CLOSE The U.S. Department of the Interior is providing funding to U.S. territories to help combat invasive species such as the brown tree snake, coconut rhinoceros beetle and the little fire ant. John I. Borja/PDN

A brown tree snake photographed at the Pacific Daily News on July 28, 2017. (Photo: Rick Cruz/PDN)

Once fiscal 2018 kicks in later this year, more drug-laced dead mice will be falling from the skies in an effort to curb the population of brown tree snakes.

Recently, the U.S. Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services tested its aerial bait drop system in Guam’s jungles. The program involves air-dropping dead mice filled with acetaminophen, a pain reliever found in medicine like Tylenol, to attract and kill snakes. Streamers attached to the mice get caught in tree branches, suspending the mice where snakes live.

Robert Gosnell, Guam Wildlife Services state director, said the experimentation is complete and the agency is waiting until fiscal 2018, which begins Oct. 1, to begin operations. Education outreach and more information to the public will be available before the mice are dropped, Gosnell said.

The invasive brown tree snake has been responsible for islandwide power outages and the depletion of many of Guam's birds. Gosnell said current control efforts have at least stagnated the population.

“It varies with the seasons, but we believe the population is decreasing slightly because of how many snakes we capture each year,” Gosnell said. He estimates between 12,000 and 15,000 brown tree snakes are caught on Guam annually.

Gosnell and his team of 74 employees use methods such as traps, bait tubes and canine teams to track down the snakes. Groups from the U.S. Geological Survey, Department of Defense and the Division of Aquatics and Wildlife Resources also participate in the captures.

“We always have ongoing research, for example looking at methods of artificial baits versus live baits,” Gosnell said. “There’s about 15 to 20 research projects going on right now for the snake.”

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Federal funding

The Department of the Interior is making more money available to help U.S. territories fight invasive species populations.

More than $3.5 million in fiscal 2017 federal funds was set aside to significantly reduce the population of brown tree snakes on Guam, as well as prevent the snakes from spreading to neighboring islands.

According to DOI, the funding will go towards the program, as well as additional research, assessments and rapid response training in the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, other Micronesian islands and Hawaii.

Guam also will get $138,332 to help eradicate the painful little fire ants and $176,553 to combat coconut rhinoceros beetles, according to a news release from DOI.

Of the $138,332 in grants slated for the eradication of the ants, $74,516 will go to the Guam Department of Agriculture and $63,816 will go to the University of Guam.

Russell Campbell, chief of Guam DOA’s Biosecurity Division, listed education outreach, personnel training and a new website on the little fire ant among several projects in his application for the grant.

There are more than 20 sites on the island where the ants have established themselves, according to Campbell.

“Though they move slowly, it’s people that are causing the ants to move around quickly,” he said. “The ants could be found in leaves, plants, seedlings and green waste, and people unknowingly distribute the ant to other parts of the island.”

The grant funding will be used for education to better address the ant colonies, as well as to make information easier to access online, Campbell said. In the meantime, residents who are having problems with the pesky ants can call the invasive species hotline at 475-7378.

In 2013, APHIS-Wildlife Services is partnering with the Departments of Defense and Interior, and the Guam Department of Agriculture to deploy acetaminophen-treated dead mouse baits attached to biodegradable corn starch streamers designed to snag onto branches in the dense tree canopy where the snakes feed. The successful delivery of aerial baits is a critical next step towards developing a method for large area control of the snakes and reaching the snakes in remote and inaccessible areas of Guam. USDA/APHIS (Photo: Photo courtesy of U.S. Department of Agriculture)

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