Chocolate scented trap

In tests, the smell of chocolate proved irresistible to rodents, more so than vanilla or even cheese. Thanks to a little ingenuity, chocolate mousetraps are now on the market. They don't need bait because they are made of a special plastic enhanced with chocolate extract. "The uniqueness is that the essence is within the plastic," says Ricky Singh of Innovation-Direct at the University of Warwick, which offers support to small businesses. It is well known in rodentcircles that mice are partial to chocolate and the firm had come upwith the idea of using a cup of melted chocolate as bait. Subsequent trials by the two teams led to a way to add chocolate essence to plastic and a potential breakthrough in rodent control. "The partnership hasled to the development of a unique product that is baitless, making itvery easy to use in just one step," says Martina Flynn, Rodent Control Product Manager with Sorex Ltd.

Source: news.bbc.co.ukAdded: 20 February 2006