The Use of Dyes in Bait for Wallaby Control

Abstract

Carrots dyed with one of three pigments-ICI green GNA, ICI blue BXA, or lissamine green-were compared with undyed carrots as wallaby bait in two field trials. There were no significant differences between any of the treatments in either trial, indicating that wallabies accept both dyed and undyed carrots equally well. A later series of monitored 1080 poisonings with blue-dyed bait resulted in no apparent reduction of kills, showing that the blue dye is a suitable material for marking toxic bait in wallaby control operations.