“Six months, and 8 checks”! Yes, we are now in the intermediate phase of the eradication of the black rat from the Tremiti Islands.

It was a long and intense winter spent on these Adriatic pearls by our team that from January to April worked constantly to free the islands from rats and bring benefits to the shearwaters, or Diomedee as they are called to the Tremiti, and to the population. local.

Since January, almost 1900 dispensers have been positioned and then checked every 10 days, evenly distributed on the islands of San Domino, San Nicola, Cretaccio and Capraia. The dispensers are hazelnut colored boxes containing rodenticide baits, inaccessible and safe for other animals. Even the initially most concerned people were able to verify that there was no problem for pets.

The rats have practically disappeared from the islands of Capraia, Cretaccio, and San Nicola, with very few individuals remaining on the island of San Domino, in some particularly critical areas where they have more food and hiding places available. In these areas, the collaboration of the population was fundamental, thanks to the reports of sightings and traces of presence.

Among the various difficulties faced, the habit of rats to spend a lot of time above the pines, where they feed on the pine cones, and the presence of cliffs, often inaccessible to our operators, should be noted. Bamboo tubes, accessible only to rats, were then prepared containing rodenticide baits and were positioned above the pines and launched along the cliffs thanks to three helicopter interventions.

In this period of the year we can say, with a great deal of satisfaction, that the Diomedee are already starting to reap the first benefits of this intense work. The first chicks are born and grow without the danger of being devoured by rats as was the case in the past.

We hope to have many other good news from our team involved in monitoring the nests, meanwhile a thank you goes to the whole community of the Tremiti Islands, for the precious collaboration but also for the great welcome. The fixed appointments at 8 in the morning at the bar and the darts tournaments on winter evenings deserve particular note!