Live traps, or cage traps, are designed to capture animals without harming them so they can be released into the wild at another location or returned to their owners. Wildlife removal technicians who work for cities, towns, government agencies, and private firms need to spend a great deal of time driving from site to site checking traps they have placed to see if they have caught animals.
In some cases, traps need to be checked every 12 hours. Since it can sometimes take several days to catch the intended animal, a technician can waste a large amount of time and fuel traveling back and forth to check traps.
Some wildlife trapping companies have developed a better solution using Internet of Things technology. Companies began to introduce traps with remote monitoring systems a few years ago.
The traps have sensor units that monitor the cage’s trap door and can sense when it is shut. The sensors communicate with a gateway using a cellular modem that sends a message to a cloud-based server indicating that a trap door has been shut. The server can send a text or email message to the technician who is in charge of managing the trap. Sensors work with traps in a variety of sizes, except very small ones.
Some traps can send an electronic registration to local regulators that require reports on the use of live traps. After the trap is collected and the animal is removed and released, a technician can send the regulator a final report using the software.
Companies sell the gateways and sensor units needed to use the traps. Some companies that offer remote monitoring require customers to pay for cellular subscriptions.
Many customers who call wildlife removal companies to catch animals like the traps because animals can be released as quickly as possible. Customers are often concerned about the welfare of animals and want them to spend as little time caged as possible.
