Abstract:
Ship rats Ratus rattus were eradicated from 9.3 ha Goat Island in 1994; however, rats were redetected in 1996. From April to June 2005 using between 35 and 51 traps were deployed. Subsequent to trapping, 49 poison bait stations were established across the island on 23 June 2005 to assess if this eradication had been successful; only one was touched. Tracking tunnels and waxtags were left on the island, but with no signs of use. It seems that eradication was achieved. Gnaw marks were subsequently discovered in a waxtag at the site where reinvasion was most likely but there were no further signs over the next two months.
