U.S. bombs Pacific Ocean island… with dead mice! Rodents filled with poisonous painkillers rain down on Guam in attempt to kill off 2MILLION tree snakes



Two million brown tree snakes have made species of wildlife extinct in Guam

Hawaii officials concerned snakes could travel 3,000 miles and cause havoc

Dead mice laced with painkillers are set to rain down on Guam as scientists attempt to contain two million brown tree snakes which have caused havoc for more than 60 years.



Most of Guam's native bird species are extinct because of the snake, which reached the island's thick jungles as stowaways on U.S. military ships coming from the South Pacific shortly after World War II.



There are fears that without action the species could spread to Hawaii, more than 3,000 miles away and cause a 'snakes on a plane' scenario.



The brown tree snake was brought to Guam on U.S. military ships more than 60 years ago and has wreaked havoc

The snakes can climb power poles and wires, causing blackouts, or slither into homes and bite people, including babies; they use venom on their prey but it is not lethal to humans.



Most of Guam's native birds were defenseless against the nocturnal, tree-based predators, and within a few decades of the reptile's arrival, nearly all of them were wiped out.

The infestation and the toll it has taken on native wildlife have tarnished Guam's image as a tourism haven, though the snakes are rarely seen outside their jungle habitat.

The solution to this headache, fittingly enough, is acetaminophen, the active ingredient in painkillers including Tylenol.



The U.S. government will drop dead mice laced with painkillers in an attempt to control and contain the numbers of brown tree snakes.



Agriculture wildlife specialist Tony Salas holds a brown tree snake at Andersen Air Force Base on the island of Guam

The venom of brown tree snakes is not harmful to humans but they have been known to bite babies in Guam

Daniel Vice, assistant state director of U.S. Department of Agriculture's Wildlife Services in Hawaii, Guam, and the Pacific Islands, said: 'We are taking this to a new phase. There really is no other place in the world with a snake problem like Guam.'

Acetaminophen, the same drug used in pain killers like Tylenol, will be used to lace the dead mice as bait

The strategy takes advantage of the snake's two big weaknesses. Unlike most snakes, brown tree snakes are happy to eat prey they didn't kill themselves, and they are highly vulnerable to acetaminophen, which is harmless to humans.

The upcoming mice drop is targeted to hit snakes near Guam's sprawling Andersen Air Force Base, which is surrounded by heavy foliage and if compromised would offer the snakes a potential ticket off the island. Using helicopters, the dead neonatal mice will be dropped by hand, one by one.

U.S. government scientists have been perfecting the mice-drop strategy for more than a decade with support from the Department of Defense and the Department of the Interior.

To keep the mice bait from dropping all the way to the ground, where it could be eaten by other animals or attract insects as they rot, researchers have developed a flotation device with streamers designed to catch in the branches of the forest foliage, where the snakes live and feed.

Experts say the impact on other species will be minimal, particularly since the snakes have themselves wiped out the birds that might have been most at risk.

'One concern was that crows may eat mice with the toxicant,' said William Pitt, of the U.S. National Wildlife Research Center's Hawaii Field Station.



'However, there are no longer wild crows on Guam. We will continue to refine methods to increase efficiency and limit any potential non-target hazards.'

Just as the snakes found their way to Guam, they could stow away on a ship, or more likely the cargo hold of an airplane, and begin breeding on other islands around the Pacific or even the U.S. West Coast.

It is hoped the mouse bomb will help to contain the species to limit the damage in Guam and stop spread to Hawaii

The risk of the snakes spreading has officials in Hawaii on edge. The islands of Hawaii, like Guam, lack the predators that could keep a brown tree snake population in check.

INVASIVE: BROWN TREE SNAKES

Brown tree snakes are known as an invasive species because of the destruction they cause in their habitat. They are native to Australia and Papua New Guinea and usually measure around 6ft, but can grow to be 10ft long.

Their appearance varies from a lightly patterned brown to yellowish green or beige with red saddle-shaped blotches

They have two fangs at the rear of their mouth containing neutrotoxic and cytotoxic venom, which is not dangerous to humans. Females produce up to 12 eggs at a time which are just over one inch long.



Native Hawaiian birds 'literally don't know what to do when they see a snake coming,' said Christy Martin, a spokeswoman for the Coordinating Group on Alien Pest Species, a partnership of Hawaii government agencies and private organizations.

A 2010 study conducted by the National Wildlife Research Center found brown tree snakes would cause between $593 million and $2.14 billion in economic damage each year if they became established in Hawaii like they are on Guam.



Power outages would cause the most damage, followed by a projected decline in tourism. The cost of treating snake bites would account for a small share.

'Once we get snakes here, we're never going to be able to fix the situation,' Martin said.

So far, Guam's containment seems to be working. Only a few brown tree snakes have ever been found in Hawaii, and none over the past 17 years.

'If we continue doing what we are doing, the chance of success is very high,' Vice said. 'If what we are doing stops, I think the possibility of the snakes getting to Hawaii is inevitable.'

The mouse drop is set to start in April or May.

Hawaiian Officials fear brown tree snakes would cause $2billion damage if they travelled 3,000 across the Pacific

Brown tree snakes were brought over to Guam after WWII when they stowed away on American military ships



