Nutria

Exotic Aquatics of the Gulf Coast:
Nutria (Myocastor coypus)

Nutria: Prevention & Control Measures

Methods of directly controlling the nutria population include trapping (e.g., live trapping, leg-hold trapping), poisoning (zinc phosphide is the only chemical approved for nutria) and shooting. Indirect methods include using exclosures, individual tree sleeves or seedling protection, aromatic plantings and rodent repellents (e.g., Ropel). The most cost-effective control measure is trapping, which benefits the economy and lowers the population of nutria in the environment. For trapping to succeed however, pelt prices need to be at a profitable level for trappers.
All lethal methods to control the nutria population are controversial. Shooting is effective to remove small, relatively isolated populations of animals. This technique was employed in an effort to control the nutria population in Jefferson Parish, Louisiana. The Jefferson Parish SWAT team was deployed to practice their sharp-shooting skills in an effort to eradicate, or at least significantly reduce, the nutria population that was doing so much damage to the parish drainage system. Animal rights groups protested and the nightly sharp-shooting practice was suspended. Recommendations were made to use zinc phosphide (a rodent poison that breaks down quickly in water and kills with one dose), but this option also received a negative response from the public.

In Britain, where nutria were also imported for their fur, major damage to crops, drainage systems and native plant communities led to a decision to begin an intensive 10-year trapping program in 1981. Live traps were set and regularly checked. Other native species caught in the traps were released, and nutria were shot. The program has led to the eradication of nutria in Britain.

Nutria: An Introduction
Nutria: A Historical Nuisance
Nutria: Impacts on the Environments
Nutria: Prevention & Control Measures
Nutria: Online & Printed Resources

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