds as reservoirs for disease or in creating conditions suitable for dissemination of human disease. Among the diseases which are closely associated with pest birds are histoplasmosis and crypto-coccosis. Philip J. Spear http://digitalcommons.unl.edu/vpcone/22 http://digitalcommons.unl.edu/vpcone/22 Fri, 21 Oct 2005 07:06:50 PDT For the purpose of this brief review, emphasis will be placed on development, physical properties, physiological action, experience and limitations of vertebrate pesticides primarily of current opera¬tional importance in the control of field rodents and predatory animals.STRYCHNINE (C21H22N2O2)SODIUM MONOFLUOROACETATE (FCH2-CO-0Na)= "1080"THALLIUM (Thallous-Sulfate TL2SO4)ZINC PHOSPHIDE (Zn3P2)CYANIDE (Compounds Yielding HCN on Hydrolysis)RED SQUILL (Urginea maritima)ANTU Alphanaphtylthiourea (l-(l-Napthyl)-2-thiourea)(C11H10N2S)ANTICOAGULANTS--warfarin, diphacinoneTRACKING POWDERSARSENIC ERIOXIDE (AS2O3)ENDRIN (1,2,3,4,-10, 10-hexachloro-6,7-epoxy-l,4,4a,5,6,7,8,8a-octa-hydro-1,4-endo,endo-5, 8-dimethanonaphthalene)CALCIUM CYANIDE (CaCN2)CARBON DISULFIDE (CS2)PYROTECHNIC (GAS) CARTRIDGES D. Glenn Crabtree http://digitalcommons.unl.edu/vpcone/21 http://digitalcommons.unl.edu/vpcone/21 Fri, 21 Oct 2005 06:56:38 PDT One of the primary reasons for controlling most vertebrate pests is the role these creatures play as links in the infection chain of certain agents pathogenic to man. It is reasonable to assume that the persons engaged in the eradication or removal of pests are at some risk of contacting zoonoses - diseases transmissible from animals to man. Unfortunately, histories or epidemiological data of occupational infections among pest control operators are not available; perhaps this society may become a future assembly point for statistics in this field. The hazards therefore have to be approached theoretically: diseases known to be associated with vertebrate pests must be studied as to their prevalence in the animal reservoir, ease of transmission, and the particular mode in which control operators would most likely become exposed. The data on individual diseases which follow, although by no means complete, should serve as an introduction to the study of zoonoses affecting pest animals. Rabies, LEPTOSPIROSIS, PLAGUE, ENDEMIC (MURINE) TYPHUS, ORNITHOSIS Paul Arnstein DVM, MPH http://digitalcommons.unl.edu/vpcone/20 http://digitalcommons.unl.edu/vpcone/20 Fri, 21 Oct 2005 06:52:24 PDT This paper deals with the control of excessive numbers of pigeons, starlings and English sparrows in urban situations in the Midwestern region of the United States. Control procedures should always be based on a survey of the factors involved in the problem so that the most feasible methods can be determined. There is no one tool of bird control that fits all situations, and in most cases more than one tool is indicated. Since the feral pigeon is the most common pest species, emphasis will be placed on pigeon control methods. Urban bird control, like urban rat control, may involve only individual properties or it may involve a community wide problem. Due to the great mobility of all birds, the community wide approach is usually the most productive and also the most economical. G. L. Hockenyos http://digitalcommons.unl.edu/vpcone/19 http://digitalcommons.unl.edu/vpcone/19 Fri, 21 Oct 2005 06:49:08 PDT The inclusion of a chapter on ectoparasite control in a work otherwise devoted to vertebrates has a great deal of justification; the ecologies of vertebrates and their invertebrate parasites are inseparable, thus, the vertebrate control specialist is brought into intimate contact with ectoparasites and ectoparasite problems. In many cases, the need for vertebrate and ectoparasite control problems is one, and knowledge of techniques in both areas is required. The term "ectoparasite" groups a broad array of invertebrate animals externally parasitic on larger animals, many of them blood feeders in at least one stage of their life cycles. The ecological relationships between them and their hosts may be exceedingly complex, involving ectoparasites as vectors of parasitic micro-organisms, and in some cases as reservoirs of infection as well. In their role as vectors and also as bloodsucking parasites, they have a great impact on the ecology of animal and human populations. The importance of many ectoparasite species, especially fleas, ticks, mites, and lice, to human welfare cannot be overemphasized. The roles of fleas in the transmission of plague and murine typhus are well known, as are those of ticks in a variety of viral, rickettsial, spirochaetal, and bacterial diseases, trombiculid mites in scrub typhus and lice in epidemic typhus. In addition, man may be exposed to painful bites resulting in direct pathological effects, both from wild animal ectoparasites or from others more directly associated with man and domestic animals. The need for adequate ectoparasite control methods is manifest. Ectoparasite control ranks with control of vertebrates and with immunology and clinical treatment as a potent tool in protecting man from zoonoses. In many cases, the ectoparasite is the most susceptible link in the chain of man transmission of diseases from sources in nature to man. In others, control of ectoparasites is capable of immediately alleviating potentially dangerous situations until more lasting control measures can be carried out. It should be borne in mind that human discomfort from ectoparasites and vector-borne disease stems from a complex ecological situation and can be solved ultimately only by environmental management practices in which ecological factors are separated, analyzed, related, and adjusted in favor of man. The decision of how to control or whether to control ectoparasites should be based on a knowledge of these factors. Allan M. Barnes http://digitalcommons.unl.edu/vpcone/18 http://digitalcommons.unl.edu/vpcone/18 Fri, 21 Oct 2005 06:45:58 PDT The evolution of effective rodent control has been greater in the past 20 years than during the previous 200 years. Mankind need no longer fear the "black death," typhus, and other rodent-borne diseases. Likewise, there is no longer any reason why we must bear the cost of serious economic losses because of commensal rodent damage to property. Unfortunately, the latter still totals many millions of dollars each year. Damage and contamination of food products by house mice now probably equals or exceeds that caused by rats. W. W. Dykstra http://digitalcommons.unl.edu/vpcone/17 http://digitalcommons.unl.edu/vpcone/17 Fri, 21 Oct 2005 06:42:24 PDT The control of rats in the urban environment involves more than merely dealing with the above-ground populations. The average urban sewage system provides a vast labyrinth of passages and nesting places for the Norway rat, Rattus norvegicus. Here, in a protected underground habitat the rodent population is free to reproduce and ultimately expand to the maximum number that the environment can support. Eventually, the population outgrows its environment. At this point population pressures force animals to move out of the system. Rat burrows begin appearing in front yards, under sidewalks and driveways, and in flower beds, and rats themselves are occasionally seen emerging from drains and swimming into toilets. The result may be a new colony of rats on the surface and almost certainly numerous complaints to the control agency. In short, the uncontrolled populations of rats in sewers constitute a reservoir which extends into all parts of a city and is capable of establishing new infestations on the surface. Joe E. Brooks http://digitalcommons.unl.edu/vpcone/16 http://digitalcommons.unl.edu/vpcone/16 Fri, 21 Oct 2005 06:39:10 PDT We can probably say that the California way of farming has made California fanners the most over-run hosts to vertebrate pests in the agricultural world. We can certainly say, too, that new pests--and here I don't mean people--are on their way. I'm told that the starlings are just exploring here now. The relatives are coming later. We'll see, and hear, a lot more of them. Our problem is: How do we keep from being such good hosts to our small vertebrate guests? I have been told by experts that right now the vertebrate pest control man is woefully underequipped for the job we have created for him. For insect and fungus control, the pest control operator is a generation ahead. He has dozens of dusts and sprays on his shelves, specific ones for specific crops and pests, and new materials developed each year and tested by chemical companies and land-grant university researchers in the 50 states. When it comes to vertebrate pests, he reaches up on the shelf and finds just about the same equipment that was there 75 years ago. Strychnine was being used in the l880's to kill wolves on the western plains. How we have the anticoagulants for rat control. And there's compound 1080, though the restrictions almost make it unusable. There's not much else that's new. Somehow, perhaps as a tradition of agriculture, our animal and bird losses have been looked on as a sort of "act of God." We just shared a little with them. We're getting a much clearer look at farm economics now, though. The damage is clearly a serious leak in the farmer's profit line. At today's costs he has to stop all the leaks. There just isn't room for us and 1000 mice to an acre. Those of you who are in pest control professionally might well say you are in on the ground floor of your field. There is almost unlimited room in development of its methods, materials, and ideas. In the University we recognize, too, that here is a field that's barely tapped. We are gearing up right now, over on the Davis campus, planning a full-scale University approach. We have taken the first steps. Daniel G. Aldrich Jr. http://digitalcommons.unl.edu/vpcone/15 http://digitalcommons.unl.edu/vpcone/15 Fri, 21 Oct 2005 06:34:59 PDT Most people have accepted the fact that all living things can be beneficial to mankind in some way or other. This is especially true of our wild birds, since they provide enjoyment and wholesome recreation for most of us, regardless of whether we live on farms or in the city. But despite the fact that wild birds are for the most part beneficial, at times individuals or populations of certain species can seriously affect man's interests. When such situations occur, some measures of relief are desirable and usually eagerly sought. This report is not intended to answer all the questions that may arise concerning problems with blackbirds and starlings; instead, it is merely a summary of measures used to protect agricultural crops from these birds. Adolph Zajanc http://digitalcommons.unl.edu/vpcone/14 http://digitalcommons.unl.edu/vpcone/14 Fri, 21 Oct 2005 06:31:49 PDT The yellow-billed magpie is a little smaller than the American or black-billed magpie, but the difference in size is very slight. The birds look exactly alike, except one has a black beak and the other has a yellow bill and a bit of yellow skin back of the eye.There are concentrated populations in the Los Banos area, Gustine area, and along the course of the Merced River comprising about 19,100 acres. They are occasionally seen in other areas of the County, but only infrequently observed in the southwestern portion of the County. The heaviest populations are in walnut orchards, dairy farms, almond orchards, turkey ranches and areas adjacent to river bottoms.The yellow-billed magpie may represent a dying ancient race. Since scientific interest has been directed toward its habits and distribution, its range has become more restricted. There are reports that 50 or 60 years ago it was common in many places close to the Coast, where the observer would now look for it in vain. It inhabits only the interior of California west of the Sierra Nevada, chiefly in the Sacramento and San Joaquin Valleys. It haunts stock ranches, because food to its liking is usually plentiful in such places. When cattle and sheep are butchered the refuse attracts magpies. They gather about any dead animal. They feed on grasshoppers, worms and grubs, and of course always look for a reasonable supply of eggs. Rex Lynda II http://digitalcommons.unl.edu/vpcone/13 http://digitalcommons.unl.edu/vpcone/13 Thu, 20 Oct 2005 09:38:08 PDT CALIFORNIA HOUSE FINCH Carpodacus mexicanus frontalis: Depredations. In California the linnet is an abundant resident throughout the State wherever food and water are available. It is most numerous on the valley floors and in the foothills where man's development has created an extensive favorable habitat. The linnet is primarily a seed eater and before the introduction of domestic fruits into California probably lived largely on weed seeds. Linnets attack the ripening fruit of the apricot, cherry, peach, pear, nectarine, plum, prune, avocado, grape, apple, fig, strawberry, blackberry, raspberry and many others. They disbud almond, apricot, pear, peach, plum, prune and nectarine. They also attack milo maize, sunflower, lettuce seed, broccoli seed, flax seed, miscellaneous vegetable and flower seeds, ornamental fruits and berries and tomato plantlets.HORNED IARKS Otocoris alpestris, subspecies: Depredations. In certain parts of California the horned lark is a serious crop destroyer. The damage occurs mostly in the interior valleys from Sacramento south to the Imperial Valley and along the coastal strip from San Francisco south to San Diego. Horned larks are given great opportunity for damage by the widespread abundance of cultivated products attractive to them. Among the crops severely damaged are plantlets of lettuce, carrots, beets, spinach, turnips, peas, beans, sugar beets, alfalfa, cantaloupes, watermelons, tomatoes and lettuce. Flower plantlets of any variety in commercial seed plantings are frequently devoured. Damage by horned larks usually begins after the first plants break through the surface of the soil and it may continue until the plants reach a height of several inches.CROWNED SEHRROWS Zonotrichia species and subspecies: Depredations. Direct opposites as to preference of habitat to the horned larks, crowned sparrows are birds of deep brush, river bottom jungles, dense weed fields, fence rows, brush piles or rubbish heaps. The dense hedges and thick plantings of shrubbery commonly found about many rural and suburban homes are much to their liking. Crop depredations in California by crowned sparrows can be laid to three subspecies--Gambel's, Nuttall's and Golden Crown. Due to its very wide range in the State and to the immense numbers which concentrate here, Gambel's sparrow must be considered by far the most important.WOODPECKERS: Depredations. In addition to the pecking of holes in buildings and poles, the California woodpecker frequently becomes a serious pest about almond or walnut orchards. The Lewis woodpecker has occasionally caused some damage to apples in certain areas of California. James W. Koehler http://digitalcommons.unl.edu/vpcone/12 http://digitalcommons.unl.edu/vpcone/12 Thu, 20 Oct 2005 09:13:53 PDT Today damage attributed to muskrat activities occurs both to irrigation systems and waterways serving agricultural interests as well as to power company installations, waterfowl refuges and hunting clubs. Direct damage or destruction of agricultural crops is relatively minor although the muskrat is known to feed on a variety of produce including ear corn, alfalfa, clover and carrots and frequently will cut a rather wide swath of rice near water control boxes separating rice paddies. The brief activities of fur trappers appear to have little significance as applied to alleviating these losses, so we are forced to recognize that we will have to live with the muskrat but control its activities when necessary. When speaking of control of muskrats we usually think in terms of damage prevention as well as taking or killing the animal so the methods described will be mentioned in that order. Rollo E. Talbert http://digitalcommons.unl.edu/vpcone/11 http://digitalcommons.unl.edu/vpcone/11 Thu, 20 Oct 2005 09:04:08 PDT The control of ground squirrels in California is important in two ways. First, it is necessary to prevent destruction of agricultural crops. Second, it is important from a health standpoint where rodent-borne diseases have been demonstrated to be present. Ground squirrel control in this State is the responsibility of the county agricultural commissioners, the State Department of Agriculture and on Federal lands the Bureau of Sport Fisheries and Wildlife. Most control measures are concerned with but two of the nine species of ground squirrels found in California. These include four subspecies: Beechey ground squirrel (Citellus beecheyi beecheyi), Douglas ground squirrel (Citellus beecheyi douglasii), Fisher ground squirrel (Citellus beecheyi fisheri), and Oregon ground squirrel (Citellus oregonus). Richard H. Dana http://digitalcommons.unl.edu/vpcone/10 http://digitalcommons.unl.edu/vpcone/10 Thu, 20 Oct 2005 09:01:59 PDT Pocket gophers occur only in North and Central America but within this vast area few other native rodent groups are more widely distributed (Anthony, 1928). None are more adaptable, either to natural extremes of habitat or to changed conditions brought about by agricultural development and other man-made environmental modifications. They occupy coastal areas, inland plains and valleys, desert and alpine meadow, from sea level to above timber line in a multitude of vegetation and soil types. This practically universal distribution has, of course, led to the recognition by naturalists of many species and subspecies. California alone contains at least 75 species and subspecies all within the one genus Thomomys -- the western pocket gopher -- which includes all species from the Rocky Mountains west (Grinnell, 1933). The eastern pocket gopher, genus Geomys occurs in the eastern Gulf States and all over west-and-north-central America. A third genus occurs in parts of southwestern United States and there are five other genera in Mexico and Central America (Scheffer, 1931). Maynard W. Cummings http://digitalcommons.unl.edu/vpcone/9 http://digitalcommons.unl.edu/vpcone/9 Thu, 20 Oct 2005 08:29:45 PDT MOLES: In regions where moles thrive, lawns in golf courses, parks, cemeteries and home yards are often made unsightly by dirt mounds and ridges pushed up by the active little animals. In cultivated land, moles may cause consider¬able economic loss through their burrowings. Mole control can be divided into six basic categories: exclusion, repellents, gases, toxic baits, reduction of food supply, and trapping. Un¬changed over the years, trapping is still considered the most reliable of all methods of control, however, under certain conditions or situations, the other methods of control may be extremely useful. WOOD RATS: The native wood rat (genus Neotoma), also locally named pack rat, trade rat, mountain rat, brush rat and cave rat, is the typical rat in most respects resembling, superficially, the common house rat. The habits of all species of wood rats are in general very similar, differing in details according to regions and local environments. Wood rats do not frequent towns or cities as do their cousins the Norway rat, but often live in the vicinity of farmhouses, mountain cabins or summer homes and occasionally become a nuisance by invading dwellings and other buildings to construct nests or search for food. The animals are also known to carry plague and are suspected of carrying other diseases of public health significance. Though not often injurious to crops and agricultural enterprises, occasionally they become numerous enough to do limited damage to crops in fields and gardens. In some regions they have been known to inflict injury to orchard trees. Valuable nut crops are sometimes carried off by the rodents. In the northwest portion of California some damage has been attributed to wood rats in young timber plantings. Compared to other devastating rodents of California, the wood rat ranks as a pest of minor importance. Troublesome wood rats may be out witted or discouraged through exclusion, destruction of dens, or the use of repellents. Population reduction, when necessary, is most often accomplished by trapping or by using toxic baits. Rex E. Marsh http://digitalcommons.unl.edu/vpcone/8 http://digitalcommons.unl.edu/vpcone/8 Thu, 20 Oct 2005 08:24:38 PDT Opossums at times cause economic losses, especially around poultry farms, truck crops and river bottom corn fields. Under such circumstances, control may be required. When bats invade homes and occupied buildings to establish their roosts, they often become nuisances, necessitating some measure of control. Interest in bats has increased greatly during recent years due to the transmission of rabies to humans. Rabies virus has been isolated from over 20 species of bats in 36 States. Since 1953, five human deaths have been attributed, to rabid bat bites. More recently one field investigator has reported an experience which indicated that rabies transmission from bats might occur without a direct bite. Any bat acting in an abnormal manner should be approached with caution, particularly if found fluttering on the ground. Bat bites should be treated by a physician and the bat should, be captured without injury to the head so the brain can be examined by health authorities. Since bats are normally harmless animals and may even be beneficial because they feed largely on insects, they should not be needlessly destroyed. Raccoons eat almost anything, but mainly insects, crayfish, mussels, fish, frogs, birds' eggs, grain, fruits, berries and nuts. They can be especially destructive to corn fields, particularly when the ears are in the milk stage. Where raccoons become so numerous that they are a serious pest to agriculture, their control is essential.Skunks are usually beneficial to man since they eat many insects and mice. In cooler parts of their range they are valuable as producers of fine fur. Occasionally, however, they live too near houses or develop a taste for poultry. It then becomes necessary to remove the ones causing damage. Howard A. Merrill http://digitalcommons.unl.edu/vpcone/7 http://digitalcommons.unl.edu/vpcone/7 Thu, 20 Oct 2005 08:18:33 PDT The orchardist has many ways to lose money but one of the best is to ignore his mouse problem. This apparently insignificant, short-tailed little rodent by his unobtrusive but systematic attacks on the growing tissue of trees can be very expensive. The Indiana Extension Horticulturist has stated that mice are the number one cause for orchardists going out of business in recent years in that State. Moreover, the problem is not a recent one as a questionnaire to county agricultural agents in 1924 (Davis, 1925) showed that field mice were even then considered a problem in 40 per cent of Indiana counties. William D. Fitzwater http://digitalcommons.unl.edu/vpcone/6 http://digitalcommons.unl.edu/vpcone/6 Thu, 20 Oct 2005 08:15:28 PDT Up to 1949, the Fish and Game Branch employed personnel, some of whom were temporary, to attempt control of the extremely high wolf pop¬ulations of the central and northern portions of British Columbia. Coyotes were also very numerous in the central and southern regions and had to be considered because of their depredations. The field men were keen and conscientious but their efforts were not co-ordinated. Control areas were severely restricted in size as techniques were not adaptable enough and because of a lack of manpower. Eventually, sheepmen went out of business entirely over wide areas, cattlemen were subjected to huge annual losses, and sportsmen were very concerned. However, stock losses constituted the major complaint and resulted in ranchers demanding action* Two major changes came out of this. First, the bounty on wolves was raised and second, the present Predator Control Division was formed. The administration was convinced that a force of experienced, fully-trained field staff under a single supervision would be far more effective than bounty payments. Unfortunately, bounties were in vogue during that time and forced the necessity of proving the worth of organized controls before any consideration could be given to the elimination of the bounty system. G. A. West http://digitalcommons.unl.edu/vpcone/5 http://digitalcommons.unl.edu/vpcone/5 Thu, 20 Oct 2005 08:12:24 PDT In reviewing methods of predator control, it would first seem appropriate to define what is meant "by "methods" and what is meant by "control." Taking the last term first, control, as applied to the predatory coyotes, bobcats, and foxes, may be defined as regulating the numbers of these animals to the point where the economic losses for which they are responsible will be reduced to a practicable minimum. In some situations, area control, i.e., limiting the numbers of the offending predator over wide areas, may be necessary for satisfactory reduction of economic losses; in other situations, spot control or localized reduction of numbers of a certain predator may be called for; in still other situations, elimination of an individual animal may be all the control that is needed. In no sense is control, as applied to coyotes, bobcats, and foxes, intended to mean extermi¬nation of a species.The term "methods" is interpreted as meaning the procedures employed against coyotes, bobcats, and foxes, and not the broader systems of predator control such as the paid hunter system, the extension system, or the much-discredited bounty system. For an excellent review of the systems of predator control, see Latham (l). Weldon B. Robinson http://digitalcommons.unl.edu/vpcone/4 http://digitalcommons.unl.edu/vpcone/4 Thu, 20 Oct 2005 08:03:15 PDT Of the various types of wildlife that home owners find undesirable, snakes are probably the leading offenders. Because of much false teaching, many persons have a great dread of even non-venomous snakes; hence control often is practiced when not needed. Nevertheless, very few people are willing to accept the presence of snakes in their gardens or their yards, especially if there is a concern for children playing in the area. For this reason snake control is often desirable about homes and suburban housing areas. Other situations where controls might be justified are recreation areas, farms, bird sanctuaries, duck nesting marshes, and fish hatcheries.The first step in control is to find out what kind of a snake is creating the trouble and to learn something of its habits. Secondly, it is important to estimate the cost of the method to be used and to decide whether or not the expense and effort are justified. There is no single method of eliminating snakes from a given area, and since each person's predicament is different, it is practical to suggest here several ways of eliminating snakes. The following control methods are divided into seven categories. The first five groups are over-all general means of control, the sixth category is devoted to repellents, and the last group deals with miscellaneous methods, any one of which might apply to a particular set of circumstances. Elbert M. Brock http://digitalcommons.unl.edu/vpcone/3 http://digitalcommons.unl.edu/vpcone/3 Thu, 20 Oct 2005 07:59:11 PDT There is an inscription across the top of the impressive facade of the National Archives Temple in Washington, D. 0., which reads: "What is Past is Prologue." So be it. Perhaps it applies to us here- At least the inscription furnishes a basis for me to indulge in a few com¬ments of historical significance as we undertake consideration of vertebrate pest control in its many phases. The earlier documents available to us reveal that with every expansion or westward advance into newer areas of agricultural production or livestock enterprises there also arose a variety of pest animal problems. However, it seemed to take years before any concerted efforts at suppression over and above those of individuals or communities came into being. True, it was the function of the Bureau of Biological Survey and its predecessor, the Division of Ornithology and Mammalogy in the U. S. Department of Agriculture to study food habits and life histories of birds and mammals and to suggest methods of curbing destructive species. W. C. Jacobsen http://digitalcommons.unl.edu/vpcone/2 http://digitalcommons.unl.edu/vpcone/2 Thu, 20 Oct 2005 07:55:06 PDT It is a pleasure and privilege for me to welcome all of you to this conference. And it is a conference, not a convention. No motions or resolutions will be entertained, as this conference is made up of representatives of many governmental agencies and countries; hence, not a place for resolutions. We are here to get acquainted with each other and to listen to experts from North America and Korea tell us about the best methods of controlling troublesome and pestiferous birds, mammals and snakes, and to discuss related problems concerning diseases and pesticides. Since the program is crowded, each speaker will be asked to present an abbreviated version of his paper, saving the details for the published proceedings. Without doubt, this is the first time a conference of this nature has been held anywhere, and the publication of all the papers under one cover should provide a valuable handbook on methods of controlling most of the nongame vertebrates of North America that at times become a pest to man. Walter E. Howard http://digitalcommons.unl.edu/vpcone/1 http://digitalcommons.unl.edu/vpcone/1 Thu, 20 Oct 2005 07:52:02 PDT Proceedings of a meeting held at Sacramento, California, February 6-7, 1962. Sponsored by National Pest Control Association, 250 West Jersey Street, Elizabeth, New Jersey, and California Vertebrate Pest Control Technical Committee. GENERAL CHAIRMAN OF CONFERENCE: Walter E. Howard, Associate Vertebrate Ecologist, Field Station Administration, University of California, Davis, California