Question

In the space below, research and list all current efforts taking place to prevent nutria from establishing a reproducing population in an ecosystem.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                  

Answer 1

Preventive measures should be used whenever possible, especially in areas where damage is prevalent. When control is warranted, all available techniques should be considered before a control plan is implemented. The objective of control is to use only those techniques that will stop or alleviate anticipated or ongoing damage or reduce it to tolerable levels. In most cases, successful control will depend on integrating a number of different techniques and methods.

Timing and location of control activities are important factors governing the success or failure of any control project. Control in sugarcane, for example, is best applied during the growing season, after damage has started. At this time, nutria in affected areas are relatively stationary and concentrated in drainages adjacent to fields. Conversely, efforts to protect rice field levees or the shorelines of southern lakes and ponds should be initiated during the winter when animals are mobile and concentrated in major ditches and other large bodies of water.

Nutria are best controlled where they are causing damage or where they are most active. Baiting is sometimes used to concentrate nutria in specific locations where they can be controlled more easily. After the main concentrations of nutria are removed, control efforts should be directed at removing wary individuals.